Use Of Dramatic Irony In Hamlet

Dramatic irony is a literary technique that occurs when an event happens in the story that the audience understands, but the story’s characters cannot grasp. William Shakespeare uses this device throughout a numerous amount of his plays, whether it be a comedy or tragedy. This particular element, in Shakespearian tragedies, is used in order to add a tragic element of not knowing to the story. It is also used to engage the audience and to help reveal the tragic flaw that evidently leads to the hero's downfall. In Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, dramatic irony is a key piece to the stories unveiling of the major plot. It occurs many times throughout the play and all have an essential purpose.
Throughout the whole play, there is an element of madness and
Throughout the play, many characters planned retribution for another’s actions, mostly ending with a murder. Hamlet, with his tragic flaw, never acted upon his intentions to kill the king Claudius, while his intended victim plotted Hamlet’s own murder. As the audience knows about the character’s plans, the victims do not and go along with the plot. This insight allows the audience to really see how Hamlet’s tragic flaw lead to his own death. It also allows the audience to see the King’s truly deceptive side as he denies all knowledge of any plan that mistakenly resulted in the Queen’s death.
The dramatic irony throughout the whole play has added a certain element that gives the audience insight into the story’s plot that the character’s within the play do not. It also allows the audience to see the tragic flaw that ultimately leads to the downfall of the tragic hero. The play, as a whole, would not have the same effect without dramatic irony, and it also would not engage the audience as much without it. Dramatic irony is an essential piece to Hamlet that makes the story what it is