Isn’t it Ironic?

1. Isn’t it Ironic? William Shakespeare's: Romeo and Juliet

2. Ironic? • Alanis Morissette’sIronic - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v9yUVgrmPY. As you listen to the song and read the lyrics, highlight what the singer describes as ironic, write a definition of irony (in your own words) and identify on the scaleyour knowledge of Romeo and Juliet.

3. Essential Questions: • What is dramatic irony and what role does it play in Romeo and Juliet? • How does dramatic irony affect character, plot and audience? • If the characters in Romeo and Juliet were privy to the same information as the audience, would the plot differ and would it still be an engaging text?

4. What is Irony? The Bedford Glossary of Literary Terms defines Irony as: A contradiction or incongruity between appearance or expectation and reality. The disparity may be manifested in a variety of ways. A discrepancy may exist between what someone says and what he or she actually means, between what someone expects to happen and what actually happens, or between what appears to be true and what actually is true.(Murfin & Ray 2009, p. 251)

5. Irony in Life • The examples used by Alanis Morissette can be classified as situational irony. • Another common form of irony is verbal irony. Example: Mean Girls - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmSBrmgdKts In Pairs: • Determine whether you have examples of situational or verbal irony. • What makes them ironic? • Try to come up with a few good examples of situational or verbal irony from books, television, movies, or your own life to share with the class.

6. Dramatic Irony Dramatic irony occurs when the audience is privy to knowledge greater than that of the character(s), which could prevent a poor choice, expectation, or action. (Bedford Glossary 2009) • In literature this often has severe consequences upon the characters. Can anybody think of an example from Romeo and Juliet??? http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nwLb9NHfIWw

7. Dramatic Irony in Romeo and Juliet Many examples of dramatic irony exist within Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet… We will now explore dramatic irony within the text. Group work… After being put in small groups, start working on the activity provided. Prepare to report back to the class.

8. Last Words… Before you leave… On an exit card respond to the follow: • What is dramatic irony (in your own words) and how is it used within Romeo and Juliet? - Use an example from the text. - You may want to use group and class discussions as a starting point to elaborate on.