Language & Imagery

At GCSE, the examiner wants to see you analyse how Austen uses language — not just what characters say. This lesson covers Austen's key techniques, her use of irony and free indirect discourse, dialogue analysis, and the novel's imagery patterns, with detailed analysis of important passages.

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Irony: Austen's Defining Technique

Irony is the single most important technique in Pride and Prejudice. It operates on every level — in individual sentences, in character arcs, and in the novel's overall structure.

Types of irony in the novel

Type	Definition	Example
Verbal irony	Saying the opposite of what is meant	The opening line — "It is a truth universally acknowledged"
Dramatic irony	The reader knows something a character does not	We see Darcy falling for Elizabeth before she does
Situational irony	Events turn out the opposite of what is expected	Elizabeth, the best judge of character, is the most deceived
Structural irony	The narrator's tone undercuts the characters' views	The narrator's detached amusement at Mrs Bennet's excesses

Analysing the opening line