Dramatic Irony
When the audience knows something important that one or more characters do not.
Dramatic irony creates tension or pathos because readers can see a truth the characters miss. Writers use the gap in knowledge to build suspense, deepen sympathy, or sharpen tragedy. It is especially common in plays, where the audience overhears what characters cannot.
Example
The doctors’ verdict that Louise died of “the joy that kills” is dramatic irony: the reader knows she actually collapsed from the loss of her new freedom.
The Story of an Hour · Kate Chopin
See it in action
Analyses on StoryBites that use dramatic irony:
The Story of an HourKate ChopinThe Tell-Tale HeartEdgar Allan PoeThe Cask of AmontilladoEdgar Allan PoeThe Open WindowSakiAn Occurrence at Owl Creek BridgeAmbrose BierceEdithaW.D. HowellsDesiree's BabyKate ChopinThe InterlopersSakiThe VeldtRay BradburyHop-FrogEdgar Allan PoeThe Man That Corrupted HadleyburgMark TwainA Retrieved ReformationO. Henry