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Imagery
Definition of Irony
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this seems like a loose definition... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how... read full definition
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Jonathan in Transylvania:
In Chapter 1, as he journeys to Castle Dracula for the first time, Jonathan Harker uses both hyperbole and simile to describe Transylvanian superstitions:
I read that every known superstition in the world is gathered into the horseshoe of the Carpathians, as if it were the centre of some kind of imaginative whirlpool; if so my stay may be very interesting (Mem., I must ask the Count all about them.)
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Chapter 10
Explanation and Analysis—Arthur's Blood:
Over the course of Chapter 10, Van Helsing and Dr. Seward try desperately to save Lucy's life, often resorting to blood transfusion. When the two men ask Arthur Holmwood, Lucy's betrothed, to assist them in the quest to save her life, he responds with an ironic hyperbole:
Unlock with LitCharts A+"What can I do?" asked Arthur hoarsely. "Tell me, and I shall do it. My life is hers, and I would give the last drop of blood in my body for her." The Professor has a strongly humorous side, and I could from old detect a trace of its origin in his answer:
"My young sir, I do not ask so much as that - not the last!"
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Chapter 13
Explanation and Analysis—Lucy's Dead Body:
Curiously and ironically, a funeral attendant describes Lucy's dead body as remarkably beautiful at the beginning of Chapter 13:
Unlock with LitCharts A+'She makes a very beautiful corpse, sir. It's quite a privilege to attend on her. It's not too much to say that she will do credit to our establishment!'
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