The Pardoner’s

TaleENG 400: British Literature

Unit I – From Legend to History

Allegory and Exemplum

Allegory = narrative that has both a literal and a deeper (symbolic) meaning

Exemplum = allegorical anecdote (story) used to illustrate a point

Exemplum is Latin for “example.”

A clergyman giving a sermon would use such a story to drive home his/her main idea.

Note how the Pardoner uses the exemplum effectively, while utterly corrupting its meaning.

The Pardoner’s Message

The Pardoner’s favorite theme to preach is Radix malorum est cupiditas.

His story is an exemplum illustrating this theme.

Radix malorum est cupiditas.

“Greed is the root of all evil.”

root evil is greed

Archetype

Archetype = literary element or pattern that is repeated throughout literature (across time and culture)

Since archetypes follow a familiar pattern, they are easy for listeners to remember.

Examples

The Hero’s Journey

The battle between good and evil

Child breaking away from parent(s)

Lost heir/noble finding his/her true identity

Archetypal Narrative Elements These four basic narrative elements can be found

in stories from around the world.

Characters, events, and other things that come in threes

A test of the protagonist’s moral fiber

A mysterious guide who helps point the way

A fair ending where good is rewarded and evil is punished

Tracking Archetypal Narrative Elements

Archetypal Narrative Element

How It Appears in The Pardoner’s Tale

Characters, events, and other things that come in threes

A test of the protagonist’s moral fiber

A mysterious guide who helps point the way

A fair ending where good is rewarded and evil is punished

The Pardoner

The Pardoner is a traveling preacher who has the power to grant pardons.

In medieval times, a pardon was a document that officially granted God’s forgiveness for someone’s sins.

The Pardoner earns his money in three ways

selling pardons

selling fake holy relics, which were religious artifacts said to have certain powers

taking collections when he preaches

The Pardoner might earn in a day what an honest country parson would earn in a month.

The Pardoner’s Tale

First, the Pardoner begins with a prologue that outlines his scheme for extorting money from churchgoers.

Then, he tells a story (an exemplum) that he uses in his sermons to convince people to give him their money.

Note the difference between what the Pardoner says to churchgoers and what he does in his own life. How is he a hypocrite?

The Pardoner’s Tale:Vocabulary

(n) pharmacist; druggist

apothecary

(adj) skillfully; with ease and quickness

deftly

(adj) white or gray with age

hoary

The Pardoner’s Tale:Vocabulary continued . . .

(n) unnatural lack of color; paleness

pallor

(v) walked at an unhurried pace

sauntered

(v) to delay or linger

tarry

The Pardoner’s Tale: Vocabulary continued . . .

All three of these words basically mean greed.

• (n) desire to gain wealth

avarice

• (n) greed, especially for what belongs to others

covetousness

• (n) the strong feeling of wanting much more than you need

cupidity