Abstract

Pride and Prejudice is the representative work of Jane Austen, a British critical realism woman writer of the late 18th and early 19th century. It describes the love story of four young couples represented by the development of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy’s love, which reflects the social communicative life and people’s occlusive minds in British countryside through the description of Mr. Darcy’s “pride” and Elizabeth’s “prejudice” against Darcy. It is the most important work of Jane Austen and receives worldwide popularity. And the rhetoric use of irony is Austen’s most significant feature and the essence of her language arts. It is successfully applied in this masterpiece that shapes a lot of vivid characters and develops a thought-provoking theme. Irony can be classified as verbal irony, dramatic irony and situational irony. This essay deals with the repeated use of irony in Pride and Prejudice, and the contribution of irony to characterization, plot development and theme expression in this work.

 Key Words: Jane Austen; Irony; characterization; plot development; theme

Contents

Abstract

摘  要

Introduction-1

1. Information about Jane Austen-1

2. Literature Review about Irony-1

1. Verbal Irony in Characterization-3

1.1 Main Character-3

1.1.1 Elizabeth Bennet-3

1.1.2 Mr. Darcy-4

1.2. Minor Character-5

1.2.1 Mrs. Bennet and Lady Catherine-5

1.2.2 Wickham and Miss Bingley-7

2. Dramatic Irony in Plot Development-9

3. Situational Irony in Theme Development-11

Conclusion-13

References-14