illustrated tablesetting with a plate containing a large lamb-leg roast resting on a puddle of blood

Lamb to the Slaughter

by Roald Dahl

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Irony in "Lamb to the Slaughter" and Mary's Cleverness

Summary:

Roald Dahl's "Lamb to the Slaughter" employs verbal, situational, and dramatic irony. Verbal irony is evident in the title, suggesting innocence while the lamb becomes a murder weapon. Situational irony arises when the devoted wife, Mary, unexpectedly kills her husband and cleverly disposes of the weapon by feeding it to the investigating officers. Dramatic irony occurs as the audience knows the officers are eating the evidence, while they remain unaware, leading to Mary's successful deception.

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What types of irony are present in "Lamb to the Slaughter"?

Situational irony occurs when something that happens is the opposite of what we would normally expect to happen or find appropriate. Certainly, the major piece of situational irony is found when Mary Maloney, who Dahl goes to great lengths to depict as a loving wife who is devoted to her husband, in a moment of madness, kills him. Consider how she is introduced:

For her, this was always a blissful time of day... She loved to luxuriate in the presence of this man, and to feel - almost as a sunbather feels the sun - that warm male glow that came out of him to her when they were alone together.

Mary Maloney is presented as being so obsessed with her husband that nothing is too much to ensure his comfort and happiness. Then it is a complete shock to us as readers when she kills him with the frozen leg of...

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lamb:

At that point, Mary Maloney simply walked up behind him and without any pause she swung the big frozen leg of lamb high in the air and brought it down as hard as she could on the back of his head.

This action is completely the opposite of what we would expect a character like Mary to be able to do. The second piece of situational irony comes when she manages to very coolly and in a calculating fashion organise an alibi and the removal of the murder weapon. Consider the last line, where Mary celebrates the success of her plan:

And in the other room, Mary Maloney began to giggle.

Again, this criminal behaviour and outwitting of the policemen is not the kind of activity we would expect to see from a devoted housewife. Both of these incidents serve to shock us in the story through the use of situational irony.

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What is an example of situational irony in "Lamb to the Slaughter"?

Situational irony is when what happens is different or the complete opposite of what one might expect or would be usual in a given situation. Thus, there are two steps involved in creating situational irony: setting up an expectation for the reader, then breaking that expectation with something unexpected.

In "Lamb to the Slaughter," Roald Dahl sets up the readers' expectations of what kind of person Mary is when he describes her:

Mary Maloney was waiting for her husband to come home from work. Now and again she glanced at the clock, but without anxiety: She merely wanted to satisfy herself that each minute that went by made it nearer the time when he would come home. ... For her, this was always a blissful time of day. She knew he didn't want to speak much until the first drink was finished, and she was satisfied to sit quietly, enjoying his company after the long hours alone in the house. She loved to luxuriate in the presence of this man, and to feel—almost as a sunbather feels the sun—that warm male glow that came out of him to her when they were alone together.

Mary is a devoted housewife who dotes on her husband. She cares deeply for his comfort and finds time spent with him "blissful." However, things change after her husband shocks her with the news that he is leaving her:

[Mary] simply walked up behind him and without any pause she swung the big frozen leg of lamb high in the air and brought it down as hard as she could on the back of his head.

By killing her husband, Mary performs an action that is inconsistent with the image the reader has of her character and personality, resulting in situational irony. Following her murderous act, Mary surprises readers once more, as she suddenly, with a now "clear" mind, puts together an alibi for herself, primarily concerned for the safety and future of her unborn child. Mary's cool and calculated behavior for the remainder of the story is just as—if not more—surprising than her crime.

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What are examples of dramatic, situational, and verbal irony in "Lamb to the Slaughter"?

There are many examples of irony in "Lamb to the Slaughter," but the penultimate line of the story is exceptional in providing examples of situational, dramatic and (arguably) verbal irony all at once. The line is:

Probably right under our very noses. What you think, Jack?

