Yusupov Oybek Nematjonovich Ahmedova Nigora Shavkatovna

dramatic irony
when the author adopts the 
characters wrong viewpoint in order finally to ridicule him/her and reveal his/her 
naivety. The contrast between the adopted viewpoint and the author's viewpoint 
results in irony. Such is the case in 
The Lady’s Maid
by K. Mansfield, where
 
irony is 

---

223 
developed by contrasting the point of view of the naive narrator and that of the 
author. The irony is clearly felt despite the lively and friendly tone of the maid’s 
narrative.
One should, therefore, distinguish between the authorial tone and the 
character’s tone. Recall the story 
Arrangement in Black and White. 
The tone of the 
main character is lively, vigorous, excited. At the same time the story is a 
manifestation of the author's ironic attitude to radically prejudiced Americans. The 
irony is created by the contrast between the protagonist's simulated friendliness 
towards Negroes and her actual prejudiced attitude to them. The character’s vigorous 
tone is expressed verbally, whereas the authorial ironic tone is implied. 
Therefore, when irony is developed verbally, it affects the tone of the narrative 
and gives it an ironic ring. But when it is developed by extra-linguistic means, the 
tone need not be ironical. 
One should distinguish between the 
prevailing tone
of a literary work and 
emotional 
overtones
, which may accompany particular scenes in the story. They all 
form a “
tonal system
” which reflects the changes of the narrator's attitude to his 
subject matter. The emotional overtones generally form a “tonal unity”, which means 
a consistency of attitudes towards the events and characters. This consistency of 
attitudes is reflected in the consistent use of language appropriate to the events and 
characters. The tonal unity forms the prevailing tone of the story, which plays the 
dominant role and determines to a great extent the message of the literary work. 
In 
The Cop and the Anthem, 
the emotional overtones vary as the plot unfolds. 
The tone is humorous in the following passage: “If he could reach a table in the 
restaurant unsuspected success would be his ... The total would not be so high as to 
call forth any supreme manifestation of revenge from cafe management; and yet the 
meat would leave him filled and happy for the journey to his winter refuge”. The 
tone is dramatic in “He would pull himself out of the mire; he would make a man of 
himself again; he would conquer the evil that had taken possession of him. “But the 

---

224 
prevailing tone of the story is ironic. It is produced by the numerous cases of verbal 
irony in the narrative and reflects the author’s attitude to the problem raised. 
As stated above, the tone expresses not only the relationship between the 
narrator and the subject matter, but also the relationship between the narrator and the 
reader. 
The narrator may establish an intimate, personal, or formal relationship with 
the reader. Hence he may discourse at ease and assume a familiar tone, or he may 
retain a relative distance and narrate in an official tone. The indices of this aspect of 
tone are also linguistic. 
The