Pardoners in the Middle Ages Essay - 1041 Words

Though told by a self-confessed liar and hypocrite, the tale has a powerful moral and imaginative effect. How far do you agree with this view of the text? Chaucer’s pardoner is an enigmatic, paradoxical figure, both intriguing yet repulsive. From the very beginning of his Prologue the Pardoner makes no attempts to hide his â€Å"ypocrise,† instead taking a perverse pleasure in the extent of his corruption. As seen in the portrait of the Monk in The General Prologue, Chaucer allows the Pardoner to condemn himself. He purposely reveals his methods of extracting money from† the povereste widwe in a village† his contempt for his usual audience of â€Å"lewed peple† and complete disregard for the doctrines of the Church. The Pardoner’s†¦show more content†¦Of course, we have to bear in mind that while the pilgrims hear the Pardoner’s rhetorical skills we hear Chaucer’s skill as a poet. In his digression the Pardoner melodramatically denounces a number of sins, making extensive use of rhetorical devices such as hyperbole, anaphora and apostrophe: â€Å" O glotonye, ful of cursednesse! O cause first of oure confusioun! O original of oure dampnacioun.† He seems to use these to involve and unnerve his audience and effectively keep all eyes on him. He alludes to both the Bible and classical mythology, citing Biblical prophets, historical figures and philosophers. In contrast the tale itself is relatively plainly told and we can safely assume that the Pardoner is well practiced in the art of telling this specific tale and even inserts some of his sermon into it. His sermon is based on several medieval conventions, such as that of the mysterious old man, whom Dr. McIntyre identifies as a â€Å"representation of the immanence and inescapability of death,† something which would have struck a chord with a medieval audience suffering from the onslaught of the Black Death. The tale is an example of a very well defined genre with its own conventions and devices; nevertheless the pardoner makes it his own through his own use of rhetorical flourishes and poetic detail. HeShow MoreRelatedThe Pardoners Prologue And Tale By Chaucer Essay1425 Words   |  6 Pagespeople for financial gain, which was relevant in society during the Middle Ages. In Chaucer’s story, the Pardoner uses his influence and tells a tale of three men to convince the people to pay for him to pardon their sins. Chaucer’s tale and story is often used to emphasize the moral values in our society. There are many points in the tale that are based on the theme of greed being the cause of all evil in humanity, and the Middle Ages was a period of great societal change in Europe. â€Å"The Pardoner’sRead MoreChaucer s The Canterbury Tales1064 Words   |  5 PagesGeoffrey Chaucer, The Author of the Canterbury Tales, is known as the Father of English Literature and is one of the greatest English Poets of the Middle Ages. Chaucer was a soldier, a diplomat, a civil servant, and a courtier, enabling him to experience different aspects of each social ranking, which he demonstrated through his poetry. 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The Pardoner: An effeminate and shamelessly immoral man, the Pardoner is intensely self-loathing yet devoted to his task of defrauding people of their money by making them believe that they have sinned and need to buy pardons. His tale is an allegory about three rioters who find death through their avarice. The Pardoner uses this tale as an attempt to sell false relics to the travelers. The Miller:Read MoreCanterbury Tales Character Analysis1334 Words   |  6 Pagesmanipulative, with a few clergy who are honest and genuine in their exertion. Therefore, the ecclesiastical persona has the dispositions of either being con-men and charlatans or being devout and God-fearing. The other characters portray the themes of the middle ages of greed, prestigious, fraud, barbarity, vengeance and others. This novel consists of stories that illustrate rank and nobility and how sin is involved in these aspects of the social order. Each tale portrays their own interpretation of gender equalityRead MoreThe Pardoners Tale By Chaucer Theme Analysis1533 Words   |  7 Pagesmany themes can be found in these tales. Among the various pilgrims featured in the Canterbury Tales, the Pardoner is one of the most fully described characters. Chaucer goes into great detail describing the Pardoner. The Pardoner is a fraudulent huckster who shows who does not care about passing off f alse items as the relics of saints. He also sells indulgences in exchange for money. The Pardoner shifts from moments of direct honesty to shameless deceit, openly admitting the tricks of his trade toRead MoreGeoffrey Chaucer s The Canterbury Tales867 Words   |  4 Pagesthese characters have a convincing or questionable personality. Chaucer first sets the mood by providing an overall idea of each character before they tell their stories. 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In Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales he clearly brings to light his thoughts and concerns of â€Å"ethical cleansing.† No tale more fully expresses this idea than that of â€Å"The Pardoner’s Tale† and â€Å"The Nun’s Priest’s Tale.† â€Å"The Pardoner’s Tale† suggests a profile of the Pardoner as a moral man, aRead More Canterbury Tales Essay646 Words   |  3 PagesMueller 2 Chaucer explains that he breaks the written laws and precedents set by people recognized as Saints and highly acclaimed people. The Monk is a lazy, disgusting man who lived a dishonest and imprudent life. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The Pardoner and Summoner appear together in amp;#8220;The Prologue.; They further illustrate an example of Chauceramp;#8217;s awareness of a defiled Church. Chaucer provides humor to his description of the Summoner in that amp;#8220;heamp;#8217;d allowRead MoreCriticism of the Church in the Canterbury Tales1576 Words   |  7 PagesThe Canterbury Tales, a collection of tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, was written in Middle English at the end of the 14th century (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2011). It is considered to be the best work of literature in English in the Middle Ages (Johnston, 1998). Chaucer uses literary devices as no one had ever done. In addition, he chose to use English instead of Latin. This masterpiece is structured in a similar way as Bocaccios Decameron. The tales are organized within a frame narrative (Encyclopaedia