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Nancy Thuleen
Nov. 20, 1992
Classics 14 Paper 2 Dramatic Irony and Dark Humor in the Plays of Plautus Dramatic irony, when strictly defined, appears in fact very rarely in ancient comedy; instead, it becomes common in Shakespearean and other European comedies. The classic example is, of course, the hero who remarks to the audience, "I would rather die than fail now" he means simply that he intends to succeed, but the audience reads this correctly as a foreshadowing of the hero's imminent death. In a broader sense, however, dramatic irony develops a meaning that allows its application to ancient comedy. The dramas and novels of the German Romantic authors, for example, exhibit a form of dramatic irony that mirrors the "illusion-breaking" role so familiar to us. In the tales of E.T.A. Hoffmann, the narrator interrupts the story at frequent intervals to exert his creative presence, reminding the audience to discard their disbelief and try to imagine the situations as he describes them, regardless of how outrageous it may seem and regardless of whether or not the tale is true.
A remarkably similar form of irony appears, then, in the works of Aristophanes. Often during the course of his plays, the audience is directly addressed by the actors; this is of course true in the parabasis, where it becomes a defining element, and also in the prologue, where it is necessary to set up the details of the story. However, aside remarks made to the audience continue to appear, sometimes in unexpected places in the middle of dramatic conflicts or battles, amidst arguments or vehement discussions, or in other scenes where the action seems to take a more serious turn. The asides then relieve the tension produced at these moments, and add to the humor and comic character of the plays. | |
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