The Pardoner’s Tale—study guide

Terms:

·  Situational irony =

·  Avarice =

·  Latin saying: Radix malorum est cupiditas =

Tips for Struggling Readers:

·  Use a dictionary to learn the meanings of unfamiliar words. Dictonary.com is an easy on-line dictionary that often includes a sound-pronunciation.

·  Consider constructing a flow chart or timeline showing the chain of events that lead to the rioters’ deaths.

·  Try reading the story in segments, stopping briefly to retell the main ideas. Stopping after the following lines could help:

o  Lines 102, 161, 199, 230, 274, and 290

1. (Critical Thinking—Speculating) On page 129, Why does the Pardoner admit that he preaches to make a personal profit?

2. (Background) Most of Chaucer’s tales are based on older stories or ancient folklore. The earliest known version of the Pardoner’s tale is found in the Hindu collection Vedabbha Jataka.

3. (Cultural Connections—The Seven Deadly Sins) On page 130, in medieval times, people were keenly aware of the seven deadly sins: pride, avarice, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth. These would bring about spiritual death and eternal damnation unless the sinner confessed and obtained pardon. Which of these does the Pardoner acknowledge as his own vices?

4. (Appreciating Language—Changing Meanings) The word riot today is associated with the uprising of a mob, but here the word means “loose living.” Stews were brothels. Public-houses were (and are) places where liquor is sold (pubs).

5. (Elements of Literature—Characterization) As of the end of page 130, what have you learned about the rioters so far?

6. (Historical Connections—The Black Death) In the mid-fourteenth century, bubonic plague, called the Black Death, spread across Europe. On page 131, why would this be an appropriate setting for a story intended to make people repent?

7. (Critical Thinking—Speculating) Why do the rioters want to kill Death?

8. (Appreciating Language—Specific Meanings) What does line 101 mean?

9. (Reading Skills and Strategies—Drawing Conclusions) Who is the old man? What might he represent, or what purpose might he serve in the story?

10. (Background) A pardoner in the Middle Ages traveled around to hear confessions and grant absolution, or forgiveness. While a pardoner was forbidden to accept money, Chaucer implies that many of them did.

11. (Elements of Literature—Irony) On page 132, what is ironic about the attitudes of the rioters and the old man toward Death?

12. (Elements of Literature—Personification) What personification of Death does the old man describe? What does this image suggest?

13. (Struggling Readers—Using Context Clues) The word writ on line 136 is related to write and can mean anything written; it also has a range of related meanings. Identify the context clues that explain that holy writ is scripture.

14. (Elements of Literature—Allusion) On line 139, the old man is quoting his own variation on the Biblical injunction, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).

15. (Critical Thinking—Hypothesizing) Why does the old man add “if you should live till then” on line 141?

16. (Critical Commentary—Christian Imagery) Chaucer scholar Robert P. Miller regards the rioters as “Cain-like” and finds the story illustrative of a vast array of Christian imagery. For example:

·  Death “lies up the ‘crooked way,’ “ the opposite of the straight and narrow;

·  and “under a tree” where Adam and Eve lost their true Eden and found Death first

17. (Struggling Readers—Reading Elliptical Constructions) In poetry, words are often omitted in order to create lines with the correct number of syllables. The construction in line 161 on page 133 is particularly troublesome because the order is so inverted. Thus means “so,” and a verb has been omitted. What verb would make the construction complete?

18. (Elements of Literature—Irony) What is ironic about line 166?

19. (Elements of Literature—Personification) What does the capital F on Fortune tell you? What have the young men forgotten?

20. (Appreciating Language—Informal Usage) Chaps, meaning “fellows” or “boys” (today, we might say “guys”), is an example of informal language. Although occasionally used in American English, the word is most frequently found in British writings. (The word is the translator’s, not Chaucer’s.)

21. (Elements of Literature—Characterization) In this example of indirect characterization close to the bottom of page 133, what do the speaker’s words reveal about him?

22. (Reading Skills and Strategies—Making Predictions) Predict what will happen after line 209 on page 134.

23. (Vocabulary—the Prefix mis-) Look at the word miscreants and is definition in the margin. The prefix mis- can mean “wrongly,” “not,” “badly,” or “the opposite of.” It functions a bit like the prefix un-. (The root of the word miscreant comes from the Latin word for “creed” or “belief.” As the definition notes, a miscreant is an unbeliever, though it more frequently refers to an evildoer.

24. (Critical Thinking—Synthesizing) 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?

25. (Cultural Connections) At the bottom of page 134, the Pardoner describes the consequences of sin. The young man has already fallen into sin because of his drunkenness. As a result, God allows the Devil (Fiend) to lure him further into evil. According to Christian theology, God does not cause evil but allows people to be tempted by it.

26. (Elements of Literature—Irony) On page 135, what is ironic about the reason the young man gives for buying poison?

27. (Appreciating Language—Style) Note how relatively short the sentences are in the middle section of page 135. How do these short sentences affect the pace of the story?

28. (Elements of Literature—Characterization) What does the author mean by “this devil’s clay”?

29. (Struggling Readers—Rearranging Word Order/Syntax) The usual word order of line 274 is inverted in order to get the rhyming word at the end. Rearrange the sentence to create an expected word order.

30. (Elements of Literature—Irony) What is ironic about the narrator’s questions on line 275?

31. (Reading Skills and Strategies—Recognizing Print Conventions) Notice the use of ellipses on page 136. What does this signal?

32. (Cultural Connections—Relics) Holy relics were bits of saints’ bones, hair, nails, or clothing that were believed to have healing powers. Do you think the Pardoner’s relics are authentic?

33. (Appreciating Language—Idioms) Notice the use of “ply the spur on line 305. This refers to a rider’s digging boot spurs into a horse’s haunches while riding.

34. (Elements of Language—Characterization) What insights into the characters of the Pardoner, the Host, and the Knight does the end provide?

35. (Connecting the Subject—The Gift of Story) In what way is the Pardoner’s story about the rioters a gift? That is, what does one receive by reading it?

36. (Connecting the Subject—The Gift of Story) In what ways is The Pardoner’s Tale a story within a story?

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