The situational irony here could scarcely be stronger: the policemen are eating the evidence for which they have been searching so assiduously. The dramatic irony is similarly strong: the reader knows how Mary's husband was killed and shares her amusement at the unintentional aptness of the policeman's comment.

Finally, there is an unusual variety of verbal irony in the phrase "right under our very noses." This is not sarcasm, since the policeman does not intend to be ironic, but he uses what is intended to be a non-literal phrase with ironic exactness. When we say something is right under our noses, we mean it is in plain sight, not that it is literally immediately beneath the nose. The mouth, however, is literally beneath the nose and the officers have been chewing the murder weapon as they discuss its absence.

There are, of course, more traditional examples of verbal irony in the story, including the title, which suggests that the lamb is a sacrificial victim rather than a bludgeon.

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I have had to edit your question down to focus on one question alone - multiple questions are not allowed under enotes regulations.

In this excellent short story the biggest kind of irony that is at work is situational irony. Consider how Mary Maloney is presented as the perfect wife in the opening paragraphs - she loves her husband deeply and waits upon him hand and foot:

She loved to luxuriate in the presence of this man, and to feel - almost as a sunbather feels the sun - that warm male glow that came out of him to her when they were alone together.

How surprising and unexpected, then, that the next minute she kills the object of her affection.

Dramatic irony is of course also present when we and Mary know that the police are actually eating the murder weapon whilst they are talking about looking for it:

"Personally I think it's right here on the premises."

"Probably right under our very noses."

Of course, the dramatic irony is that the police are right - for they are consuming it.

Lastly, verbal irony is also evident when Mary Maloney asks the policemen to do her a "small favour." Obviously, this isn't a "small favour" - it is actually a massive favour so she can commit the perfect murder and never be charged with what she has done.

Dahl is a master of irony and we can clearly see the three types of irony in operation in this excellent short story.

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What is ironic about the murder mystery in "Lamb to the Slaughter"?

It's a slight hyperbole to say that everything about this murder and the police trying to solve it is ironic; however, the story does contain multiple types of irony throughout it.

Situational irony is displayed in Mary killing her husband in the first place. It is completely unexpected. We are introduced to Mary being the quintessential doting housewife. She is patiently waiting for Patrick to get home. Once he does, she lives to serve his every need, and she does it while placing drinks in his hand. We are told that she loves to "luxuriate" in his very presence. It's incredible to see that within 20 minutes Mary is caving his head in with a leg of lamb, figuring out an alibi, and figuring out how to dispose of the murder weapon.

Verbal irony is displayed when Mary asks the investigating officers for a "small favor." She would like them to stay for dinner and eat the lamb. There is nothing small about her request. It is seemingly innocent and quite generous, but having the officers dispose of the murder weapon is a huge favor.

Finally, the story shows great dramatic irony at the very end of the story. The officers are discussing where the murder weapon could be, and the one officer states that it is probably very nearby. He jokingly states that the weapon is probably right under their noses. It's dramatic irony because the reader knows that the murder weapon is quite literally under their noses.

“Personally, I think it’s right here on the premises.”
“Probably right under our very noses. What you think, Jack?”
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The real irony of this murder mystery is that the police actually end up eating the murder weapon. Remember that after receiving bad news from her husband, Mrs. Maloney murders her husband by hitting him over the head with a frozen leg of lamb that she had intended to cook for his evening meal.

Later, when the police arrive, Mrs. Maloney cooks the leg of lamb. She tells the police that she wants them to eat it because it seems a shame to let the meat go to waste. What she is really doing, however, is disposing of the evidence of her crime.

This irony is most evident in the final lines of the story. One of the police officers says,

Probably right under our very noses. What do you think, Jack?

Ironically, it really is under his nose because he is eating it.

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How does "Lamb to the Slaughter" represent dramatic, situational, and verbal irony?

