Question

Example of irony in Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven

Answer 1

The Raven offers far more pronounced instances of situational irony -- the mere fact of a bird being the interloper in the narrator's chamber rather than a human is in itself an example of situational irony -- but Poe did include dramatic irony in his poem as well. Yes, there is dramatic irony in "The Raven.

Answer 2

One example of irony that Poe uses in this poem is the tortured scholar himself. We learn that the man suffering for Lenore is a scholar. We know this because he is surrounded by books, as well as due to the fact that he has a bust of Pallas. Therefore, this is an educated, reasonable, and probably very logical man.

Therefore, it is ironic that this is the man that ends up in such a diminished and sad state. Moreover, the thing that tortures him is not particularly elevated. He suffers because of his love for a woman. Moreover, even though he is extremely clever and educated, his sanity is completely destroyed by a talking raven. The ending is an ironic outcome for the learned scholar.