What they chose to do with their lives though, determined their place in a "civilized- world, one who tries to overlook darkness and its connotations. ... "From suffering, these goblins pass to crime; fated filiation, giddy procreation, the logic of darkness- (246). ... He felt the same identity crisis as Jean Valjean realizing he was not a hard-hearted criminal that hated society: "[Marius] heard talk of philosophy, of literature, of art, of history, of religion, in a style he had not looked for. ... The four wanted to gain revenge on a person who was more fortunate than them, and the ir...

• Word Count: 1331
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Though well known for works such as: Annabel Lee, The Raven, The Tell Tale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado, Poe is also recognized as being the creator of Gothic writing. Poe's Gothic writing style primarily focused around the themes of death and mourning which lands him a place in the dark romanticism genre. His extreme writing style separates him from other writers as his dark tone creates him a space in a genre of his own. ... Another reason Edgar Allan Poe is the master mind behind literature as we know it today is because of his incredible use of irony and symbolism. In order to cr...

• Word Count: 1445
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Williams creates imagery that is very vivid and irony that is veiled. ... Directly following is the dark emotions of the widow: "But the grief in my heart is stronger than they/ for though they were my joy/ formerly, today I notice them/ and turned away forgetting." ... Ironically, due to the hardening of her heart by the memories of the death of her husband, springtime is associated with pain and sorrow. ... The juxtaposition of the two serves almost as figurative expression of irony. ... The seasons serve as markers of time and evoke irony on the displacements of memory throughout each....

• Word Count: 1615
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

This quote has a direct irony in correlation to Nathaniel Hawthorne's tale of "Young Goodman Brown". ... This creed leads Brown into the dark forest to confront evil. ... Perhaps he made a subconscious pact to meet with the devil, his darkness. ... The cold dew that was sprinkled on his cheek symbolizes the coldness that began to grip his heart. ... Hawthorne's usage of lightness and darkness show there is no light without dark, no love without hate, no saint without sin. ...

• Word Count: 1393
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

Her first speech contains light imagery, she clearly sees hope amidst darkness "the blaze went dancing on to ecstasy", "torch", "glowing" upon hearing the news of Agamemnon's arrival and this is summed up when she says "it brings dawn to the black widow's face". ... Clytaemnestra talks about war and being at peace and satisfied at the end of it which is of course use of her clever dramatic irony but then in another speech by the chorus they talk about "the avenging furies, they will never rest". ... Clytaemnestra had already referred to him as the "peoples darling" before, she had g...

• Word Count: 1324
• Approx Pages: 5

The irony found here in American history is that the country gained their freedom and equality from Britain, and was now fighting the same war against them. ... Perhaps the greatest irony is the fact that the southern states now wanted to be free, and separate from the northern states. ... It was truly a test of the heart of the United States as to whether or not it could overcome such a trying time. ... The Civil War was, and still is, a very dark point in American History. ...

• Word Count: 1438
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Within these two poems he is able to bring people closer to the heart of primitive human nature in his race than anyone ever before (Laryea 109). ... He uses irony to try and explain the feelings of pain and sorrow, as in the line " And pain still throbs in the old, old scars and they pulse again with a keener sting". ... He seeks to redeem the darker brother throughout his works of poetry (Mead 132). ... Dunbar is known for skillful work in placing rhymes and irony throughout his poems "We sing, but oh the clay is vile Beneath our feet, and long the mile". ... As you see in "We Wear Masks"...

• Word Count: 1623
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

Though from the first mention of Lancelot and Guinevere's affair in Alfred Lord Tennyson's The Idylls of the King King Arthur's court is sown with seeds of budding darkness, the fall of the court begins in earnest through the catalyst of the deceitful and manipulative Vivien who, though she but briefly appears in the chronicle, irrevocably alters it. ... Ev'n such a wave, but not so pleasurable, Dark in the glass of some presageful mood, Had I for three days seen, ready to fall. ... ("Merlin and Vivien" 290-294, 300-302) Though in a twist of dramatic irony Me...

