Understanding Chaucer's The Pardoner's Tale
Understanding Chaucer's "The Pardoner's Tale" "The Pardoner's Tale" (Coghill, 1977) was written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the Middle Ages. As stated by Takami Mastuda the tale "warns against the deadly sin of avarice and teaches that spiritual death can indeed become the cause of physical death and eternal damnation" ( 313). The Pardoner tells a story dealing with death in order to get the pilgrims to buy indulgences. " 'The Pardoner's Tale' ultimately questions the efficacy of worldly prudence in the face of death. With this tale Chaucer approaches the theme of death with critical knowledge of the late medieval scheme of salvation..." (Mastuda 324). The tale puts considerable emphasis on the character of the Pardoner, and his personality. "The tale is a demonstration of the Pardoner's usual tactic, in which he manipulates the readings of an orthodox exemplum for personal gain, stressing, as the tale conveys the dreadful consequence of coveting money" (Mastuda 314). A question that is often asked in regard to "The Pardoner's Tale" is why Chaucer chose a pardoner. "Certainly, their scandalous reputation would have suggested them to Chaucer as likely candidates for any study in religious hypocrisy..." (Fletcher 118).
Another matter worth referring to is the hypocrisy of the Pardoner. Chaucer also writes about evil in "The Pardoner's Tale. " The Pardoner associates himself with 'death' both through his lack of productivity and through his sins" (Higuchi 166). In conclusion, there were many aspects about the Pardoner that Chaucer wanted the reader to see. The Pardoner tries to sell fake relics to the pilgrims in exchange for the absolution of their sins. In the fourteenth century there were many false pardoners, who were nothing but vagabonds, or beggars, or secular clerks, and who hawked false pardons and relics" (Higuchi 165). "The work of a Questor was, in itself, useful and even commendable. His business was to collect money by an appeal to the charity of Christian people, on special religious occasions and for the special religious purposes.
Common topics in this essay:
Tale Chaucer,
Church Questor,
Pardoner's Tale',
Pardoner's Fletcher,
Chaucer Pardoner,
Pardoner Chaucer,
Pardoner's Tale,
Takami Mastuda,
Pardoner SummonerStorm,
Chaucer's Pardoner,
pardoner's tale,
storm 810,
canterbury tales,
tale chaucer,
hypocrisy pardoner,
chaucer chose pardoner,
chaucer reader,
special religious,
pardoner tries,
pilgrimage storm,
religious hypocrisy,
pilgrimage storm 810,
higuchi 165 tale,
pardoner's tale chaucer,
higuchi 166 pardoner,
|
Acceptance Essays
