There's an old saying that goes, "Say what you mean, and mean what you say." It's safe to assume the person who coined that phrase was not a fan of verbal irony. We'll go over the definition of verbal irony soon, but for now, ruminate on that fact. Dialogue is one of the key parts of screenwriting. Sure, we have silent films and quiet moments, but the dialogue is where many writers cut their teeth and prove their worth. It's where you can prove you should punch-up other scripts and can impress execs. You can even mention its roots in Ancient Greek literature. Irony occurs all over. So today, I want to look at how you can work verbal irony into your dialogue as well as define it and learn some examples. Let's get going! But first, we have to start with the root of irony; dramatic irony. What is Dramatic Irony? As I mentioned in the opening, dramatic irony takes a set of events or a scene and juxtaposes it against what's occurring on the screen (or page). But what is dramatic irony? Dramatic Irony Definition: Dramatic irony is a literary or film technique originally used in Greek tragedy, where the significance of a character's words or actions is clear to the audience but unknown to the character. One of the types of dramatic irony is verbal irony. What is Verbal Irony? (Definition and Examples) Ready for some witty wordplay? Verbal irony allows characters to spar with one...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Friday, 6 September