The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
The Pardoner's Tale Analysis
The Pardoner’s Tale has been the subject of much recent critical analysis because, in some ways, it sums up the entire Canterbury Tales. It features a tale-teller whose voice is completely at odds with the story he tells, and it provides an opportunity for the writer (Chaucer) to lecture at length on a particular topic without ever revealing what his opinion of it actually is.
The Pardoner freely admits that, while his business is preaching and absolving other people of their sins, he is a sinful person himself, and the sin he commits most often is avarice, or greed. Yet his Tale roundly preaches against greed, arguing that it is the root of all evil. Many critics have asked whether, if the Pardoner is so greedy himself, he can actually tell a tale with a sound moral against greed. By telling this tale through a character at a distance, Chaucer can comment both on the conventional morality against greed and the practice of greed without ever indicating what he himself actually thinks of either.
Contents
- Home
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Plot Summaries & Analysis
- General Prologue
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Knight's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Miller's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Reeve's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Cook's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Man of Law's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Friar's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Summoner's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Clerk's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Merchant's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Squire's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Franklin's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Physician's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Pardoner's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Shipman's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Prioress's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Tale of Sir Thopas
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Tale of Melibee
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Monk's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Nun's Priest’s Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Second Nun's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Canon's Yeoman’s Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Manciple's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Parson's Tale and Chaucer’s Retraction
- Summary
- Analysis
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Character Analysis
- The Host
- The Knight, the Squire, and the Knight's Yeoman
- The Prioress, the Second Nun, and the Monk
- The Friar
- The Merchant
- The Clerk of Oxford
- The Man of Law and the Franklin
- The Haberdasher, Carpenter, Weaver, Dyer, and Upholsterer
- The Cook
- The Shipman
- The Physician
- The Wife of Bath
- The Parson and the Ploughman
- The Miller
- The Manciple
- The Reeve
- The Summoner and the Pardoner
- The Canon and the Yeoman
- Themes, Symbols & Motifs
- Writing Style & Structure
- Important Quotes