In a play, dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something that a character, or characters, doesn't know. The audience is aware of information that one or more characters on stage are unaware of. This can cause humor or sadness for all involved.
In act 3, scene 5, Juliet and
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andLady Capulet are discussing Tybalt's death. However, during these lines, Juliet is actually talking about Romeo. The dramatic irony occurs when Juliet cries over Romeo, but her mother believes she is crying over her cousin's death.
When Juliet finds out that Romeo has killed Tybalt out of vengeance for Mercutio, she is heartbroken. Not only has she lost her cousin, but her husband has also been banished from Verona as punishment. She stays in her room crying over this tragic mess.
When Lady Capulet comes to see her, Juliet says she is "not well," which her mother assumes is due to Tybalt's death. She believes Juliet is "weeping for [her] cousin's death," but the audience, Juliet, and the Nurse all know she really cries over Romeo's banishment.
When Juliet says she "might venge [her] cousin's death," she means she wants to reverse this situation so that she can be happily married to Romeo, who is now deemed a murderer. We see this wordplay again when Juliet shares her feelings about revenge:
Indeed I never shall be satisfied
With Romeo till I behold him—dead—
Is my poor heart so for a kinsman vexed.
Here, Juliet uses the word dead, but the hyphens disguise Juliet's true meaning. To her mother, it reads she wants Romeo dead. To Juliet, it means her heart is dead. The word kinsman could also relate to Tybalt, her cousin, or her husband, Romeo.
The audience (along with the Nurse and Friar Lawrence) is aware of the mess Romeo and Juliet have created. However, everyone else is blind to their marriage and their fate which creates dramatic irony.