Question

In a fairytale, a princess is believed to be a prisoner in a dragon’s castle. A handsome prince
arrives at the castle to save her.
1. Based on the events in the story, how would most readers expect it to end?
2. If the prince learns that the poor prisoner in the castle is actually the dragon, and that the
princess is keeping it prisoner, what ironic ending might come next?
3. Explain why the events in question 2 show situational irony.
B. DIRECTIONS: Read this partial story summary. Then, answer the questions.
A young married couple are both musicians. The man is a guitar player, and the woman is a
violinist. Their instruments are their prized possessions. They are very much in love but have
very little money. Their anniversary is approaching, and each wants to get the other a gift to
show their undying love. The wife decides to sell her violin in order to buy her husband a
beautiful strap for his guitar. The husband decides to . . .
1. What might the husband do to get money for his wife’s gift that demonstrates situational
irony?
2. What might the husband buy for his wife that further demonstrates situational irony?

Answer 1

A.
1. Most readers would expect the prince to slay (or otherwise defeat) the dragon, free the princess, and carry her off to safety — a happy rescue ending and likely marriage.

2. An ironic ending: the prince arrives ready to rescue the princess but discovers the dragon is actually the one chained up and the princess is its keeper. He frees the dragon — only to have the dragon fly off with the princess (or to have the princess reveal she is keeping the dragon as guard and refuses rescue). In short, the prince “saves” the wrong being and either loses the princess or finds that his heroic deed produced the opposite result of what he intended.

3. Why this is situational irony: situational irony occurs when the actual outcome is the opposite of what is expected. Readers expect the hero to rescue a helpless princess from a fearsome dragon; instead the roles are reversed (the dragon is the captive, the princess the captor) and the prince’s action produces an outcome contrary to his aim (he frees the dragon rather than rescuing the princess). The reversal of expectations and the opposite result make it situational irony.

B.
1. To get money, the husband might sell his beloved guitar so he can afford a present for his wife — for example, sell the guitar and use the money to buy her a new violin.

2. What he buys that deepens the irony: he buys a beautiful violin (or an expensive violin accessory — a bow, case, etc.) for his wife, not knowing (or forgetting) that she has just sold her own violin to buy him a guitar strap. Both have sacrificed the very thing the other’s gift was meant to complement.

Why this is situational irony: each spouse’s well-intentioned sacrifice undoes the other’s gift; instead of improving one another’s lives, their actions cancel out and produce the opposite of the desired effect — the gifts are useless because the instruments they were meant for are gone. This unexpected reversal of results is situational irony.