Abstract: Pride and Prejudice is a masterpiece of British critical realism writer Jane Austen. The use of irony has achieved a great success in this novel, making the work more interesting, the characters more vivid and the language style more humorous. This thesis first gives a brief introduction to Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice. After having some basic knowledge of the author and the novel, we move to the part that how irony used in Pride and Prejudice. After the main concern of this thesis, there is a part that analyzes the purpose of using irony in this novel. In summary, this thesis analyzes the repeated use of irony in Pride and Prejudice by explication and literature methodology, researching how it makes contributions to portraying the characters, developing the plots and expressing the themes. Furthermore, this thesis expresses a great praise to the use of irony and stresses the importance of irony in literature. 

Key words: irony  Pride and Prejudice  character  plot  theme

Content

摘要：

Abstract:

Introduction-1

Chapter One A Brief Introduction to the Author and Pride and Prejudice-2

1.1 A Brief Introduction to the Author-2

1.2 A Brief Introduction to Pride and Prejudice-2

Chapter Two Irony Used in Pride and Prejudice-3

2.1 Irony Used When Describing Elizabeth-3

2.2 Irony Used When Describing Darcy-6

2.3 Irony Used When Describing Mrs. Bennet-7

2.4 Irony Used When Describing Mr. Collins-8

2.5 Irony Used When Describing Lady Catherine-10

Chapter Three The Purpose of Using Irony in Pride and Prejudice-11

3.1 Irony Used to Portray the Characters-11

3.2 Irony Used to Develop the Plots-12

3.3 Irony Used to Express the Themes-13

Conclusion-14

Notes-16

Bibliography-16

Acknowledgements-16