The Winter’s Tale
Dramatic Irony
Write a definition of dramatic irony:
Now answer the questions.
1. The Language of Flowers
a. Perdita offers Polixenes and Camillo rosemary and rue, which
represent remembrance and bitter repentance (IV, ii, p.117, 74).
Explain the dramatic irony.
b. On page 119, Perdita claims that she does not like ‘gillyvors’ (small
pink carnations) because they are ‘nature’s bastards’ (the result of
cross breeding).
Polixenes disagrees with her. He approves of the crossbreeding of
plants. He claims that if you graft ‘a gentler scion’ (high quality cutting)
to ‘the wildest stock’ (poor quality plants), the result of this
crossbreeding can be a ’nobler race’.
What might the ‘gentler scion’ and ‘the wildest stock’ symbolise? How
is this ironic?
2. Duty, Death and Disguise
a. Comment on ‘One being dead/I shall have more than you can dream of
yet’ (IV, iv, p.137, 366–367). Who is the ‘one’ that Florizel is speaking
of? Comment on the dramatic irony.
b. On p.139, the entire page is again full of dramatic irony. Comment on
this.
c. Comment on the dramatic irony on p 151 where Florizel and Camillo
are talking about Perdita (‘My good Camillo …’, lines 558–562).
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