"Lamb to the Slaughter" definitely has all three of those types of irony. The verbal irony might be the least prevalent, so I'll start there.  One of the last things the investigating officers say is about the murder weapon.  

"Personally, I think the weapon is somewhere near the house."
"It's probably right under our noses. What do you think, Jack?"

The line is ironic, because the murder weapon really is right under their noses.  They are eating the weapon as they speak.  

Another example of verbal irony is when Mary says the following line:

I know that Patrick would never forgive me if I let you stay in the house without offering you anything to eat.

It's ironic, because Patrick can't forgive her either way any more.  He's dead.  

The dramatic irony of the story is also the part where the officers are eating the lamb.  Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something that all or most of the characters do not know.  In this case, the reader knows that the lamb is the murder weapon.  The police do not; therefore, they go about happily eating it.  

Situational irony is when something happens that is the opposite of what the reader would normally expect to happen.  I can think of two clear examples of situational irony in the story.  The first is that Mary Maloney clubs her husband to death with a chunk of meat.  The story opens with her being the perfect doting wife.  She's practically a member of the Stepford Wives Club.  It is completely unexpected that she would kill her husband.  The second major piece of situational irony is how Mary deals with the murder.  She is cool, calm, and collected.  She goes about setting an alibi and getting rid of the murder weapon.  That one really took me by surprise.  

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How is irony used in "Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl?

The main irony of the story is that a meek and mild housewife becomes a murderer—and not just any murderer, but a murderer who expertly covers her tracks and gets away with her crime. In general terms, all of the numerous ironies of the story point toward a role reversal, which is itself ironic. The policemen investigating the crime don't suspect Mary of carrying out this brutal killing. They're still operating under the sexist assumption that Mary, as a loyal and faithful housewife, is simply incapable of such a thing. Detectives are supposed to be inherently suspicious, to go where the evidence leads them and not to assume anything. Yet when it comes to Mary, all that goes by the board, and their sexist assumptions, which had previously kept Mary in a state of subordination, give her a sense of power and control for the first time in her life.

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Irony is one of the most commonly employed literary techniques in "Lamb to the Slaughter." It is ironic, for example, that the main character, Mary, is described early on as having "placid eyes," but she then goes on to murder her husband—the very antithesis of being placid.

Moreover, Patrick's request that Mary does not cause any "problem" for him in the divorce is given an ironic twist by the very fact of his murder. Mary's use of the leg of lamb as a murder weapon is also ironic when the meat that was designed to nourish Patrick is instead used to end his life.

In a final twist, Mary feeds this leg of lamb to the policemen who come to investigate Patrick's death; they sit in her home, with mouths "full of meat," and have no idea they are eating the murder weapon they are so keen to discover.

By employing irony in this way, Dahl adds an element of dark humor to his story and suggests Mary might just get away with murder.

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What is the irony in the title "Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl?

The term "lamb to the slaughter" is usually used figuratively rather than literally. As a figure of speech, it means an innocent person who is being set up as a sacrifice or dupe without realizing what is going on.

At first, it seems as if the innocent, sixth-month pregnant Mary—who looks like the Virgin Mary with her translucent skin and big eyes—is the lamb to the slaughter: we find out that she is being sacrificed to her husband's desire for a divorce, presumably so he can marry another woman. She seems to have done everything to be a good wife. She seems to be an innocent victim of her husband's selfishness.

Situational irony is when the opposite happens from what is expected in a story. Verbal irony occurs when words mean the opposite of what a reader expects. In the phrase "lamb to the slaughter," Dahl uses both situational and verbal irony. Mary, unexpectedly, is not the lamb to the slaughter: the situation works out in the opposite way. Sweet Mary slaughters her husband. And in a use of verbal irony, she literally uses a lamb (leg of lamb) to slaughter him. The phrase "lamb to the slaughter" is literal, not figurative, because she whacks her husband on the head with a frozen leg of lamb and kills him.

