Language & Imagery

At GCSE, the examiner wants to see you analyse how Orwell uses language — not just what characters say or do. This lesson covers the key imagery patterns, rhetorical techniques, and language features in Animal Farm, with detailed analysis of important passages.

---

Irony

Irony is Orwell's most important literary technique. Animal Farm operates on multiple levels of irony simultaneously.

Types of irony in the novel

Type of irony	Definition	Example from the text
Dramatic irony	The reader knows more than the characters	We know the Commandments are being changed; the animals do not
Situational irony	The outcome is the opposite of what was expected	A revolution for equality produces a new dictatorship
Verbal irony	Words mean the opposite of what they appear to mean	"All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others"

Key examples of irony