Analyze Effects of Dramatic Irony Practice Test

Read the passage and answer the question.

In the auditorium wings, Sienna whispered, “You’ve got this,” to the seventh-grade emcee, Marcus, and straightened his tie like she was his manager. “Just read the script. Don’t improvise.”

The reader has already seen what Sienna hasn’t: Marcus’s script is missing page two. It fell out in the hallway and slid under a vending machine, where it now rests beside a dusty quarter. Marcus never noticed because he was too busy practicing his dramatic bow.

Onstage, the curtains opened. Marcus stepped into the spotlight, blinking like a deer in headlights. He began confidently: “Welcome, everyone, to our annual Talent Night. Tonight, we will—” He paused and flipped the page. His smile froze.

Backstage, Sienna mouthed the words along, still believing he had every line.

Marcus cleared his throat. “Tonight, we will…” He glanced toward the wings as if the missing words might be floating there. “We will… have… talents.”

Sienna’s eyes widened. The audience laughed, not unkindly, but loud.

What is the author’s most likely purpose for using dramatic irony in this passage?

Read the passage and answer the question.

Maya balanced the paper bag against her hip as she stepped into the dim kitchen. The storm had knocked the power out, and the only light came from the phone flashlight she held between her teeth. She hummed—too loudly for the quiet house—and kicked the door shut with her heel.

Upstairs, her brother Eli’s video game paused mid-battle. He had heard the back door click, and he had also heard the soft scrape in the pantry when he’d gone for cereal five minutes earlier. That scrape wasn’t the house settling. It was a shoe sliding on tile. Eli had whispered into his phone, “Dad, someone’s in the pantry,” and his father had said, “Stay upstairs. I’m calling the police. Don’t let Maya go downstairs.”

But Maya didn’t know any of that. She set the bag on the counter and called, “Eli? I brought chips! And the salsa you like.” She grinned into the darkness, proud of her peace offering.

From the pantry came a slow, careful breath—so quiet Maya mistook it for the wind. She walked closer anyway, tugging at the pantry handle. “You left it open again,” she said, teasing, as if her brother were hiding for a joke.

What effect does the dramatic irony create in this passage?