Irony in Sense and Sensibility.docVIP

Irony in Sense and Sensibility 　　Abstract： This essay is intended to examine the technique of irony in Sense and Sensibility written by Jane Austen in 1811. It is mainly devoted to three aspects of irony employed in the novel： the verbal irony， the dramatic irony， and the situational irony. It would be beneficial to our better understanding of the novel. And irony， as a technique of writing， is frequently considered as one of Jane Austen ‘s outstanding characteristics. 　　Key words：sense and sensibility； the verbal irony； the dramatic irony；the situational irony 　　Introduction 　　Sense and Sensibility is Austen’s first published novel， which she initially called Elinor and Marianne. Elinor and Marianne， the two major heroines in the novel， have the opposite dispositions. The former is a sensible， self-controlled and rational creature， but the latter is a striking emotional ，unreserved and wildly romantic girl. The difference between them offers Austen plenty of scopes for both irony and comparison. Irony can be used as a technique of writing， as well as a figure of speech. “As a writing technique， there are two basic features for irony. They are the contradiction between false impression and truth and the unknowing of the contradiction.”（Zhang Liping） My thesis just focuses on the ironic perspective to explore the novel. In addition， we will look at Kreuz and Roberts’ classification. According to their explanation， irony is classified into four types： socratic irony， dramatic irony， the irony of fate or situational irony ，and verbal irony. “...2）Verbal irony is the use of language to express a surface meaning and a different， usually intended， underlying meaning. 3）Dramatic irony is the awareness by a play’s audience of the fate in store for a character that is not known to the character himself. 4）The irony of fate or situational irony refers to a situation， event etc.， that is desirable in itself but so unexpected or ill-timed that it appears to be deliberat