• Word Count: 1336
• Approx Pages: 5

Such distinctions become blatantly obvious in the books Eichmann in Jerusalem by Hannah Arendt and Into That Darkness, written by Gitta Sereny. ... Hannah Arendt, through her use of black humor and bitter irony, portrays Adolf Eichmann not as a Nazi mastermind, but instead as a mentally dim and mediocre beurocrat. ... After the fall of the Third Reich, many Nazi's attempted to defend their actions by claiming an "inner emigration", meaning that while their physical beings were following orders and committing genocide, their "true hearts and souls" were not present and therefore not guil...

• Word Count: 1385
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

On the contrary, the illustrations in Blake's original plate for "Infant Sorrow" are contrastingly in a dark room. ... The dramatic irony in this poem makes the boys seen even more pitiful and also creates a tone of naivety. ... In the "Nurse's Song" from Songs of Innocence, "the voices of children" (Line 1) is described laughter "heard on the hill" (Line 2), and it set the nurse's heart "at rest" (Line 3) where "everything else is still" (Line 4). ... What is more, the situations of each poem is in absolute contrast w...

• Word Count: 1939
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

"They ain't afraid of the dark. ... Or lose-" "They"d build a ship-" The three boys stood in the darkness, striving unsuccessfully to convey the majesty of adult life. ... (p. 200) This shows irony because both Piggy and the conch symbolize civilization and when they both coincidently are destroyed at the same time, there is nothing but savagery left on the island. ... To prove that all order is lost and there is only pure chaos on the island after Piggy's death, the hunters try to kill Ralph and he collapses on the beach in exhaustion, then he "wept for the end of innocence, t...

• Word Count: 1765
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

Banquo a bit more cautious than Macbeth warns him (the good is bad thing, remember) "oftentimes, to win us to our harm, / The instruments of darkness (the witches) tell us truths, / Win us with honest trifle, to betray's / In deepest consequence." ... Is there some irony that just after saying this Duncan greets Macbeth in absolute trust? ... Notice the irony in the comment "He (Duncan) that's coming / Must be provided for." ... More irony as we know what's going on. ...

• Word Count: 1879
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

Gatsby is living alone in a world of "darkness," trying to seize one small thing to bring him happiness. ... The longing in his heart is to have Daisy, but more importantly to have a new hope in his life. He has always kept the idea in his heart that he could be reunited with Daisy. ... Gatsby's response to Nick, telling him that he can repeat the past, is symbolic of the tragic irony that is behind Gatsby's fate. ... Fitzgerald integrates symbolism into the heart of the novel so strongly that it is almost necessary to read the book twice to get a sufficient amount out of it. ...

• Word Count: 1529
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

Aimlessly walking the streets of London that wet winter's morning, I surrendered to my dark depression. ... They were dressed from head to toe in black; I couldn't discern one identifying feature, even their eyes were covered with dark glasses. ... Terrified, my heart stood still and the room went into a drunken spin as I felt the piercing edge of a blade against my neck. ... I pondered the irony of how just a few hours back I had sought sanctuary in this modern day fortress and now I was its captive. ... Eventually, I ventured into the pulsating darkness and descended the stairw...

• Word Count: 2165
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

Macbeth has a change of heart before he reaches home until his wife persuades him that it can be done safely. ... She prays to the powers of darkness to make her become less feminine when she says 'unsex me here' so that she can have no natural feelings of pity and carry out the procedure selfishly. ... She acts like a woman with a warm heart and charm. ... In Shakespearean times it have been said that he was the victim of the powers of darkness such when Lady Macbeth thought up the powers of evil and pr...

• Word Count: 2124
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

Gonzo, on an assignment from a sports magazine to cover "the fabulous Mint 400"--a free-for-all biker's race in the heart of the Nevada desert. ... There is also an irony that connects them. ... Although both examples of modern American literature, it could be said that the novels are very anti-the-American-Dream, and serve the purpose of exposing the dark side through entertaining and satirical literature. They pin-point the American Dream's darker elements and also lay in the idea that being unsuccessful is un-American, and is the result of laziness, not lack of opportunity; thus, ...

