I don’t know what’s the matter, we’re all so solemn. Is it because I’ve been stood up by my beau?
– Tennessee Williams
A Streetcar Named Desire, Scene 8. Blanche tries to make light of the fact that Mitch has not turned up for her birthday. But it is obvious she is struggling and trying to hide her true feelings. Dramatic irony is created here, because Blanche doesn’t know why Mitch is absent, but the audience does: Stanley has told him of Blanche’s dark and promiscuous past.