Essay on Verbal and Situational Irony in The Pardoner’s Tale of Chaucer

The pardoners TaleUse of Verbal and Situational ridicule In The Pardoners Tale, Geoffrey Chaucer masterfully frames an informal homily. Through the practice session of verbal and situational irony, Chaucer is able to accentuate the moral characteristics of the Pardoner. The essence of the story is exemplified by the blatant discrepancy between the character of the storyteller and the message of his story. By analyzing this contrast, the reader push aside place himself in the perspicacity of the Pardoner in order to account for his psychology. In the Prologue of the tale, the Pardoner clear admits that he preaches for zipper but for the greed of gain. His sermons revolve around the biblical idea that the honor of money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 610). Ironically, however, the Pardoner condemns the very same vice that he lives by, as he proclaims esurience is the theme that I employ in all my sermons, to make the mint free in giving penniesespecially to me. Thus, c ovetousness is both the significance of his sermons as well as the mechanism upon which he thrives. He clearly states that repentance is not the central aim of his preaching, by mentioning my mind is meliorate on what I stand to win and not upon correcting sin. Rather, his first off intention is to acquire as many shillings as he can in exchange for his meaningless pardons. In this regard, one can plead that although the Pardoner is evil, he is not a dissembler. His psychology is clearly not guided by hypocrisy because he does not conceal his intentions infra false pretences. Chaucer clouds the genuine nature of the Pardoners psychology in ambiguity. Upon r... ...nations of his thought processes, it is clear that the Pardoner does not practice what he preaches. It is ambiguous, however, as to whether the Pardoner believes what he preaches, but just doesnt follow his preaches or whether he doesnt believe what he preaches at all. It is evident, though, that the Pardoner has an sharp mind. He is highly effective in what he does. Although he exploits the church for his own personal designs, he succeeds at obtaining that which he pursues. The efficacy of his scheme is confirmed by Chaucers description of the Pardoner as creation a noble ecclesiastic and as being unmatched in his trade . Thus amidst all of his flatteries, there exists a spark of wiz that complements his minimal level of ethics. This intellectual finesse is the riverbed from which all of the products of his mind flow.