Dramatic irony occurs when the reader knows past or future occurrences which make it easy to recognize the contradiction in a character's conversation or activities. This article will explore how and to what effect the literary technique of dramatic irony has been found in portraying the main issue of discord between characters and their particular societies in the books The Age of Innocence and The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton. This turmoil is both external and internal. Sometimes the culture disapproves of the behaviour of the average person and ostracizes the individual or exhibits its displeasure, while at other times the character is a dilemma whether to listen to the public opinion or the voice of his / her own mind. This can be done through a thorough literary study of the works involved, and also by the reading of critics' and Wharton's own writings on her behalf two novels.
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