“The Pardoner’s Tale”

How can irony be an effective tool to both teach and manipulate?

3 young men of drunk and riotous behavior search for Death.

An old man whom they insult tells them that Death lies up the hill under a tree.

They find bags of gold and plot to send the youngest for food and wine and then kill him for the gold.

He returns with poisoned wine. They all die.

The Pardoner’s Tale

Some Background… Pardoners sold pardons—

official documents from Rome that pardoned a person’s sins.

The Pardoner in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales is dishonest.

The Pardoner often preaches about how money is the root of all evil.

Death personified The Pardoner’s Tale is a reminder

that death is inevitable. Death is personified as a thief who

pierces the heart of his victims. The tale refers to death as the person

responsible for slaughtering one thousand by his hand during the plague (line 670).

The three men from the bar are determined to challenge death because he has taken away their friends.

This was an iconographic image of death throughout the middle ages and later. (image taken from www.vidimus.org/.../issue_40_2010-03.html )

How did Chaucer feel about the role of the Pardoner in society/ the church?

Hypothesize…

Explain the role of death in “The Pardoner’s Tale”

Chaucer’s dissatisfaction

There was widespread dissatisfaction with pardoners (as also with money-loving Friars) in Chaucer's time, and both were popular subjects of satire and joking.

“The Pardoner’s Tale” is an allegorical, satirical, and ironic conveyance of the greed of the church and the recognition that the church was corrupted during this time period.

A symbolic representation.

In “The Pardoner’s Tale” we are exposed

to the symbolic representation of the

vices of humanity- The Seven Deadly

Sins

ALLEGORY

The Seven Deadly Sins

PrideAvarice

LustAnger

GluttonyEnvySloth

Allegory

a narrative with both a literal and symbolic meaning. Exemplum: an allegory that uses an example

to make a point.

“The Ship of Fools”

“The Ship of Fools”

The Canterbury Tales Religious Allegory Literal meaning Symbolic meaning

“The Pardoner’s Tale” as an Allegory Exemplum a narrative with both a literal and symbolic

meaning. Exemplum: an allegory that uses an example

to make a point.

Archetypal Narrative ElementsElement Example from text

Characters, events, and other things that come in threes

A test of characters’ moral fiber leading to their destiny

A mysterious guide who helps point the way

A just ending that rewards good or punishes evil

How can allegory be an effective tool to both teach and manipulate?

How does the Pardoner both teach a lesson and manipulate?

Chaucer uses SATIRE and IRONY in “The Pardoner’s Tale”

SatireNoun. A literary manner which blends humor with criticism for the purpose of instruction or the improvement of humanity

Some tools of the satirist

Direct satire Indirect Satire

Exaggeration/Diminutiztion

Utopianism/ Dystopianism Caricature Parody http://www.youtube.com/watc

h?v=ZcJjMnHoIBI

TERM DEFINITION/ DESCRIPTION

EXAMPLE

Mockery Making fun of something “Man is the only animal that blushes- or needs to.” - Mark Twain

Sarcasm Harsh, personally directed comment: using praise to mock someone; usually aims to hurt

To refer to a 98-pount weakling as a “real he-man”

Overstatement Say more than is meant; exaggeration

“I’m so hungry I could eat a horse”

Understatement Saying less than is meant “Mount Everest is not small”

Parody Imitation of a specific, known person, literary work, movie, or event; often involves mocking

General MacArthur said, “Old soldiers never die, they just fade away”

PARODY: “Old blondes never grey, they just dye away.”

Pathos Going from the serious to the ridiculous quickly

“I love my country, my wife, my job, and chocolate candy”

Mock-Heroic Imitation, exaggeration, and distortion of literary epic style

The garbage man, tall and strong, lifted his glittery can of rubbish as if it were a feather, and with the strength of Thor,

hurled it into the dumpster.

Irony Say one thing yet meaning another

In Romeo and Juliet when Romeo tells Mercutio that his wound is slight.

Mercutio says “No, it’s not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church door; but

‘tis enough, t’will serve”

IRONY

At Its Finest

IRONY

Situational The opposite of what is expected to happen

occurs Verbal

The opposite of what is meant is said (sarcasm) Dramatic

The reader knows something the character does not

Situational Irony

The fire safety lectures were canceled because the screen caught on fire.

An ambulance runs over a pedestrian. If you have a phobia of long words you have

to tell people that you have Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia...

Why is this ironic?

Accidentally Ironic

Define the irony.

What TYPE of irony is this?

Extra Examples

Your friend walks into a pile of dog poop and you say “Wow, how lucky are you?”

*This is where sarcasm is shown for verbal irony.

You work from six in the morning to six at night doing manual labor.

Verbal irony would be if you came home and said “I just had the most amazing day!”

A mean sales women is rude to you.

You would turn to whoever you are with and say “What a lovely lady she is.”

Dramatic Irony

Scary music in a horror movie only the audience can hear, so we are prepared for what is to come while the characters are not.

In Titanic, we know the boat is going to sink. The people on the boat are unaware of the actual dangers the iceberg presents.

Have you seen, read, or know the story of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet?

What does the Pardoner always preach about? Sin of Greed and “The Love of money is

the root of all evil”

How does this quote relate to “The Pardoner’s Tale?

Chaucer’s words

And with these relics, any time he found

 Some poor up-country parson to astound,

 On one short day, in money down, he drew

 More than the parson in a month or two,

725And by his flatteries and prevarication

 Made monkeys of the priest and congregation.

 But still to do him justice first and last

 In church he was a noble ecclesiast.

The Pardoner (lines 689-734)

Compared to Summoner—together they sing a song about lustful love

Has yellow waxy hair hanging down on his head thin like rat-tails; has bulging eyeballs; small voice like a goat; no beard

Wore a little cap

Personification of evil; sells holy relics and favors to pardon people form all their sins to ensure purgatory; extorts money from people by preaching against having money; has repulsive physical features; special skill is singing at the offertory to extract money.

So, what is ironic about…

 In church he was a noble ecclesiast.

AND So, what is ironic about… His sermons:

Sin of Greed “The Love of money is the root of all evil”

EQ: How can irony be an effective tool to both teach and manipulate? What is Chaucer teaching? How is he manipulating? What is the Pardoner teaching? How is he manipulating?

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