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Unreliable Narrator
Definition of Verbal Irony
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean. When there's a hurricane raging outside and someone remarks "what... read full definition
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean. When there's a hurricane raging... read full definition
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean... read full definition
Part 1, Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—Honourable Profession:
Cervantes employs verbal irony and numerous allusions in a scene in which an innkeeper decides to “humour” Don Quixote after recognizing that the knight isn’t “in his right mind”:
The innkeeper, who, as I’ve said, was something of a wag, and had already suspected that his guest wasn’t in his right mind [...] decided to humour him; so he said that he was quite right to pursue these objectives [...] and that he himself in his younger days had followed the same honourable profession, roaming through different parts of the world in search of adventure, without omitting to visit such districts as Percheles and Islas de Riarán in Malaga, Compás in Seville, Azoguejo in Segovia, Olivera in Valencia, Rondilla in Granada, Playa in Sanlúcar, Potro in Cordova and Ventillas in Toledo.
The innkeeper, hoping to give the other guests at the inn something to laugh at, decides to play along with Don Quixote’s chivalric fantasies. Instead of discouraging him from traveling across Spain as a knight errant, the innkeeper instead states that he was once a knight himself and spent his earlier life “roaming through different parts of the world in search of adventure.” While listing the various cities where he sought fame and glory, he alludes to districts and neighborhoods that were regarded as disreputable during Cervantes’s time, better known for criminal behavior than chivalry. Throughout his speech to Don Quixote, the innkeeper uses verbal irony, falsely claiming that he believes that knight errantry is a reasonable lifestyle and presenting various seedy neighborhoods as fine places to find renown. The innkeeper is one of numerous characters who decide to humor Don Quixote’s delusions rather than pointing out his errors.
Related Themes:
Part 1, Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—The Farmer and the Boy:
In a scene suffused with both situational and verbal irony, a farmer brutally punishes a young boy as a result of Don Quixote’s attempt to help the boy. Previously, Don Quixote encountered the farmer flogging the boy. Outraged, he threatened the farmer and demanded that he pay the boy the wages he is owed. After Don Quixote leaves, however, the farmer swiftly resumes the beating:
‘Come here, my son, I want to pay you what I owe you, just as that righter of wrongs has ordered.’
‘I swear you will, too,’ said Andrés, ‘and you’ll do well to obey that good knight’s commands, God bless him, because he’s such a brave man [...]'
‘And I swear I will, too,’ said the farmer, ‘but, since I’m so very fond of you, I think I’ll increase the debt first, just so as to increase the repayment.’ And seizing him by the arm, he tied him back to the evergreen oak and flogged him half dead.
Here, the farmer’s words are marked by clear verbal irony. Pretending that he simply wants to follow Don Quixote’s demands, the farmer claims that he wants to “pay” the boy what he is owed and promises to “increase the repayment.” What he really means, however, is that the boy deserves an even worse beating than before, and he beats the boy until he is “half dead.” The outcome, then, of Don Quixote’s first attempt to serve as a “righter of wrongs” is heavily ironic. Rather than helping the boy, he has only succeeded in further enraging the farmer.
Related Themes:
Part 1, Chapter 8
Explanation and Analysis—Like the Sabbath :
Cervantes employs verbal irony and a simile in a scene in which Don Quixote forbids Sanch Panzo from aiding him if he is engaged in combat with another knight, as he claims that it is forbidden in the rules of chivalry for a commoner to attack a knight:
‘You can be sure, sir,’ replied Sancho, ‘of being fully obeyed there [...] Though I do have to say that when it comes to defending myself I’m not going to take much notice of those there laws of yours, because divine and human justice both let anyone defend himself against attack.’
‘I do not disagree in the slightest,’ replied Don Quixote, ‘but as regards assisting me against knights, you must keep your natural impetuosity under control.’
‘I’ll do that all right,’ replied Sancho. ‘I’ll keep that particular promise as strictly as the Sabbath.’
Here, Sancho’s remarks are suffused with verbal irony as he presents himself as obedient to the rules of chivalry when, in fact, he has no desire to fight against knights anyway. Throughout the novel, he demonstrates a fear of danger and a clear sense of self-preservation, unlike the bold and reckless Quixote. Sarcastically, he vows to “keep that particular promise as strictly as the Sabbath.” His religious simile suggests that he regards it a serious duty to follow the dictates of chivalry, just as a Christian is expected to observe a day of rest on Sunday. There is some ironic humor in this simile, as Sancho is not particularly pious and does not otherwise observe the Sabbath in the novel.
