Irony In The Pardoner's Tale

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The Pardoner’s Tale, in and of itself, is ironic. The topics that are presented as morals within the story and the Narrator are both paradoxical in nature. In this story, there are characters who are protagonists, reflecting society as a whole and human nature. Throughout The Pardoner’s Tale, Geoffrey Chaucer examines and critiques the sins of society and the effects of giving in to those sins. As the tale begins, the three youths are seen in a bar. The drinking is representative of the beginning of the downfall of the three youths. Drinking lowers a person’s inhibitions and leads to make unwise decisions, just as the youth do later on and throughout the story. The drinking also exposes their baser instincts and this can be seen in the youth’s avarice for the destruction of death and greed for the gold. What makes this part especially ironic is that the Pardoner is the narrator. As a supposed representative of all that is holy and good, the significance of him choosing this tale is not lost. His choice in tales reflects his inner and true nature which is just as corrupted as the youth’s. …show more content…
They, being inebriated, decide that Death is most certainly in the next town and that they will kill it. On their way, they meet an old man. Typically, within moralistic tales such as this one, kindness toward the infirm and elderly is rewarded later on while animosity and ill will are recompensed. These actions not only depict the type of retribution that the travelers will receive but also the personality of the performer of these actions. The three rioter’s disregard for the old man reflects their later demise at the hands of Fate and karma. Chaucer, by simply narrating their actions, subtly criticizes the men’s failure to live up to the ideals of

Irony In The Pardoner's Tale

servants of the Church in this tale (i.e., the Pardoner, the Friar and the Monk). His censorship of those who disserve the people in the Church's name is found in reading between the lines. Through the Prologue, we are given insights into the hearts of the people on this pilgrimage. Chaucer keeps his sense of humor as he describes each, and while he shares the tale each member tells. Each tale casts a clearer light on each character, though those like the Pardoner miss the irony between his/her life and…

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Examples Of Irony In The Pardoner's Tale

The Pardoner’s prologue and tale both present the readers with various examples of irony. Chaucer’s focus on irony primarily lies within the corruption of religious figures. Even though Chaucer remains consistent with this observation, Geoffrey also has the pardoner tell a tale that is ironic in itself. The first example of irony is the very apparent difference between the telling of a moral tale and how its alignment with the Pardoner's lifestyle. The Pardoner is very hypocritical and preaches that…

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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 of…

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Chaucer Pardoner Essay

“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…

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Liberalism and Modern Society Essay

that is that not all humans are perfect. Although Chaucer’s tale and O’Connor’s short story are centuries apart they share the same warning in their theme which cautions us to beware of the evil doings and sins around us. The two stories connect also by the deficiency of how well things may seem but come out to be 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…

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Examples Of Irony In The Canterbury Tales

As you read the Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer, you come across many examples of irony. Irony is used in almost every form of writing and has been used for ages. Irony adds a twist to stores and makes them much more interesting to read. Chaucer uses irony in an extremely skilled way to keep his readers on edge for the storey. Now let's take a look at three of the best examples in the Canterbury Tales. We, as the readers, are aware that the Canterbury Tales are story of avarice and evil. The…

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The Pardoner In The Canterbury Tales

the Church in this specific tale (i.e., the Pardoner). Chaucer’s covering of those who scam the citizens in the Church's name is found reading between the lines. Throughout his introduction, we are aloud to see the hearts of the people of this journey. Geoffrey Chaucer keeps humor throughout this introduction as each member tells their tale. Every tale shines a specific light on a character, though some of the irony between the members lives and the message of their tale goes over their head; somewhat…

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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…

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Compare And Contrast Canterbury Tales And The Pardoner's Tale

Lust is a sin that can teach a lesson leaving horrible life consequences or it can kill you. In the Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer introduces two characters, The Pardoner and The Wife of Bath's, who are depicted as negative characters, tell stories proving this statement to be an unarguable fact. That is only one theme of the two; having lots of money does not make you above all and others inferior and you can be the richest man or woman ever but still be the poorest of the poor. Although, these…

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do not read this Essay

Chaucer: the Master of Detail Chaucer wrote the Canterbury Tales around the end of the 14th century. His story was meant to be told only by himself to the people in the court however, Chaucer was never able to complete his story. Even though, the Canterbury Tales was never completed; his tale continues to live on still today. Chaucer was able to use even the smallest details to help make his characters come to life. “No detail was too small for him to observe, and from it he could frequently…

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