Description of the Canterbury Tales

From his prologue and tale, the reader discovers that the excuser is well read, that he is psychologically astute, and that he has profited signifi groundworktly from his profession. Yet Chaucer places him at the truly bottom of worldly concern because he uses the church and holy, religious objects as tools to profit personally. In the other great classic of the Middle Ages, Dantes Divine Comedy, Dante arranges netherworld into nine concentric circles. The first circle is reserved for the least offensive sinner, with each subsequent circle holding always more evil sinners, finally ending in the just about pernicious and vicious sinners, including betrayers such as Judas Iscariot and Brutus.

In the 9th circle of Dantes Inferno, the circle just above the betrayers, ar the simonists, those sinners who choose a practice of selling holy items, sacraments, or ecclesiastical offices for personal profit. The punishment for such perversion of holy objects was very severe. Consequently, in the hierarchy of the medieval church, the Pardoner and his sin are especially heinous.



The other pilgrims recognize the sins of the Pardoner, and their antagonism toward him is expressed by the Host at the end of the Pardoners tale when the Pardoner has the impudence and hypocrisy to try to sell one of his pardons to the Host.

Thus, while the Pardoner is the around evil of the pilgrims, he is nevertheless the near intriguing. The most provocative thing about the Pardoner is his open manifestation about his own hypocrisy and avarice. Some critics have called him the most thoroughly modern character in The Canterbury Tales, especially in his use of modern psychology to dupe his victims. Likewise, his self-evaluation makes his character noted: He maintains that, although he is not moral himself, he can tell a very moral tale. This concept simply makes him a character worth noting.If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com



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