Maria and Tony on the fire escape (Dramatic Irony)
After the dance, Maria and Tony meet on Maria's fire escape. While the viewer is privy to their budding love affair, the other characters, particularly Maria's family and the other Sharks, have no idea that the meeting is taking place. We also know that the members of the respective gangs would not approve of the affair, which only heightens the tension of the dramatic irony.
Maria after the rumble (Dramatic Irony)
The viewer witnesses the rumble, in which both Bernardo and Riff are killed. Making matters even worse, Tony is the one who kills Bernardo, Maria's brother. Immediately following the rumble scene, we see Maria on the roof waiting for Tony, blissfully ignorant of his crime. In this moment there is dramatic irony because the viewer knows something very important that Maria does not.
Tony kills Bernardo (Situational Irony)
Tony promises Maria that he will go to the rumble and help diffuse the tension between the two gangs. She wants the fighting to stop and she trusts Tony to be the one to end it. Thus, it is particularly ironic when Tony goes to the rumble and ends up killing Bernardo, Maria's brother, in an impassioned moment of vengeance.
Maria's "Death"
Maria’s “death” is a good example of dramatic irony. The audience knows something important that an important character does not, when Anita lies and tells the Jets that Maria has been shot. Believing this, Tony runs out into the street calling for Chino to kill him. He has no idea that Maria is still alive, but the viewer does, which causes an intense scenario of dramatic irony.
