Survival Terms Paper 1 Practice Test

Dramatic irony is when the audience has information that the characters do not, and that knowledge gap shapes how we experience the unfolding events. Because we know something the characters don’t, a moment can feel tense, foreboding, or tragic as we anticipate how things will play out. For example, in a suspenseful scene we might see the villain preparing a trap while the hero remains unaware; we’re waiting for the moment the truth becomes clear to the character. Verbal irony focuses on saying the opposite of what is meant, which is about language rather than who knows what. Situational irony involves outcomes that differ from what is expected, often regardless of who knows the truth. Comic irony uses humor from the same idea of mismatch, but the core here is the audience’s privileged knowledge guiding the emotional impact.