nd them. Montresor says “And I to your long life” (193), again all the while planning Fortunato’s death. Each instance of irony helps to reveal the theme of revenge in the story.Second, “The Story of an Hour” also has examples of verbal irony. One is when Mrs. Mallard, after finding out that her husband is dead, joyfully repeats the word “free” when in reality she will soon be trapped by death. Then she says “Free! Body and soul free!” (73), but what she does not know is how soon her soul will be free from her body. One last example is when Josephine tells Mrs. Mallard to come out of the bedroom or she will make herself sick. Mrs. Mallard is actually fine in the bedroom, but when she does come out, she sees her husband and dies. Occurrences of irony in this story help to reveal the theme things are not always as they appear.Finally, both stories contain incidences of dramatic irony. In “The Cask of Amontillado” Fortunato is a mason. In the end, he is bricked up in the catacombs to die. This example of irony in “The Cask of Amontillado” helps to reveal the theme of revenge throughout the story. In “The Story of an Hour” Mrs. Mallard’s friends try to prevent her from having a heart attack by trying to “break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death” (71) before she finds out somewhere else. Instead they cause her to have a heart attack, because her husband is not dead. Also, Mrs. Mallard’s sister tries desperately to ease Mrs. Mallard’s grief, but Mrs. Mallard is happy not sad. These examples of irony from “The Story of an Hour” help to reveal the theme things are not always as they seem.Irony plays a large part in everyday life. People use irony to cover up mistakes, hide nervousness, and soften the blow of difficult news. Children and teenagers often use irony in ...