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How does Roald Dahl use irony in "Lamb to the Slaughter" to highlight Mary's cleverness?

Because Mary is introduced to the reader as a sweet, loving and dutiful wife to Patrick, her heinous crime is all the more shocking. After she has murdered Patrick by hitting him over the head with the frozen leg of lamb, she has the presence of mind to roast the evidence in the oven, creating a plausible scenario for the police who come to investigate. It appears that she couldn't have killed Patrick because she has hurried out to the shop for vegetables while the main course of their dinner was cooking.

Mary's cover up is all the more brilliant because she insists on feeding the roasted lamb to the policemen in the house. Dahl utilizes situational irony when the police consume the only physical evidence that could have linked Mary to Patrick's murder.

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The title itself is using verbal irony. Normally when someone says "lamb to the slaughter" it refers to a lamb that is unknowingly going to be killed. That is not the case with this story. The phrase "lamb to the slaughter" this time means a lamb is coming to do the actual killing. I keep hearing in my head something like "superman to the rescue," but with "lamb, to the slaughter!"

Another use of irony is dramatic irony. That's the kind where the audience knows something the characters do not know. In this story that occurs at the end when an investigating officer states that the murder weapon is likely just under their noses. He doesn't realize that the murder weapon is very much indeed under his nose, since--because of Mary's brilliant presence of mind--he is eating the lamb that was used to bludgeon the victim, Patrick, to death. 

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How does Roald Dahl create an ironic tone in "Lamb to the Slaughter"?

Roald Dahl's classic short story "Lamb to the Slaughter", opens with an idyllic setting in which an expectant mother, Mary Maloney, waits in the comfort of her home for her husband, Patrick, to return from work. Roald's description of such marital bliss serves as the antecedent to the ensuing tragedy. This is basically the beginning of a tale rampant with irony.

The room was warm and clean, the curtains drawn, the two table lamps alight-hers and the one by the empty chair opposite. On the sideboard behind her, two tall glasses, soda water, whiskey. Fresh ice cubes in the Thermos bucket. Mary Maloney was waiting for her husband to come from work.

It is hard not to engage in the feeling of comfort and peace that the scene evokes. One can almost connect to the character of Mary, especially every time that her emotions are put forward. She is clearly in love with her husband, happy with her pregnancy, and feels safer than ever. After all, her husband is a police officer as well!

However, this opening scenario slowly begins to fall apart. Roald Dahl uses suspense and inference to explain how Patrick Maloney comes home basically to disclose to his wife that their idyllic life is over: He has decided to leave her.

“So there it is,” he added.  “And I know it’s kind of a bad time to be telling you, bet there simply wasn’t any other way.  Of course I’ll give you money and see you’re looked after.  But there needn’t really be any fuss.  I hope not anyway.  It wouldn’t be very good for my job.”

Patrick's callousness is ironic when it is contrasted with Mary's good nature. It is more ironic still, because to this moment we, as readers, come to understand that Mary's blissful life may have been a sham all along.

Shortly thereafter we encounter the biggest irony of the story: Mary snaps, hits Patrick with a frozen leg of lamb and the combination of the hit and his fall kill him in the act.

It is ironic how Mary collects herself enough to create an alibi (going to the grocers to get vegetables and to "lay out" that Patrick is at home waiting for their meal. Then, she calls the police station to say that she found Patrick dead after coming from the grocers.Then she places the leg of lamb in the oven: She begins to cook up the evidence.

After the officers come to investigate, she cleverly uses her pregnant state to sit and play the hostess by offering the men some whisky....and a delicious leg of lamb that had been intended for Patrick. All this irony creates a tone of irony, of dark humor, and even of morbidity in the story.

Finally, when the mean have "their mouths full of meat", the most frightful, witty and yet oddest of all ironies develops when the men discuss finding the evidence:

One of them belched.

“Personally, I think it’s right here on the premises.”

