Eric Pompa
Shearhart
English IV Period 6
October 27, 2010
Oh the Irony
Irony the one thing everyone find funny until it happens to them. As if someone could not believe it was possible for that to happen. Like when one person tries to trip another and in return they fall. When trying to avoid each other those people end up running in to each other. In the Pardoners Tail Chaucer illustrates three types of Irony through out his story. The three types are dramatic when the audience knows something that the characters don’t, Situational is where something unexpected happens, and verbal irony when someone quotes something and means the opposite of what happens. In this story Chaucer tells of three writers who seek out death. The true irony of the whole story is that death finds them.
Dramatic irony happens every where in “The pardoner’s tale”. Chaucer illustrates dramatic irony in many ways and helps give a better understand of this by being descriptive. In lines 205 through 214 “So that we shared it out just the two of us wouldn’t you take it as a friendly act?”Chaucer illustrates dramatic irony through this quote because the second and third men are talking about how they should kill the first when he gets back so they can have all the gold between the two. The irony in this is that the first man tries to bargain with the other two while they plot against him to his death.
Another way Chaucer throws irony into “the pardoner’s tale” is through verbal irony. Verbal irony is shown many times but one that stands out is in lines 220 through 223. ““Trust me” the other said “you needn’t doubt my word. I won’t betray you, I’ll be true”” The irony in this quote comes from the fact where one believes what another says only for it to not be true. It is Ironic that the second man says you can trust me because he really means to kill the first man. This is like when kids tell there parents they will be good when really they plan to go out and make the wrong...