Read the following excerpt from Chaucer's "The Pardoner's Tale." "And then Death went his way without a word. He's killed a thou
sand in the present plague." This excerpt provides an example of which of the following? A. The author's use of verbal irony to illicit a feeling of dread. B. The author's use of simile to create imagery and establish tone. C. The author's ability to create suspense to advance the plot. D. The author's ability to relate a literary work to an historical context.
Answer: I would contend that the right answer is actually the A) The author's use of verbal irony to illicit a feeling of dread.
Explanation: Just to elaborate a little on the answer, it can be added that the author is not comparing two unrelated things, so he is not using a simile. The author is personifying death, that is, attributing it human qualities. He says that "Death went his way without a word," without announcing its presence, even though he and his readers know that death neither talks nor walks. He continues by noticing that he has already killed a thousand people. This mocking or sarcastic tone is called irony, and, in this excerpt, it has been used to suggest a feeling of dread and intimidation.
