Troilus and Criseyde

“The double sorwe of Troilus to tellen.”

The first line of the poem uses ambiguity to establish a tone of suspense and anxiety. By referring to a “double” sorrow, Chaucer foreshadows that Troilus will experience multiple sorrows. This ambiguous phrase foreshadows how Troilus will feel both the pain of falling in love and the sorrow of being betrayed by a lover over the course of the narrative.

“O blynde world, O blynde entencioun!

How often fallen al the effect contraire

of surquidrie and foul presumpcioun.”

Chaucer employs an apostrophe—directly addressing an abstract concept—and personification in the first line of this quote, calling out to the world and to intention as though they were human and associating them with the human trait of blindness. This quote refers to the irony with which pride and confidence are often subverted. In the case of Troilus, his proud determination to never fall in love was ironically undermined when he fell in love with Criseyde.

“A fool may ek a wis-man ofte gide.”

This line spoken by Pandarus features irony, as a fool serving as a guide to a wise man is contrary to expectations. Pandarus uses self-deprecating humor here, referring to himself as a fool to persuade