You have certainly chosen a scene fraught with dramatic
irony! Of course, before we begin exploring why this is so, it's always good to review
the definition. Dramatic irony generally occurs when a character thinks one thing,
while the reader/audience knows the reality of the situation. The dramatic irony of
this particular scene revolves around Romeo/Juliet and the Lady/Lord Capulet. When
Romeo and Juliet bid each other adieu in this scene they say the
following:
Juliet: O, thinkst thou we shall ever meet
again?
Romeo: I doubt it not; and all these woes shall
serve / For sweet discourses in our time to come.
Juliet:
O God! I have an ill-divining soul/Methinks I see thee, now thou art below/As one dead
in the bottom of a tomb.
Even
if it is an audience member's very first time watching (or reading) Romeo and Juliet,
because this is, in fact, a tragedy and because of the indicators given by the chorus,
we know that Juliet is right, they will meet again; however, it cannot be amid "sweet
discourses" as the two surmise here, but amid despair and sadness. Further, even upon
first reading and perhaps not knowing that Romeo will next be seen by Juliet
directly in a tomb, this still can be seen as incredible
foreshadowing.
Ironically, much of the dramatic irony in
this scene has more to do with Juliet's parents than with Juliet herself. First, Lady
Capulet misreads Juliet's tears:
Evermore weeping for your cousin's death? / What,
wilt thou wash him from his grave with
tears?
Even though the truth
comes out a bit later in the scene, here it is clear to the audience that Juliet is
pining for Romeo, not Tybalt.
Further, Lord and Lady
Capulet are absolutely thrilled with the match of Paris and Juliet. Juliet's parents
plan for her to wed Paris on Thursday! What we know: Juliet is already married to
Romeo (and she wants a husband named Paris like a hole in her head, pun
intended).
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