Romeo and Juliet's final fate in act V scene III of Romeo and Juliet represents the element of dramatic irony. Dramatic irony is a moment in a story where the reader knows much more about the situation and the resolutions than the characters do- often resulting in the oblivious characters' death. In this case, the characters are both Romeo and Juliet. The audience knows that Juliet is not really dead, she is merely experiencing the effects of the sleeping potion, but Romeo does not know that, and he kills himself. Then, upon waking and seeing her love dead beside her, she kills herself as well. This is a perfect example of dramatic irony.