Editor's Choice
What is the verbal irony in Abigail's line, "Oh John, the world's full of hypocrites," in The Crucible?
"Oh John, the world's full of hypocrites," (Act 2, Scene 2).
Quick answer:
Abigail's line "Oh John, the world's full of hypocrites" in "The Crucible" is not verbal irony but situational irony. Verbal irony involves saying the opposite of what one means, but Abigail genuinely believes her statement. The irony lies in her being a hypocrite herself, accusing others of hypocrisy while she lies and manipulates. This reflects the broader hypocrisy of the Salem Witch Trials, where accusers commit injustices while claiming moral superiority.
Verbal irony is when someone says that opposite of what they really feel or mean. Often, verbal irony and sarcasm overlap. For example, say a little kid cuts his own hair and then goes to school the next day; another child, upon seeing this DIY haircut, sarcastically says to the first child, "Nice hair!" The second child does not actually like the first child's hair, and he says the opposite of what he means—verbal irony—in order to make fun of the first child. According to this definition, Abigail's statement about hypocrites is not verbal irony; she absolutely means what she says. In this scene, she apparently believes that people really are witches and they really are torturing her. She says just what she means, not its opposite.
A further definition of verbal irony identifies it as when someone says something that is contrary to the truth. When Abigail says that...
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"the world's so full of hypocrites," she is saying something that is actually true, though not in the way she means it: she refers to supposedly good Christians who are actually witches, but her statement is true of the supposedly good Christians who are actually covetous and vengeful, so much so that they accuse their neighbors of being witches. So, according to this definition, then, her statement doesn't really qualify as verbal irony.
If anything, I think her statement might best be called situational irony: a huge hypocrite points out other people's hypocrisy. That feels unexpected to me!
It is ironic that Abigail would say the world is full of hypocrites because she is a hypocrite.
Verbal irony is when a statement contradicts itself, or what is said is the opposite of being true.
Abigail is outraged that people who have been accused of witchcraft “pray in jail” and she tells John she cannot sleep at night while they are alive. When John asks her why they can’t pray, she answers that they “torture” her in her bed with “sacred words comin’ from their mouths” even though they are witches.
This is significant because most of the people that are in jail, especially the ones Abigail accuses, have done nothing wrong. They are standing in her way, for various reasons.
Another reason this is hypocritical is because Abigail accused Elizabeth, John’s wife, and will accuse John. Yet she is standing there telling John the world is full of hypocrites. Abigail is the liar, not the innocent people in jail. She is telling John lies at that very moment.
Abigail: If I live, if I am not murdered, I surely will, until the last hypocrite is dead. (Act 2, Scene 2)
This statement is also ironic, because what Abigal really means is that when her enemies are dead she can sleep well, which is Abigail being a hypocrite again.