In Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" (1894), Louise whispers "Free! Body and soul free!"; when Brently returns alive, doctors call her death "the joy that kills." Which irony governs the ending?

In O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" (1905), Della sells her hair for Jim's watch chain while Jim sells his watch for Della's combs. What kind of irony structures the exchange?

In Shakespeare's Othello (1622), Iago tells Roderigo, "I am not what I am," while he performs loyalty for Othello. Which irony does this create?

In Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" (1846), Fortunato's name suggests good fortune, yet Montresor walls him up in the catacombs. What is the ironic effect?

In Macbeth (1623), right after Macbeth asks the stars to hide his "black and deep desires," Duncan praises him as "full so valiant." Which irony is at work?

In Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" (1890), the escape narrative ends, "Peyton Farquhar was dead." Which irony shapes the ending?

In Hamlet (1603), Polonius says "brevity is the soul of wit" inside a rambling speech. What irony does Shakespeare use?

In Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), Jack lies by calling himself Ernest, then learns at the end that Ernest really is his name. What kind of irony is this?

In Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death" (1842), Prospero locks pleasure and "security" inside, yet the Red Death enters the ball. Which irony governs the pattern?

In Macbeth (1623), the witches chant, "Fair is foul, and foul is fair." What does the paradox hold together?

In Macbeth (1623), Macbeth says the prophecy "Cannot be ill, cannot be good" and that "nothing is but what is not." What tension does the paradox expose?

In Hamlet (1603), Hamlet tells Gertrude, "I must be cruel only to be kind." How does the paradox work?

In Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), Algernon says, "The truth is rarely pure and never simple." What does the paradox suggest?

In Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" (1894), Louise weeps for Brently yet imagines years that "would belong to her absolutely." What paradox defines her response?

In Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death" (1842), Prospero's walls promise safety while making the ball a closed chamber for death. What paradox does that pattern create?

In O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" (1905), the narrator calls Jim and Della "the magi" after their gifts lose practical use. What paradox makes the praise meaningful?

In Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress (1678), Christian travels from the City of Destruction toward the Celestial City. What does that allegorical route map?

In The Pilgrim's Progress (1678), Vanity Fair sells "houses, lands," pleasures, bodies, and souls. What does the fair figure allegorically?

In The Pilgrim's Progress (1678), the pilgrims answer "We buy the truth" when mocked at Vanity Fair. What does that answer map?

In The Pilgrim's Progress (1678), figures such as Apollyon, Beelzebub, and Giant Despair confront Christian. How should those characters be read?

In Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" (1835), Brown leaves his wife Faith and later cries, "My Faith is gone!" What allegorical doubleness is at work?

In The Scarlet Letter (1850), Hester's A begins as a punishment, but some later say it means "Able." What does that shift do allegorically?

In Orwell's Animal Farm (1945), the animals overthrow Mr. Jones and take over Manor Farm. What does this allegorical setting map?

Swift's A Modest Proposal (1729) sustains economic diction: "computed," "profit," and "commodity." What does that extended satiric register do?

In A Modest Proposal (1729), Swift's speaker lists humane reforms, then says, "let no man talk to me" of them. What is the satiric effect?

In Candide (1759), Pangloss teaches that "all is for the best" while war and suffering repeatedly follow. How does the pattern satirize optimism?

In Gulliver's Travels (1726), rational horses judge the humanlike Yahoos as filthy and vicious. What does this satiric reversal do?

In The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), invented identities, courtship rules, and the name Ernest drive the whole plot. What does the extended irony satirize?

In Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death" (1842), music, wine, and masked spectacle continue while plague rages outside. What does the extended irony criticize?

In Animal Farm (1945), Orwell uses talking animals and a farm rebellion for political satire. What does that fable pattern make possible?