In the epic poem The Canterbury Tales, author Geoffrey Chaucer presents the stories of several men and women on a pilgrimage to Canterbury. One of these tales is the Pardoner's Tale. In this tale three rioters set out on a mission to avenge their friend, but in finding a bag of gold their greed becomes the ironic death of them all. Irony is an important theme in this story, as several types of irony are included. Chaucer presents this irony in The Pardoner's Tale in two ways: the irony of the Pardoner himself, and the situational and verbal irony in the story the Pardoner tells.

Chaucer's depiction of the Pardoner presents irony in itself. Perhaps the most blatant irony in this story is the occupation of the Pardoner. The Pardoner begins his prologue proclaiming his righteousness as a man of God who does "Christ's most holy work" (241). As...