In the simplest terms, dramatic irony in storytelling is when the audience knows something the characters don’t. Oftentimes, the characters would have benefited from this knowledge and it would have taken them down a less troublesome or, in some cases, tragic path (also known as “tragic irony”). 

Dramatic irony in storytelling is often achieved by showing or revealing something to the audience that one of the main characters hasn’t witnessed or heard (this is sometimes referred to as “proleptic irony”). There are many possibilities for what could happen in a story with dramatic irony, but firstly it’s important to know how it differs from another form of irony.

Dramatic vs Situational Irony

One of the most used literary devices, irony is when something happens in a story that is the opposite of what’s expected. In most cases, this is employed as “situational irony”: the opposite outcome to a particular situation, or the opposite character we’d expect to do a certain thing (e.g. a nice guy ends up being a villain, or a jerk ends up being a hero). 

Dramatic irony is a little more complicated. As mentioned, dramatic irony involves audience knowledge of something that could change the entire trajectory of a character. Depending on the genre, dramatic irony can manifest in different ways. If it’s a comedy, it will most likely lead to folly and laughs. If it’s a thriller, it can lead to danger or even death. And if it’s a drama, it may lead to complications or possibly tragedy. Think of it as watching a character digging a hole for themselves, and we as the audience know they’re digging themselves deeper and deeper, but they don’t. Moments like this engage an audience and can trigger a strong emotional response. It can cause audiences to lean forward and shout at the screen:

“Don’t go there!” or “Don’t do that!”

Roy Scheider in 'Jaws'

Dramatic Irony and Emotional Resonance

While dramatic irony is often discussed as a tool for building suspense or delivering plot twists, it can also help you develop great characters and add emotional complexity to your storytelling. If you can wield dramatic irony not just to stimulate audiences, but to make them feel deeply, you’ll get more than just an emotional response, you’ll inspire emotional resonance.

Although highly effective and important to storytelling, an emotional reaction is just that: a reaction. It can be potent in the moment, but also fleeting. Emotional resonance, on the other hand, stays with us. We’ll be thinking about the characters and their circumstances well after watching the movie or TV show. We feel what the characters feel, all of their pain and joy, anger and sorrow, and it lingers with us. This is the power of dramatic irony when it’s applied to a character’s emotional through line and intertwined with the fabric of the story being told.

As noted, dramatic irony can serve any genre. From the slow burn of psychological thrillers to the punchlines of dark comedies, it can add another layer to the narrative. 

There are many examples of dramatic irony in movies and TV shows. In Jaws, the audience knows Brody and Hooper are right about the shark attacks, even if others in the town of Amityville don’t. In Breaking Bad, the audience knows that Walter White is balancing his double life as a suburban dad with being a meth chemist, and his loved ones don’t. In many of these cases, dramatic irony can elevate a story that is pulpy or sensational on the surface and, in doing so, give it more depth.

Bob Odenkirk in 'Better Call Saul'

Foreknowledge vs Foreshadowing

In recent decades, there has been a rise of prequels in film and television for popular franchises. This often gives audiences foreknowledge of important story and character developments that will occur in the series’ future and, by its structural nature, leads to a narrative brimming with dramatic irony. 

In most cases, unless you’re a well-established screenwriter, the feature screenplay or television pilot you’re writing isn’t tied to a franchise or IP (intellectual property). However, you can still learn a lot from a prequel in regards to dramatic irony and its execution. In fact, two of the most popular and iconic prequel series contain dramatic irony even without foreknowledge from their respective flagships: Better Call Saul and the Star Wars prequel trilogy.   

Apart from Breaking Bad and within its own narrative, Better Call Saul utilizes foreshadowing to create dramatic irony. Foreshadowing is the suggestion or indication of an upcoming event. In the case of Better Call Saul, Jimmy McGill’s trajectory from aspiring lawyer to a cartel-aligned defense attorney named Saul Goodman is constantly foreshadowed throughout the series. First and foremost, there are periodic flashforwards to Jimmy living as a fugitive under the identity of Gene Takavic and managing a Cinnabon. These sequences make it clear, regardless of whether you watched Breaking Bad or not, that Jimmy will eventually cross some legal line that places him into this situation. In addition, in the primary timeline of the series, there are various references and instances of Jimmy’s con artist streak, and his inclination to bend rules to achieve a desired outcome. In some ways, the writing is on the wall of the Cinnabon.

