The two genres might seem totally different, but the reason they're both so popular is perhaps because what they have in common: their use of dramatic irony.

這兩種類型的作品看來完全不同，但它們都受人歡迎的原因也許是來自於它們的共同點：運用戲劇性諷刺。

First, let's clarify.

首先，先說清楚。

There are three types of irony out there.

有三種類型的諷刺。

Situational irony is when you expect one thing, but get the opposite.

情境諷刺是發生的事和你的期待相反。

Verbal irony is when someone says something, but truly means the opposite.

言語反諷則是指一個人說話的表面意義，和他真正要表達的東西完全相反。

Dramatic irony, though, is what we will be looking at right now.

現在，讓我們來看看戲劇性諷刺是什麼。

Dramatic irony is when the audience seems to know more about an event, a situation, or a conversation than the characters in the movie, on the show, or in the book do.

戲劇性諷刺發生在觀眾比電影、戲劇、或書中的角色，知道更多關於某個事件、某種情況或對話的時候。

The audience is in on a secret that the characters have missed.

觀眾知道劇中角色並不知曉的秘密。

This is a great story-telling device that creates tremendous emotion within that text.

這是一個厲害的說故事的方法，能創造出巨大的情緒張力。

Think about it for a moment.

試著想像，

How does it feel when, in a horror film, you know that the scary villain is hiding behind that door in the darkened room?

看恐怖電影時，你知道可怕的惡棍躲在漆黑房間的門後，你的感覺如何呢？

The music becomes eerie.

音樂變得怪異，

The lighting creates complete shadows.

燈光創造出一塊黝黑陰影。

This has to be bad for the hero!

這對主角來說可不是什麼好事！

Of course, though, that hero must enter the room to find the villain.

當然啦，主角一定會進入房間並找到那個惡棍。

You feel tremendous tension and the suspense of knowing that someone will jump out and be scary, but you just don't know when.

你感到巨大的張力和懸念，因為知道之後有人會跳出來，但不知道是什麼時候。

That tension is dramatic irony—you know something more than the characters in the film.

這種緊張的情節即為戲劇性諷刺，也就是你比電影中的人物知道更多的事。

Now, take the typical comedy.

現在，讓我們來看看典型的喜劇。

There will probably be some type of "misunderstanding".

劇中可能會有某種類型的「誤會」。

Again, we know more of what is going on than the characters do.

同樣地，對於正在發生的事，我們比劇中角色知道更多。

Picture two characters making a plan for a birthday surprise for their roommate, while that roommate overhears the entire conversation from the hallway.

想像兩個角色為他們室友計劃生日驚喜，而他們的室友在走廊上聽到了整段對話。

From there, confusion and misunderstanding occur, and the tension builds.

從這裡開始，產生了某種混淆、誤解，創造出張力。

But this isn't the same tension as the horror film since it is probably pretty funny, as the character tries to figure out the whos and the whats.

這和恐怖電影中的張力不同，因為這可能挺滑稽的，劇中人物正試著找出是誰發生了什麼事。

But it serves as a great example of the tension and suspense of dramatic irony.

但這可以作為一個好例子，用來解釋戲劇性諷刺的張力和懸念。

This tension or suspense in both genres drives the story and keeps the plot progressing.

存在於這兩類作品的張力或懸念驅使故事發展，保持情節推移。

The audience wants, no, needs, to see the tension of the dramatic irony broken,

觀眾們想要，不，觀眾們需要真相揭曉。

either by the scary person jumping out of the shadows, or by someone finally revealing someone's true identity and clearing up the confusion.

要麼陰影中跳出恐怖的人，或某人終於揭示另一人的真實身份並澄清誤解。

So, when you feel like you are in on a secret, that is dramatic irony, a hallmark of all the great writers from Shakespeare to Hitchcock.

所以，當你覺得你比主角所知道的還多，這就是戲劇性諷刺。一個所有偉大作家，從莎士比亞到希區考克都會使用的技巧。