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other people from falling into similar folly or vice. As Dean Spears defines “satire is a piece of writing that seeks to expose folly or wickedness and to hold human
behavior up to ridicule
69
. Moreover, satire is implied usually for censorious or critical purposes and is
often directed at public figures or institutions, conventional behaviors, political situations, etc
70
. Thus, it can be inferred that satire is a satirical statement, which its purpose
is to affect the person that they dislike; to hurt them and even to ruin them. However, satire is bringing about reform concerning certain human folly or at
least is keeping other people from falling into similar folly or vice.
2. Dramatic or Tragic Irony
The further form of irony the writer would like to discuss in this research is dramatic irony. Dramatic irony is a relationship of contrast between a characters
limited understandings of his or her situation in some particular moment of the unfolding action and what the audience, at the same instant, understands the
characters situation actually to be
71
. The reader has the pleasure of knowing something that neither of the character does
72
. As a result of the limited understanding of the character above, leads a
tragedy that could be happened in a literary work. That is why, in this case, some
69
Dean Millan Spears, Developing Critical Reading Skill USA: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1999, p. 224.
70
http:dictionary.reference.comcite.html?qh=ironyia=luna March,2007.
71
http:www.k-state.eduenglishbakerenglish320cc-dramatic_irony.htm September, 2007.
72
Alexander Scharbach 1965, op.cit. p. 228.
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critics heel speak of tragic irony instead of dramatic irony
73
. Tragedy is associated with dramatic Irony so that it can be some of the most famous and powerful uses of
dramatic irony, where it serves to emphasize how limited human understanding can be even when it is most plausible, and how painful can be the costs of the
misunderstandings, in some sense inevitable, that result
74
. We can see a misunderstanding among characters as a result of the limited
knowing of the character leads a tragedy in a playwright by Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet in Shakespeare’s play suffered of misunderstanding that leads both into
death. It is occurred when Romeo finds Juliet in a drugged death-like sleep; he assumes her to be dead and kills himself. Upon awakening to find her dead lover
beside her, Juliet kills herself with a knife. On the other side, according to Perrine, the discrepancy is not between what
the speaker says and what he means but between what the speaker says and what the author means. The speaker’s word may be perfectly straightforward, but the
author, by putting those words in a particular speaker’s mouth, may be indicating to the reader ideas or attitude quite opposed to those the speaker is voicing. It is used
not only to convey attitudes but also to illuminate character, for the author who uses it that is indirectly commenting not only upon the value of the ideas uttered but also
upon the nature of the person who utters them. Such comment may be harsh, gently mocking, or sympathetic
75
.
73
X.J. Kennedy 1979, op.cit. p. 430.
74
http:www.k-state.eduenglishbakerenglish320cc-dramatic_irony.htm September,2007.
75
Laurence Perrine 1969, op.cit. p. 115.
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As it is known that a game of irony, after all, cannot be played straightforwardly; there must always be a contrast between what is and what seems
to be. When the author ostensibly speaks in his own person, it can be sure that in some very particular context he is masking himself. For instance, in poetry Unknown
Citizen by W.H. Auden, which represents modern citizen, who, according to the poem, are programmed like machine. Actually, the speaker is masking himself. The
speaker tells many frigid actions of the citizen that actually implied an idea of the author that is actually contrast with the actions of the unknown citizen. The contrast
makes us see that the author doesn’t agree with the like-machine human life be portrayed in the speaker’s word.
Therefore, it can be concluded that dramatic irony can be a tragic irony where the limited understanding of character in a work leads a tragedy. However,
dramatic irony also can be found when an author masking himself to speak the opposite of what he really concerns.
3. Irony of Situation
