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Examples Of Irony In The Canterbury Tales

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Irony in Canterbury Tales
Sometimes things happen to certain characters for very specific reasons and some of the things they do or what happens to them is very ironic. Irony can occur in many different ways and can come at very different times. In addition, it can affect people in all sorts of ways and every person has their own way to react. Irony affects the characters in The Canterbury Tales and also the characterizations of their traits. This seen throughout the “General Prologue” but also many tales including “The Wife of Bath” and the “Pardoner’s Tale”.
Irony is seen through the storyline of many people in the characterizations of the “General Prologue”, especially the Monk and the Nun. As a monk, you are supposed to devote your life to God and follow all of his teachings. However, instead of turning his life over to the faith he viewed hunting as one of his best hobbies, “Hunting a hare or riding at a fence was all his fun, he spared for no expense” (lines 195-196). The monk was not the only character who displayed irony, the Nun expressed very ironic traits throughout …show more content…

In the tale, the Knight marries the Old Lady after she tells him what women want most. He has to do this because Queen Guenevere helped the Knight get out of his punishment put down by the king for raping the girl in the woods in the beginning of the tale. However, the Old Lady quickly notices that the knight is unhappy because he thinks she’s old. She then tells him to decide if she wants her loyal and old or young and unfaithful. The knight can’t decide so he asks the Old Lady, she chooses to be, “young and lovely, rich and charms” (lines 127). Instead of picking one of the choices, she chose the best of both and was young and beautiful but also faithful to the Knight. Even though the Knight raped the girl, he ends up with a young, beautiful, and faithful

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