The Canterbury Tales
The Pardoner's Prologue and Tale
Review the depiction of the Pardoner within the General Prologue. Why does Chaucer provide the Pardoner with such a long individual prologue, a literary confession comparable only to that of the Wife of Bath? How does the Pardoner's individual prologue add to our understanding of the Pardoner in particular or of Chaucer's attitudes toward the Church in general? How are we meant to react to him and to his candor?
While some critics view the Pardoner as "the only lost soul on the Pilgrimage," others argue that he is in fact better than many of his fellow travelers because he is not a hypocrite -- at least in so far as he freely acknowledges his own avarice and is quite blunt about his lack of religious faith.
Note that the Tale as a whole is presented as the sort of sermon the Pardoner uses to convince naïve church-goers to part with their hard-earned money and material wealth. He begins by preaching against what one might call the "tavern vices" -- lechery, gluttony, gambling and drinking. After this initial "sermon," he moves in for the kill, offering the story of the three "rioters" -- i.e. young men who are also guilty of the "tavern" vices (note that we first encounter them within a tavern) -- as an exemplum, a short narrative offered as an example illustrating the main theme of a sermon. This theme is summarized in the Latin phrase "Radix malorumestcupiditas" (the root of all evil is greed). Note the Pardoner's various statements concerning greed. Since he is quite blunt about the fact that he himself is motivated by greed, what do we make of a) his candor and b) his message?
Consider the implications of the exemplum, the story of three revellers who meet death under a tree. What is the function of the mysterious old man whom they encounter? Who/what might he represent? Are his words true? What causes the "rioters" to destroy one another? What is the implication about the cause of their death, and how is it connected to the Pardoner's favorite theme?
Reading Questions for ThePardoner's Prologue and Tale (pgs. 146-153)
The best beginning procedure is always to read the assignment all the way through, keeping track of characters, so that you know what's happening. If possible, read the whole work first. Try to get the big picture of the book (or section, or chapter) before getting bogged down in details. Read through, then go back and clear up details.
1. During the mid-fourteenth century, bubonic plague (the Black Death) spread across Europe. What would this be an appropriate setting for a story intended to make people repent?
2. First, read the description of the Pardoner in The General Prologue, pgs. 139-140. What sort of person is he portrayed as in this description? He has lots of relics to show; how authentic are they?
3. What does the Pardoner want to do before he tells his tale? Does he do it?
4. What does the Pardoner tell us about himself in his Prologue? What text does the Pardoner always preach on? How good is he as a preacher? How serious is he about what he does? How good a Christian is he? What is his major vice?
5. What sort of people are the three "rioters" he tells about in his tale? Which of their sins does he preach against?
6. Why do the three young men leave the tavern? What time of the day is it? What do they intend to do to Death?
7. Whom do they meet? What personification of death does the he offer? What does this image suggest? Why does he add “if you should live till then”? Where does he say the three young men will find Death?
8. What is ironic about the attitudes of the rioters and the old man toward death?
9. What do the three young men find instead? What does the capital F on Fortune tell you? What happens to their search for Death?
10. Why does one of the three have to leave? What do the other two plan to do when he returns? Where does the one who left go, and why? What does he plan to do to the other two?
11. Ultimately, who does what to whom? Who is left?
12. All three rioters make frequent references to religion. This is ironic, since they are such evildoers. How do these references to religion connect the rioters thematically to the Pardoner who tells their tale?
13. What is the moral of the tale? What solution can the Pardoner offer? What is needed in return?
14. Who is the first person he offers to sell a pardon to? What is that person's response? How, in turn, does the Pardoner respond? How is peace finally achieved?
15. We have met gold and treasure before, in Beowulf. How is this subject handled differently in Beowulf and in the Pardoner's Tale? Are there any similarities?