Question

Read the excerpt below and answer the question.

“I should have been quite disappointed if I had not found you here STILL,” said she repeatedly, with a strong emphasis on the word. “But I always thought I SHOULD. I was almost sure you would not leave London yet awhile; though you TOLD me, you know, at Barton, that you should not stay above a MONTH. But I thought, at the time, that you would most likely change your mind when it came to the point. It would have been such a great pity to have went away before your brother and sister came. And now to be sure you will be in no hurry to be gone. I am amazingly glad you did not keep to YOUR WORD."
Elinor perfectly understood her, and was forced to use all her self-command to make it appear that she did NOT. (Sense and Sensibility, chapter 32, p. 11)

This excerpt demonstrates Austen’s use of_______.

Verbal Irony
Understatement
conceal and disclose dynamic
Conflict

Answer 1

A). Verbal Irony.

Step-by-step explanation:

'Verbal irony' is demonstrated as the literary device in which there is juxtaposition between the literal words spoken by the speaker and the meaning implied by it. It is primarily employed to evoke humor or ridicule or reveal a harder situation/message indirectly.

In the given excerpt from 'Sense and Sensibility', Austen employs verbal irony to indicate the contradiction between the literal words used by the speaker('I should have been quite disappointed if I had not found you here STILL,”said she repeatedly, with a strong emphasis on the word....you should not stay above a MONTH' and the meaning intended to be conveyed('you would most likely change your mind' and ' I am amazingly glad you did not keep to YOUR WORD'). Thus, there lies a sharp contradiction between the literal and implicit meanings of the word used by the speaker. Hence, option A is the correct answer.

Answer 2

This excerpt demonstrates Austen’s use of Verbal Irony

Step-by-step explanation:

The verbal irony is one that presents a differentiation between the spoken expression and its real intention. That is, when the one who is being ironic says something, but with another meaning. Or, when the literal meaning of the spoken words is the opposite of what one intended to express.

In the case of this Excerpt of Reason and Sensibility, Austen used verbal irony to emphasize that what the character felt was the opposite of what she was talking about. This is made clear in the following parts:

1. "I should have been quite disappointed if I had not found you here STILL,” said she repeatedly, with a strong emphasis on the word. “But I always thought I SHOULD. I was almost sure you would not leave London yet awhile; though you TOLD me, you know, at Barton, that you should not stay above a MONTH."

2. "I am amazingly glad you did not keep to YOUR WORD."