Irony is seen throughout this whole play and can be recognized by many in many different ways. We come across dramatic, which is very hard to determine in "Hamlet", we also see situational, and verbal, or sarcasm, as well. Below are some examples of each and some possible interpretations of how I viewed them to be.
             Lets first look at some dramatic irony throughout the play. There is very little in the play where only the audience is aware of something that one of the characters does not already know. One that comes to mind is in the very last scene when the audience is aware of the poisoned swords and Hamlet is not. Up to that point the audience, because of the peculiar intimacy, which Shakespeare builds into Hamlet's character, knows exactly what Hamlet, knows as he knows himself! The audience becomes an accomplice to Hamlet's confusion; his despair and his deception of others and he communes with the audience directly, using it as a sounding board for his own deliberations. One of the only other ones I came across would be when Polonius is killed. The audience is aware that it is Polonius behind the curtain and not the King as Hamlet believes. This occurs in Act 3, scene 4, hamlet stabs through the arras and Polonius states, "O' I am slain!" (3.4, 26) and Hamlet responds by still believing it is the King, "Nay, is it the King?" (3.4, 28), "Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell (3.4, 33).
             Another type of irony would be situational where something happens that is not expected. One instance would be during the sword fight between Laertes and Hamlet. Hamlet escapes death for a while only because, contrary to everyone's expectations, he's a much better fencer than Laertes. When he gets the first hit, Laertes can't believe it until Osric makes the official call, "a hit, a very palable hit" (5.2, 281) Laertes wants to start the next bout right away, but the King has alr
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