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Unreliable Narrator
Definition of Verbal Irony
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean. When there's a hurricane raging outside and someone remarks "what... read full definition
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean. When there's a hurricane raging... read full definition
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean... read full definition
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Mostly Fake:
In Chapter 1, Grendel wanders around the countryside in a beautiful Danish spring, bemoaning that he is a "pointless, ridiculous monster." He is frustrated with nature, which seems indifferent to his suffering. But just as Grendel's fit of sadness reaches its peak, he reveals that he was exaggerating sarcastically. This verbal irony is a prime example of how the monster is often an unreliable narrator:
“Ah, sad one, poor old freak!” I cry, and hug myself, and laugh, letting out salt tears, he he! till I fall down gasping and sobbing. (It’s mostly fake.) The sun spins mindlessly overhead, the shadows lengthen and shorten as if by plan. Small birds, with a high-pitched yelp, lay eggs. The tender grasses peek up, innocent yellow, through the ground: the children of the dead.
Related Themes:
