DRAMATIC IRONY by Tom Hanham
HELP! I don’t have much time. I’m being held hostage and Philip Shelley is forcing me to write a newsletter, I don’t even know what dramatic irony is…
Dramatic irony is a literary device, in which the reader knows something that the characters do not, to create suspense, conflict or humour.
Perhaps, this opening plea should have used it. Maybe, if the reader knew more, they would have shouted “he’s behind you” and I’d be free. But, such is life. To the newsletter…
Dramatic irony is a truly potent tool for any screenwriter, because, regardless of experience or reputation, we all have the same first goal: to get the reader to the end. Without wanting to step on other newsletters or list the qualities of a great script, the simplest means to keep your reader reading is by creating anticipation. Dramatic irony is an easy way to do this because it demands the reader’s attention. Simply by asking – what happens next? So get those pages turning with dramatic irony and demand their attention… EXPLOSION!
A famous explanation of dramatic irony is Alfred Hitchcock’s “Bomb theory”. To paraphrase, it’s the idea that if a bomb explodes on a train, you can surprise the audience momentarily. But, if you show the audience that a bomb is soon to explode, you have anticipation via suspense and that is dramatic gold dust. The audience becomes desperate to warn the characters. They’re now locked in, on the edge of their seats, screaming at the screen… “Get off the train!” They are no longer just an audience – they are now participants in the storytelling.
So, if dramatic irony is the gap between what audiences know and what characters don’t, how do screenwriters actually use it? How do you get dramatic irony into your pilot? How do you drop the skimmer of your script into a cold-plunge of captivation forgetting to breathe? How do you get them to ‘participate’?
Well, there’s a few ways…
Perspective shifting gives the audience new information. Like in Silence of the Lambs, when Clarice Starling chases Buffalo Bill into his pitch-black basement. We learn Buffalo Bill has night vision goggles and start shouting “DON’T GO IN THERE!”
Foreboding leverages past information. Take the coin toss scene in No Country for Old Men. The audience already knows Anton Chigurh is a psychopath and they know when he asks the cashier to call heads or tails, there’s significantly more at stake. It charges everything with tension. It makes what could have been a simple scene, a subtextual masterclass. So, heads or tails?
But, the easiest way to get audiences participating is to build dramatic irony into your premise by giving your characters a secret. Now, I can’t be the only one whose preferred form of procrastination is writing extensive character bios. I’m not just stewing – knowing how many pets they had as a child is important! So, if like me you’re already writing bios about everyone and their dogs. Give Shia Le Woof a secret. Demi-glace this stew. Full Bourdain. Boil down the bones of your characters. Add secrets for seasoning. Double the depth and create character umami…
But, how do we find a character’s secret? Simple. Reverse it. Psychological eversion. Go outside in. Who is your character? Who do they present themselves to be? What is their job or their main want? Make their secret at odds with that. As flawed as necessary. Fuck the cat. Because, all truly complex characters are contradictions and all drama is reconciliation. So start peeling away the layers of your character’s essence, by giving them a secret that matters…
Then hold the secret. Let it breathe. We’ve all written “BEAT”. So, let the audience sit with it. Then push it to its limits. Have close calls, misunderstandings and near misses. Threaten the secret in any and every way you can. Put Baby in the corner. Dramatize the emotional toll of the secret. Then double down. Up the ante. Never fold. What happens when the secret gets out? Well, you’ll have to turn the page to find out…
Series constantly build dramatic irony into their premise through secrets. It’s one of the reasons we kept coming back. Breaking Bad had Walter White hide his criminal ventures (and cancer) from his family, most notably Hank, which builds to an inevitable reveal. Sex Education had Otis, the teenage sex therapist, hiding his own sexual insecurities while handing out advice. He’s a walking contradiction and we know he’ll eventually have to confront it. The Fall and Killing Eve follow the relationships between a serial killer and a detective. But, both have opening scenes that give the audience information. They let us in on a secret and immediately show us who the killer is…
Matthew Weiner, the creator of Mad Men, claimed dramatic irony is the most effective tool for driving a story. It’s no shock. The entire premise of the show builds upon Don Draper’s secret, that he’s selling advertising and an alter ego. The layers of his character’s essence begin to peel in the pilot when we learn he’s married. Don’s alter ego is intangibly tied to his adultery and the audience knows both will be revealed…
Because, ultimately dramatic irony leverages an audience’s need for resolution. What happens next? Will they discover Shia Le Woof is a man in a costume? Will the characters get off the train before the bomb explodes? How long do I have to write this newsletter before I’m free? Will you use dramatic irony in your next script?
It’s been a pleasure writing to you all and I should say I was never held hostage. Sorry, Philip. But, I do love dramatic irony because it’s simple and effective. It’s letting the reader in on a secret and teasing its inevitable reveal. It’s pure suspense. It’s edge-of your-seat. It’s forgetting to breathe. It’s screaming at the TV. It’s a reader finishing your script. So, try it. Or don’t. Either way, dramatic irony is always going to be behind you. A constant reminder of what readers actually want from us – to participate…
Tom Hanham is a London-based writer from Kent. He was a writer on 4Screenwriting 2024 and previously worked in the writers room on LUPIN. He’s repped by Ikenna Obiekwe at Independent Talent. His projects include a fashion drama about 90s modelling, a comedy drama about British drinking culture and a satirical drama about cancel culture. Tom has a particular interest in exploring the morally grey, by creating character-driven ensemble drama in eclectic worlds that speak to wider societal observations and aim to answer deeper philosophical questions.
Thank you very much Tom for your insights and for your generosity in sharing. I worked with Tom on 4screenwriting 2024 and the script he wrote on the course, LASH, is truly outstanding.
The next newsletter will be on Friday May 30th.
Best wishes
Phil
PHILIP SHELLEY
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Friday May 16th 2025
