Chaucer Pardoner Essay

Submitted By Anita-Kwong
Words: 628
Pages: 3
Open Document
“Church: Salvation To Stealing”

Throughout the Middle Ages, attitudes toward the Catholic Church intensified socially and politically. One of the, Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer is, “The Pardoner’s Tale.” In the “The Pardoner’s Tale”, Chaucer uses the character of the Pardoner to reveal the corruption in the Catholic Church and to help change the attitudes of people in different classes. Chaucer wanted the people of the time to see that the upper classes were using the Catholic Church to defraud the people of the lower classes. The character of the Pardoner preached lies to the people and made them think impossible things could happen and conned them into giving him money. Chaucer admits the Pardoner as being a fraud and greedy man. Chaucer uses irony and satire throughout “The Pardoner’s Tale” to reveal the corruption taking place in the church and using humor to illustrate that problem. “The Pardoners Tale” helped change the way the people thought about the Catholic Church.
Irony is when words are used to describe the intended meaning, but in reality it means something different. Chaucer uses irony to describe the corruption of the Church. One example he says is, “Radix Malorum est cupiditas,” which means that having greed is the root of all evils (pg.1, line 6 in “The Prologue to the Pardoner’s Tale”). The Pardoner preaches that gluttony is the reason for people’s sins. In fact, “For he [the Pardoner] is most enveloped in all sin,” which means that the Pardoner is most likely the most sinful of all the travelers (pg.1, line 480 in “The Pardoners Tale”). The Pardoner “will drink good liquor of the vine and have a pretty wench in every town.” (pg. 4, line 124-125 in the “Prologue to the Pardoner’s Tale”) These quotes reveal the Church’s political abuse of power because the clergy are supposed to be ordained for religious duties and preach salvation. The Pardoner is supposed to be pardoning people or forgiving their sins; but instead, he is preaching them lies to get them to buy their pardons. This shows corruption of the church officials who are capable of abusing their powers for their own benefit.
Satire is the usage of humor to criticize people’s behaviors and stupidity in attempt to bring about change. Chaucer uses elements of satire to politically and socially show the corruption of the church and help change the attitude toward the Catholic Church. One example, spoken by the Pardoner is, “My holy pardon cures and will
Show More

Related Documents: Chaucer Pardoner Essay

Essay on Criticism of the Church in the Canterbury Tales

The 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 Bocaccio's Decameron. The tales are organized within a frame narrative (Encyclopaedia…

Words 1569 - Pages 7

Canterbury Tales Essay

Worldly Dishonest By Me 15.2.13 Write a 750-word essay on the following topic: Compare the different functions of, attitudes towards, and/or adherence to Christian values in two or three of the pilgrims’ tales. Consider ways in which each pilgrim’s life role and appearance compares or contrasts with his or her actions and the story he or she tells. The Canterbury Tales is one of the milestones of English literature. Its author, Geoffrey Chaucer stands side by side with giants of the literary world…

Words 635 - Pages 3

The Pilgrimage In Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

spiritual significance and is usually taken to a shrine or a location of importance to one’s belief. In The Canterbury Tales several characters are introduced such as the Pardoner,Wife of Bath and the Friar. Chaucer creates the characters to be hypocritical as their actions aren’t that of religious figures. Robert Boeing in “The Pardoner,his Prologue, and His Tale” says “Hypocrites are like fake beggars who, when they have noticed someone coming, move their lips in pretended holiness, in order to receive…

Words 1220 - Pages 5

Liberalism and Modern Society Essay

another. Like “To deceive mankind for his business,” (Reiss) is how the pardoner did his business. In “The Pardoner’s Tale,” the pardoner admits in his preaching that he preaches for money: But let me briefly make my purpose plain; I preach for nothing but for greed of gain And use the same old test, as bold as brass, Radix malorum est cupiditas And thus I preach against the very vice I make my living out of –avarice. (Chaucer 131) The pardoner’s point seems clear. That people can be deceiving…

Words 853 - Pages 4

How Is Irony Used In The Pardoner's Tale

The Canterbury Tales Irony Essay In the book of The Canterbury Tales by, Chaucer, there is a pristine pattern of irony throughout each character and each story in the book. The Canterbury Tales, is a collaboration of stories of character and tales told throughout a pilgrimage. Each story has its own moral and meaning to its theme, but many of the tales are ironic in their morals. Where irony is most present in The Canterbury Tales is seen through the stories of, “The Pardoner's Tale”, “The Wife…

Words 865 - Pages 4