30 pages • 1 hour read
Hans Christian AndersenThe Emperor's New Clothes
Fiction | Short Story | Middle Grade | Published in 1837A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Literary Devices
Dramatic Irony
Dramatic irony in literature is an instance in which the audience or reader knows more than the characters in the story. Dramatic irony is often central to the framing of many works of fiction, “The Emperor’s New Clothes” included, and is often used to reveal information about a character’s intentions or to create tension in a scene.
Andersen uses dramatic irony to reveal the true nature of the swindlers and their fabric. The reader is told immediately that the weavers are liars, and that their looms are empty. This serves the narrative by removing any ambiguity about the true nature of the fabric. Had this knowledge been omitted, the reader would be left to wonder whether or not the fabric truly exists, or if the weavers are dishonest figures.
Flat Characters
Characterization refers to an author’s choice of details when describing and fleshing out their characters. Like most fairy tales, “The Emperor’s New Clothes” relies primarily on flat characters. Flat characters are often distinguished by a single defining characteristic, and they do not change or develop throughout the narrative.
The flat characterization in “The Emperor’s New Clothes” helps clarify and strengthen the social commentary and morality of the story. There is no ambiguity about any character’s drives or intentions, which enables the reader to focus solely on the narrative events. The emperor, for example, is a flat character who is driven by a love for new clothes and the feelings of authority they bestow upon him. These characteristics cause him to accept the swindlers’ lies and follow them to their humiliating conclusion.
Pacing
Pacing is the speed at which a narrative unfolds. The pace of a story can be slowed down or sped up to flesh out greater details or insights into characters or events as the author sees fit.
“The Emperor’s New Clothes” moves at a very fast pace with minimal digression or exposition, with no significant changes in pace. This creates a very simple and linear structure to the story. This is due in part to the story’s origins. “The Emperor’s New Clothes” was originally written as a children’s story, and its simple structure would be more effective at holding a small child’s attention. The story’s pacing serves readers of all ages because it allows the morality and social commentary to be received without disruption. Each narrative event unfolds without disruption, keeping the characters and their motivations at the forefront of the readers’ attention.
Setting
Setting is the time and location in which a story takes place. The setting is often one of the key framing devices of a story, as it establishes crucial context about events and characters, and can inform key themes.
“The Emperor’s New Clothes” is set in an unspecified mythic past (“Many years ago”) (Paragraph 1), in an unnamed, nondescript kingdom. This nonspecific framing is common in the fairy tale genre. This setting creates an effect of universality to the tale’s themes, symbols, and motifs. Because “The Emperor’s New Clothes” is not set in any particular time or place, it could theoretically be set anywhere. This blank canvas allows the reader to insert or project any setting or characters of their own choosing into their interpretation of the story. This allows the fairy tale to remain timeless and relevant to all readers.
