English Literature / Unit 4 ENL 0316 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Irony in the General Prologue
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The idea
Because the narrator praises where the details condemn, the General Prologue is built on irony. The Pardoner's relics are pigs' bones, the Prioress's motto is about love, and the pilgrims behave like holidaymakers. Readers supply the judgment the narrator withholds.
In practice
Praise in the words, blame in the facts.
Where people slip
Irony questions often turn on this gap.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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