• Word Count: 2076
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

The irony of the novel lies in the fact that the most respected member of this Puritanical society, the Reverend Dimmesdale, is Hester's partner in sin. ... The significance of the scarlet letter in the life of Dimmesdale, whose guilt remains hidden, is suggested by a hidden scarlet letter on his heart. ... Ironically, Hester and Pearl walk past the scaffold, and the minister calls for them to join him, for it is protected by the cover of darkness. ...

• Word Count: 1285
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

In the first act, the family are celebrating Sheila's engagement with Gerald in a light-hearted dinner party and they are made to look all warm and kind. ... At this point, the lighting would have been toned down to darker, grimmer colours. ... In an instant, the audience know that the Inspector is talking about the war and here dramatic irony is used as is when Mr Birling says there will be no war and that the Titanic is unsinkable, thus, the characters would be mystified by his speech, while the audience know perfectly what the inspector is talking about. ...

• Word Count: 1261
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

The stanzas are made up of interlinking three-line units with the rhyme scheme ababcbcdc, continuing this to the end of the stanza: O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being, (a) Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead (b) Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing, (a) Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red, (b) Pestilence-stricken multitudes: O thou, (c) Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed (b) The winged seeds, where they lie cold and low, (c) Each like a corpse within its grave, until (d) Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow (c) H...

• Word Count: 1748
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

One may also point out the twist of Irony associated, for if Gatsby had not shown so much pride to have a yellow car he may never have been so easily spotted in the connection of Mrytle's death, causing in fact his own. ... His heart knows the actual disrespect he has shown to Gatsby. ... He did not know that it was already behind him; somewhere back in the vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night. ... It defines what we hold in our hearts, what we hold in our minds. ...

• Word Count: 1696
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

A man paced across the floor, clenching and unclenching his fists, his gruff face veiled in hate, and his eyes fired with that infamous dark and intense gaze that conveyed his authority and power. ... He smiled to himself, reflecting on the word family "the irony of that simple word, that everyday word. ... I wish I could do something,"" she uttered; her heart clenched tight in worry. ...

• Word Count: 1588
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

Most of the Soldiers in Othello's army followed him faithfully, except for "Honest iago " Shakespeare, uses clashing irony, by giving Iago his Nickname, many people referred to Iago as "Honest Iago; " Iago is an angry, smart, tricky, ruthless, evil, selfish, bastard. ... Brabantio believes Othello, has swayed Desdemona with his dark magic, "My Daughter! ... Brabantio accepts his daughter's decision and joins their hands together, "Come Hither Moor, I here do give thee that with all my heart,"" (Shakespeare 789.) ...

• Word Count: 1320
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

The speaker envisions his neighbor as a leftover from a justifiably old-fashioned era, a living example of a dark-age mentality. ... The image at the heart of Mending Wall is interesting: two men meeting on terms of civility and neighborliness to build a barrier between them. ... To add a further level of irony, the theme of the poem may, after all, be "seize the day." ...

• Word Count: 1699
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

The choice of French names and words reminds the reader of the stories' setting and helps create an irony that is echoed throughout the text. ... Desiree grew into a beautiful and gentle-hearted young woman and soon found a wealthy suitor asking for her hand. ... Desiree compares her skin color to that of Armand who is much darker than she is but he is not bothered by this inconsistency in his reasoning. ...

• Word Count: 1926
• Approx Pages: 8

Small lies/secrets such as these escalate throughout the play where Ibsen reveals a much bigger and darker secret which Nora is hiding from her husband. ... This is dramatic irony as we as the audience know that Nora is in fact, saving the money she receives, as opposed to Torvald's assumptions of her 'spendthrift' ways. ... Kate says cruel words to Ann when she asks her to absolve Chris of any guilt and give her blessing; "The night he gets into your bed, his heart will dry up that's your lif...

• Word Count: 1949
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate