Tuesday, 10/29 - Fighting Death with death

William Blake's Pardoner in The Canterbury Pilgrims (1810)

• P&P

• Reminders
• Today's tweaked schedule
• Nails are posting in different order: the newest are at the bottom now
• Journals available as a link on the right side of the blog

• Begin "The Pardoner's Tale."

J5 - "The Pardoner's Tale"

1. How does the Pardoner describe his own character and morals in his Prologue? 
2. According to “The Pardoner’s Tale,” why are the three young rioters looking for Death?

3. Where does the old man tell the three rioters to look for Death? How do they treat him? 

4. Describe the rioters’ plan for the gold and how it proves fatal to all three men. 

5. Why do the Pardoner and the Host quarrel at the end of the tale? Who patches up their quarrel? 

6. How do the tavern knave and the publican personify Death? What does the rioters’ response to the description tell you? 

7. What do you think the poor old man may symbolize? 

8. Irony is a discrepancy between expectations and reality. How many layers of irony can you identify in this story? 

9. Why is it ironic that the Pardoner preaches a story with this particular moral? How would you account for the psychology of the Pardoner: Is he truly evil, just drunk, or so used to cheating that he does it automatically? 

10. What do you think Chaucer is satirizing in “The Pardoner’s Tale”? 

11. What moral does the Pardoner want us to draw from his tale? What moral do you think Chaucer wants you to draw from the Pardoner’s tale?

HW: Finish J5 (due Wed)