Dramatic Irony in Middle Age Miracle and Morality Play

Abstract

Medieval drama originated from liturgical ceremony, therefore its purpose was explicitly didactic. The presence of dramatic irony in medieval drama is questionable, because of its moral intent and because medieval audiences believed that the action taking place on stage was true. Nevertheless, the progressive secularisation of official liturgical drama added sensual elements into representation, the result being the spectators’ pleasure. A similar result in medieval drama was obtained by using dramatic irony. – The most commonly used means of presenting dramatic irony in Middle Ages was the interruption of the stage illusion, which includes internal communication between dramatic personae and external communication between audience and dramatic personae. This procedure places spectators in a superior position by presenting dramatic action before it takes place on the stage. The interruption of the stage illusion is mainly achieved either in prologues, where there is an irony of anticipation, or by the irony of reminiscence in epilogues. Such interruptions can also appear in the monologues or dialogues of dramatic personae. Such use of dramatic irony can be observed in the anonymous morality play of Everyman. – In Rutebeuf’s Miracle of Theophile dramatic irony is presented primarily in the form of situational and verbal irony. Situational irony is contrasts between a character’s limited understanding of a situation in some particular moment of the unfolding action and the actual situation of which the audience is already aware. In the case of verbal irony there are double meanings in the dramatic discourse unknown to the protagonist, but understood by the audience. – Dramatic irony cannot be considered as the main element of medieval drama, which focuses mainly on moral principles and religious matters. In later eras didactic purpose lost its importance, therefore dramatic irony could become an essential element of a dramatic text.