Irony in "The Pardoners Tale" and "The Nun's Priest's Tale" Irony is the general name given to literary techniques that involve surprising, interesting,or amusing contradictions. 1 Two stories that serve as excellent demonstrations of irony are “The Pardoners Tale” and “ The Nun's Priest's Tale,” both from Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. Although these two stories are very different, they both use irony to teach a lesson. Of the stories, “The Pardoners Tale” displays the most irony. First and foremost, the entire telling of the story is ironic, considering just who is the teller. T