Dramatic Irony: Revalation + Recognition = Audience Involvement

One of our goals as writers, techniques actually, is to get the audience involved in the story by making them look ahead, by making them think, "I wonder what will happen? "Can the kids sneak ET down the stairs past Mom?" "Can Schindler rescue the women from Auschwitz?" "What will happen to Thornhill at the Prairie Stop on Hywy 41, since we know that Kaplan doesn't exist?"

One technique to accomplish this is dramatic irony, where the audience knows something that a major character doesn't. The moment the audience learns this privileged information is called revelation. Revelation implies a moment of recognition, when the character learns it as well.

At the moment of revelation, the audience is hooked into anticipating the moment of recognition.

Examples:
- North by Northwest
Revelation Scene: At the Chicago train station, Eve tells Thornhill that Kaplan will meet him at the Prairie Stop on Hywy 41. But the audience knows Kaplan doesn't exist and wants to know what will happen to Thornhill.
Recognition Scene: death by cropduster
- Witness:
Revelation Scene: Samuel is in the police station with Book, trying to identify the murderer. No luck searching thru mug shots. So, while Book is on the phone, Samuel wanders the police station. He peers into a trophy cabinet... and spots a photo of the killer.
Recognition Scene: in slow motion, Book joins Samuel at the cabinet and discovers the killer's identity, stopping Samuel's overt point.