Dramatic Irony

Dramatic irony is an amusing tool. The audience has the same information as one of the characters, while none of the other characters have a clue.

This puts your audience “in the front seat” to enjoy all the irony or ambiguity of a situation.

Dramatic irony works in two beats:

1. Preparation: Prepare viewers by giving them the key elements

2. Scene resolution: use the characters’ different interpretations of a same situation.

Example Pablo watches as the beautiful Maria walks towards him. He has been attracted to her for a very long time. Within minutes, she joyfully tells him she is pregnant with Greg’s baby, but that she hasn’t dared tell Greg yet. Just then, Greg arrives hugging Nathalie tenderly. Greg awkwardly tells Maria he’d like to have a private word with her.