The Fragileness of Marriage
             Irony is a writing technique, often used by authors, involving surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions. The two most popular types of irony are dramatic irony, a contradiction between what a character thinks and what the reader knows to be true , and situational irony, an event that occurs that contradicts expectations. In the mock epic, The Canterbury Tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer, two of the tales, specifically "The Reeve's Tale" and "The Franklin's Tale", employ both dramatic irony and situational irony to depict the fragile nature of marriage. Though each tale tells a unique story, with different conflicts and situations of irony, both exemplify Chaucer's ideas.
             Dramatic irony and situational irony are repeatedly used within "The Reeve's Tale" when describing the characters, the many contradictions and their situations. Symkyn, the main character in "The Reeve's Tale", works as a miller and is a jealous, proud and untrustworthy man. The Reeve describes the miller and his way of life when he states,
             He was a thorough-going market bully
             Whom none dared lay a hand on or come near
             Without him swearing that they'd buy it dear.
             He was a thief as well of corn and meal,
             And sly at that; his habit was to steal.
             He is dishonest in his business dealings and steals from Cambridge, and the less fortunate. Two students from Cambridge, John and Aleyn, are told to grind mill for the miller attempting to outsmart him and catch him stealing. This idea expresses the irony of the situation as the miller does not know that the boys are trying to catch him. When the two men are working, the miller releases their horse. While the two students are retrieving their horse, Symkyn successfully steals their flour and orders his wife to make dough with it. Adding to the irony, the miller steals fro...