Preview

Use Of Irony In The Pardoner's Tale

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
248 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Use Of Irony In The Pardoner's Tale
As the prominent civil rights leader of Indian movement, Mahatma Gandhi said, There’s enough on this planet for everyone’s needs, but not for everyone’s greed.” In the Pardoner’s Tale the term “radix malorum est cupiditas” is the Latin meaning “the love of money is the root of all evil.” It is ironic that the Pardoner uses this term because at the end of the story all the rioters die because of their greed for fortune.
The concept of irony is demonstrated all throughout the rioters in the story. The young rioter’s intentions were to kill the other noisy and disorderly individuals he found the gold with. Little did he know, their intentions were malicious as well. Imagine wresting with someone you’ve traveled with in search of death and stubble

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the story Camp Harmony, by Monica Sone, the author uses irony in her story in many ways. First off, the title of the story is called Camp Harmony, and the camp itself is not a very happy or beautiful place. We see this when the author writes,¨It must have rained hard the night before in Puyallup, for we sank ankle deep in gray, glutinous mud¨ and ¨They're the only beautiful things around here¨, referring to dandelions. This show irony because the camp is actually a dull place and it has a cheerful name.…

    • 94 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In Legend by Marie Lu the author uses situational irony to add unexpected or mysterious actions to keep the plot rich and interesting. At this point in the story, June and Thomas are watching a riot begin. June and Thomas are watching from a raised platform outside Batalla Hall. The riot began because of the sentencing of Day, they did not want/like that. The main problem that shows situational irony is that instead of just throwing dust bombs or tar gases (like they normally do), the soldiers are positioned on top of some building and then start firing at the crowd with their guns, killing more than a hundred people.…

    • 271 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Irony is a literary technique, originally used in Greek tragedy. In the story, The Pedestrian Bradbury uses irony to write the whole story. Mr. Mead wasn’t doing anything wrong, he was just walking and yet he was arrested. Another example of irony is in the story Fahrenheit 451 when he explains the fireman’s theory. “Plant the books, turn in the alarm, and see the fireman’s houses burn, is that what you mean?” (85). The wrong is so obvious in both of these examples but things that are wrong still happen and irony is used to make us see these wrongs…

    • 562 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Irony is an event that the reader expects to happen, but is the quite opposite, usually for a funny or dramatic effect. In An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, Peyton Fahrquar is sentenced to death by hanging by the federal military during the civil war for attempting to burn a bridge they were controlling. In this short story, Fahrquar jumps off of the bridge with the noose around his neck and his hands and feet tied, but he still lives. This is an example of irony because the reader will expect him to die instantaneously, but suddenly it was as if the rope grew longer and he fell into the water. As he ‘escapes’, sharpshooters aim and fire, but not a single round will touch him. At the end of the short story, it explains how Fahrquar runs all night to get to his family, just as…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Both Geoffrey Chaucer in “The Pardoners Tale” and Sam Raimi in the film “A Simple Plan” composed moral tales exploring the concept of greed and corruption. Both composers suggest that a person’s good morals can be easily corrupted by the power of greed; both composers explore the fatal consequences of greed and corruption which affirms the importance of a morally sound society. However, Chaucer, composing in a medieval context communicates that greed and corruption may be fostered by a lack of material comfort or wealth suggesting that moral standing comes from deep, religious foundation while Raimi composing within a contemporary timeframe, conveys when physical conditions are inadequate, the temptation to be greedy is increased, this saying that moral code formed in a secular society where the boundaries can shift according to the situation. The study of both the differences and the similarities between these texts is essential in achieving an understanding of these issues explored.…

    • 1043 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Arthur Miller, one of America’s greatest playwrights, living or dead, is a master of verbal irony. An examination of three strong examples of verbal irony in Millers play, The Crucible, will prove this out. While Miller started the genre of the tragedy of the common man, and is also know for his thoughtful and decisive plot lines, much of his fame, possibly can be attributed to his brilliant use of language generally, and his use of verbal irony in particular.…