“Probably right under our very noses.  What you think, Jack?”

And in the other room, Mary Maloney began to giggle.

The scene is shocking: Mary giggling after killing her husband and getting away from it. The same Mary which, hours before, waited dutifully for her husband. The tone here is disbelief, shock, and terror to a point. Anyone is capable of anything.

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What is ironic in Roald Dahl's "Lamb to the Slaughter"?

In Roald Dahl's "Lamb to the Slaughter," the greatest irony in the story is how Mary Maloney literally gets away with murder with the help of the police—and they never realize it.

Generally, irony is the difference between what one expects to happen and what really happens.

Irony makes use of hyperbole, sarcasm, satire, and understatement.

Mary Maloney is pregnant and a devoted wife. One evening her husband, a policeman, comes home from work and tells his wife that he is leaving her. Much more concerned with himself (and how this will affect him at work), he is unaware that his wife is so stunned.

Almost in a daze, Mary goes to the basement to get something from the freezer for dinner. Even as he hears the sounds of preparation for a meal, Mary's husband tells his wife he doesn't want anything to eat—but he gets much more than food: for as he gazes out the window, Mary approaches him from behind and bashes him in the head with a frozen leg of lamb, killing him. There is some irony here, too: he doesn't want food; she doesn't give him food—but uses the "food" to kill him.

As he lies on the floor, Mary worries about what will happen to her if she is caught. Leaving his body where it has fallen, she puts the lamb in the oven to cook. Then she runs to grocer as if she needs more things to make an unexpected dinner for her husband (since they usually go out for dinner on Thursday nights). This provides her with an alibi. Returning home, ostensibly to find her husband murdered, she calls the police. They arrive and start looking for clues. Unbeknownst to them, the murder weapon is not only being cooked in the oven, but it will eventually be their dinner. There are several forms of irony at the story's end. First, one officer imagines that the weapon might be right there in front of them. (This is dramatic irony: Mary understands the irony, but the policemen do not.)

One of them belched.

“Personally, I think it’s right here on the premises.”

“Probably right under our very noses.  What you think, Jack?”

The other example of irony (called "situational irony") is that the men have disposed of the murder weapon themselves. This is not what one would expect the police to do: and they do it with no knowledge that they have done so.

The woman stayed where she was, listening to them speaking among themselves, their voices thick and sloppy because their mouths were full of meat.

There is irony, too, in that the men not only eat, but that they finish the meat: as a favor to Mary, for she tells them she couldn't eat a thing. Dahl's story abounds with instances of irony, which make it darkly entertaining.

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Why does Roald Dahl use irony in "Lamb to the Slaughter"?

Dramatic irony is when the spectator or reader knows something one or more of the characters do not. In this case, the reader knows that Mary has killed her husband and is trying to get away with it. The police, doctors, and photographer have no clue. Dahl keeps the reader in suspense in this way. The reader waits anxiously to see if Mary will get away with the murder. It is interesting that some (maybe most) readers will root for Mary without realizing they are rooting for a murderer. With the detectives unaware of the fact that they are eating the evidence they are looking for, the story develops into a dark comedy. The irony is so rich (pun on being rich and tasty), it is unbelievable to the point of absurdity. 

Verbal irony is when a statement's actual meaning is different from what is expressed. Verbal irony tends to be intentional. For example, when someone says that a window is as clear as mud, he/she means that it is dirty, not clear. But verbal irony can also be unintentional. If the auditor/reader/spectator discerns a meaning other than what is expressed, this also qualifies as verbal irony. In one of the last lines, one of the investigators, speaking of the evidence, says to Jack, "It's probably right under our noses." He means this figuratively; he means to say that the weapon is probably somewhere easy to find. He is correct, but he has no idea that the meat they are eating was the murder weapon. He has no idea that the evidence is literally under their noses as they eat it. This example of verbal irony is used for dark comedic effect. 

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