“The Pardoner’s Tale”
How can irony be an effective tool to
both teach and manipulate?
The Pardoner’s Tale
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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.
Some Background…
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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
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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 )
Hypothesize…
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How did Chaucer feel about the role of the
Pardoner in society/ the church?
Explain the role of death in “The
Pardoner’s Tale”
Chaucer’s dissatisfaction
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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.
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“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.
ALLEGORY
A symbolic
representation.
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In “The Pardoner’s
Tale” we are exposed
to the symbolic
representation of the
vices of humanityThe Seven Deadly
Sins
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The Seven Deadly Sins
Pride
Avarice
Lust
Anger
Gluttony
Envy
Sloth
Allegory
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a narrative with both a literal and
symbolic meaning.
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Exemplum: an allegory that uses an example
to make a point.
“The Ship of Fools”
“The Ship of Fools”
The Canterbury Tales Religious Allegory
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Literal meaning
Symbolic meaning
“The Pardoner’s Tale” as an Allegory
Exemplum
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a narrative with both a literal and
symbolic meaning.
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Exemplum: an allegory that uses an example
to make a point.
Archetypal Narrative Elements
Element
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
Example from text
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”
Satire
Noun. A literary manner which blends
humor with criticism for the purpose
of instruction or the improvement of
humanity
Some tools of the satirist
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Direct satire
Indirect Satire
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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
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Situational
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Verbal
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The opposite of what is expected to happen
occurs
The opposite of what is meant is said (sarcasm)
Dramatic
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The reader knows something the character does
not
Situational Irony
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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
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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?
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Sin of Greed and “The Love of money is
the root of all evil”
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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)
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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…
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His sermons:
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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?
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What is Chaucer teaching?
How is he manipulating?
What is the Pardoner teaching?
How is he manipulating?
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