Similarly, in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, even if you didn’t know that Anakin Skywalker was destined to become Darth Vader, there are various moments of foreshadowing that suggest a dark path for the young Jedi. From Yoda’s early warning of Anakin’s attachment issues and their potential risks to his secret romance with Padme and his slaughtering of Tusken Raiders, it’s clear that Anakin is going to have a tragic fate, and that he will be the source of much pain and suffering. The fact that audiences see all of this and his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi doesn’t creates strong dramatic irony, and filmmaker George Lucas mines it to not only build suspense but to also inspire emotional investment. In this way, foreshadowing can be one of the most effective ways to insert dramatic irony into your script.

Personality Traits and Tell-Tale Signs

As mentioned, Jimmy McGill’s con artist ethos foreshadows his trajectory and adds greatly to the dramatic irony of Better Call Saul. This is also an example of how personality traits can act as tell-tale signs and let audiences know what’s going on with a character, even if the character themselves is not aware. This approach is subtler and more naturalistic if you want to avoid overt foreshadowing in your script, and it will also flesh-out your characters. 

In the Oscar-winning Anora, writer-director Sean Baker uses a similar technique to add dramatic irony to the film. The title character Anora is a sex worker who is hired by Ivan Zakharov, the son of a Russian oligarch. The two hit it off and their transactional relationship quickly snowballs, culminating with them eloping in a Las Vegas wedding chapel. Subsequently, Anora, entranced by this world of wealth and freedom Ivan has introduced her to, is insistent their marriage is substantial and should be taken seriously. However, it’s clear that Ivan is an immature and frivolous young man, constantly partying and playing video games, and not someone Anora should place so much stock in. Most of the other characters in the film see this (and by extension the audience). Because of this knowledge, Anora’s clinging to the validity of their marriage is an example of dramatic irony being inserted into a film via a character’s personality or behavior. We’re waiting for the other shoe to fall, and for Anora to finally wake up to the reality of her situation.   

In the best scripts, character and story are always symbiotic and working with one another. The situation Anora and Ivan are in is because of who they are as characters. More mature and self-aware characters would have led to an entirely different story or, at very least, one with considerably less dramatic irony.  

Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman in 'Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones'

Inserting Dramatic Irony Into Your Script

When you’re looking to insert dramatic irony into your script, it’s best to start thinking about your story and what kind of characters will best serve it at the earliest stages. Regardless of how detailed it is, you should create an outline beforehand: if your characters aren’t bringing out enough irony in your story, you have a chance to rethink them. Ideally, the personality traits of your main characters should be clearly defined before you “go to script”, and they should be at odds with the people around them, the situation they’re in, etc. 

Once you start writing your script, think of ways to foreshadow your characters’ trajectory (both overtly and subtly) and weave it into your larger story arc. Also, you can embed irony into your dialogue, revealing certain personality traits and quirks of your characters that run counter to their best interests, or perhaps to the interests of the people close to them. 

In addition to the more overt foreshadowing in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Anakin Skywalker reveals things about himself to Padme that most would view as “red flags.” After sharing a lighter moment together on her homeworld of Naboo, and in a scene that has since become a popular meme, Anakin and Padme get into a revealing political discussion:

This exchange shows that Anakin had authoritarian leanings even before turning to the Dark Side. Similarly, you can work in revealing information into your character’s dialogue that act as red flags and let the reader know something might be wrong with this person, whether it’s delusion, hubris or an authoritarian streak. Dramatic irony is oftentimes most effective when it’s a slow burn: little tip offs and bread crumbs left for the reader to piece together and ponder. If this is done periodically and effectively, you’ll stir the emotions of your readers, and they’ll start to think about your characters and their fate. 

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Dramatic irony is just one of various literary techniques you can use to enhance your feature screenplay or television pilot, and it can open up your story to different possibilities regardless of the movie or TV genre you’re writing in. Using foreknowledge, foreshadowing and the personality traits and dialogue of your characters, you can insert dramatic irony into your script and create more emotional resonance and an overall stronger impact on readers.