Read the sentence. The audience watching the play knew the criminal was hiding behind the sofa, but the characters were unaware of this fact. This sentence describes an example of

Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something important that the characters do not. Here, the audience knows the criminal is hiding behind the sofa, while the characters are unaware, so this is dramatic irony. Situational irony involves an unexpected outcome, and verbal irony involves a difference between what someone says and what they mean.

AI-written and checked against the verified answer.