Question

Romeo. Give me that mattock1 and the wrenching iron.

Hold, take this letter. Early in the morning See thou deliver it to my lord and father.
Give me the light. Upon thy life I charge thee, Whate'er thou hearest or seest, stand all aloof.
And do not interrupt me in my course.
Why I descend into this bed of death
Is partly to behold my lady's face,
But chiefly to take thence from her dead finger
A precious ring a ring that I must use In dear employment therefore hence be gone.
But if thou, jealous, dost return to pry In what I farther shall intend to do, By heaven, I will tear thee joint by joint, And strew this hungry churchyard with thy limbs.
The time and my intents are savage-wild, More fierce and more inexorable far Than empty tigers or the roaring sea.



What type of irony is it ?

Why is it ironic ?

Answer 1

The type of irony in this passage is dramatic irony.

It is ironic because the audience, and the reader, know that Juliet is not dead, but Romeo does not. Romeo intends to retrieve a ring from her dead finger, but the audience knows that she is not actually dead. This creates tension and suspense for the audience, who are aware of Romeo's tragic mistake.