The Ironic Title "Chronicle of a Death Foretold"

The title, "The Chronicle of a Death Foretold," is ironic because of Marquez's word choice. A chronicle is defined as a sequential record of events and to foretell is the act of predicting the future. The two words contradict one another because records of history cannot exist before the events that create that history occur. This title can also be seen as the unfolding of a prophecy. The death foretold being the prophecy and the chronicle being how the events unfolded. I see both possibilities in this title, but also I interpret chronicle to be multiple events, not just one. This is another contradictory aspect of the title. A death happens in a single moment, therefore a chronicle of a death is not possible in the sense that it is not a string of events.

-Elliot