Irony plays a key role in Susanna Clarke’s story “John Uskglass and the Cumbrian Charcoal Burner” as it not only makes the actions happen in the story, it creates humor as well. Irony, in simple words, is a gap—a gap between expectation and the reality. In the story, this gap creates tension among characters, especially two major characters: the Charcoal Burner and the Raven King. However, this conflict is humorous one (though irony does not necessarily always create humor, it is a serious tool used by dramatists like Sophocles and Shakespeare). The most ironic part of the story is the ignorance of both the major characters about each other’s identity. For the Charcoal Burner, the Raven King is simply “a black man” (216) who changes his pig into a salmon. He is angry with this man also because he does not speak with him. The Charcoal Burner goes to the priest and makes a plea for giving punishment for his “wicked enemy” (217). These episodes are ir...