    • 713 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of the easiest irony to spot is the situational ironies in the tale itself. Situational irony is define by dictionary, "an outcome that turns out to very different from what was expected" (Situational Irony). The three rioters who looked for death but instead it was death that found them. This situational irony shows how death is extremely elusive and how it is unconquerable. Humans can never seek out and kill death. This could symbolize fatalism during the middle age. When the three rioters seeks out death, their fate was already determined and no matter how much Death is not something you seek out, it is something that finds you at the most expected moment of your life. The three rioters thought they had their whole life set when they found the treasure, but it was then that death decide to take their lives. Possibly, death found them because they were looking for it in the first place. Nothing good comes out from seeking death and this clearly shows the implications of doing so. There is also an verbal irony during the Pardoner 's Tale. When the youngest rioter left to get food, one of the older one said, "Trust me, ' the other said, 'you needn 't doubt My word. I won 't betray you, I 'll be true" (Chaucer 254). The one who said this consider the other two as…

    • 1079 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A profound example of irony occurs in Esther 6:1-6:11, when Haman mistakenly believes that King Ahasuerus wants to honor him. Suffering from insomnia, the king reads the royal records and finds out that Mordecai had prevented an assassination attempt on his life. Realizing that Mordecai was never rewarded for this act, the king summons Haman to consult with. The king asks Haman, “What shall be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor?” (Esther 6:6). Haman, thinking he is the one the king wishes to recognize, comes up with the greatest honor his mind can…

    • 650 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Verbal irony occurs when a writer or speaker says one thing but really means something quite different. One example of this type of irony is found in lines 216-217: " ‘Trust me,' the other said, ‘you needn't doubt my word. I wont betray you. I'll be true.'" The rioter is telling the second that he would never betray his friends, yet he is plotting to kill the youngest rioter, whom he promised to defend and treat like a brother earlier on in the tale. Another example occurs when the youngest tells the apothecary that he has a lot of rats he wants to kill. A rat, in the literal meaning of the word, is a furry little creature that humans tend to despise. However, the rats spoken about here by the youngest rioter are his two comrades who are back in the woods, lusting over the gold.…

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Dog Rhetorical Analysis

    • 479 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Irony: Points to discrepancies between what exists and what ought to be. It is asubtle tactic that assumes an audience of careful readers. It implies some sort of discrepancy or incongruity, and it counts on the readers’ ability to understand this…

    • 479 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Religious pilgrimages have been the foundation of religion since the dawn of time. In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer identifies an infamous character that shares his ironically moral tale along with those whom accompany him on the way to Canterbury. This particularly wretched pilgrim was the Pardoner: a most loathsome and diabolical character.…

    • 490 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Irony in crucible

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Irony is a contrast between what is stated and what is meant, or between what is expected to happen and what actually happens. The Crucible is a play by the American playwright Arthur Miller, and is filled with examples of irony throughout the play to build suspense and create anxiety. Arthur Miller used three kinds of irony, and they are dramatic, situational, and verbal irony. The Crucible is filled with many examples for each kind of irony through the play.…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are six sins that can keep you from going to heaven if committed. These sins include gluttony, envy, pride, laziness, anger and lechery. Greed can blind a man to taking the evil path and thinking it is the right one. It can also make it hard to differentiate between right and wrong. The Pardoner’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer is a tale showing gluttony taking the life of three so called faithful friends. The desire for money and wealth makes one discourteous, greedy and sinful as portrayed by the three friends stabbing each other in the back. These three men got their share of consequences accordingly to their unmannerly behavior. The first act will show the three rioters coming to ignorant conclusions while being drunk. The next act will show how the three companions act with the old man. Then the last act will show how the greediness for treasure and wealth takes over the three companions and makes them stab one another in the back.…

    • 711 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    "Radix Natorum est Cupi datas", meaning "greed is the root of all evil". The transformation of The Pardoners Tale into A Simple Plan has allowed Raimi…

    • 1254 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    satire in pardoner's tale

    • 1497 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Canterbury Tales is one of the greatest analogy of stories in English language, for its satirical language that had great impact in British society. One of the tales, the pardoner's tale, which comes after the Physician's Tale and before the Shipman's Tale, is one of the best piece of literature demonstrating the use of satire. The pardoner's tale satirizes the hypocritical pardoners who do the deeds that they themselves condemn, stupidity of drunkenness, and the consequences of being avaricious by using dramatic irony, situational irony and Juvenalian satire.…

    • 1497 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays