The Pardoner's Tale
The Pardoner's Tale [c. 1387-1400]
From the Canterbury Tales [c. 1387-1400]
Adapted from Geoffrey Chaucer (c.1343-1499)
VOCABULARY
abide: (v) withstand OR dwell
abominable: (adj) exceptionally bad or displeasing
adversary: (n) an enemy or opponent
apothecary: (n) one that prepares and sells drugs and other medicines
bawd: (n) a woman who maintains a brothel; a madam
brothel: (n) a building where prostitutes are available
capon: (n) castrated male chicken
churlishy: (adv) rudely
comely: (adj) attractive
dissipation: (n) squandering of money, energy, or resources
extravagances: (n) excessive spending
felicity: (n) happiness
flagon: (n) a large metal or pottery vessel with a handle and spout; used to hold alcoholic beverages (usually wine)
Flanders: (n) a medieval country in northern Europe that included regions now parts of northern France and Belgium and southwestern Netherlands
florin: (n) a gold coin once used in the Netherlands
habitation: (n) dwelling place
hoar: (adj) grey-haired with age
Holy Writ: (n) the Bible
polecat: (n) weasel
rend: (v) tear violently; rip
roisterer: (n) an especially noisy and unrestrained merrymaker
smiting: (v) striking
stile: (n) a set of steps in a wall or fence to allow people, but not animals, to pass over,
tarry: (v) linger; leave slowly
virulent: (adj) extremely dangerous and affecting people very quickly
LITERARY ELEMENTS
dramatic irony: irony that occurs when the meaning of a situation is understood by the audience or reader but not by a character in the story or play
parable: a short simple story which teaches or explains an idea, especially a moral or religious idea
poetic justice: a literary device in which virtue is ultimately rewarded or vice punished, often in modern literature by an ironic twist of fate intimately related to the character's own conduct
situational irony: irony that occurs when the actions taken have an effect exactly opposite from what was intended
There was a company of young folk living
One time in Flanders, who were bent on giving
Their lives to follies and extravagances,
Brothels and taverns, where they held their dances
With lutes, harps, and guitars, diced at all hours,
And also ate and drank beyond their powers,
Through which they paid the devil sacrifice
In the devil's temple with their drink and dice,
Their abominable excess and dissipation.
They swore oaths that were worthy of damnation;
It was grisly to be listening when they swore.
The blessed body of our Lord they tore--
The Jews, it seemed to them, had failed to rend
His body enough--and each laughed at his friend
And fellow in sin. To encourage their pursuits
Came comely dancing girls, peddlers of fruits,
Singers with harps, bawds and confectioners
Who are the very devil's officers
To kindle and blow the fire of lechery
…
These three young roisterers of whom I tell
Long before prime had rung from any bell
Were seated in a tavern at their drinking,
And as they sat, they heard a bell go clinking
Before a corpse being carried to his grave.
One of these roisterers, when he heard it, gave
An order to his boy: "Go out and try
To learn whose corpse is being carried by.
Get me his name, and get it right. Take heed."
"Sir," said the boy, "there isn't any need.
I learned before you came here, by two hours.
He was, it happens, an old friend of yours,
And all at once, there on his bench upright
As he was sitting drunk, he was killed last night.
A sly thief, Death men call him, who deprives
All the people in this country of their lives,
Came with his spear and smiting his heart in two
Went on his business with no more ado.
A thousand have been slaughtered by his hand
During this plague. And, sir, before you stand
Within his presence, it should be necessary,
It seems to me, to know your adversary.
Be evermore prepared to meet this foe.
My mother taught me thus; that's all I know."
"Now by St. Mary," said the innkeeper,
"This child speaks truth. Man, woman, laborer,
Servant, and child the thief has slain this year
In a big village a mile or more from here.
I think it is his place of habitation.
It would be wise to make some preparation
Before he brought a man into disgrace."
"God's arms!" this roisterer said. "So that's the case!
Is it so dangerous with this thief to meet?
I'll look for him by every path and street,
I vow it, by God's holy bones! Hear me,
Fellows of mine, we are all one, we three.
Let each of us hold up his hand to the other
And each of us become his fellow's brother.
We'll slay this Death, who slaughters and betrays.
He shall be slain whose hand so many slays,
By the dignity of God, before tonight!"
The three together set about to plight
Their oaths to live and die each for the other
Just as though each had been to each born brother,
And in their drunken frenzy up they get
And toward the village off at once they set
Which the innkeeper had spoken of before,
And many were the grisly oaths they swore.
They rent Christ's precious body limb from limb—
Death shall be dead, if they lay hands on him!
When they had hardly gone the first half mile,
Just as they were about to cross a stile,
An old man, poor and humble, met them there.
The old man greeted them with a meek air
And said, "God bless you, lords, and be your guide."
"What's this?" the proudest of the three replied.
Old beggar, I hope you meet with evil grace!
Why are you all wrapped up except your face?
What are you doing alive so many a year?"
The old man at these words began to peer
Into this gambler's face. "Because I can,
Though I should walk to India, find no man,"
He said, "in any village or any town,
Who for my age is willing to lay down
His youth. So I must keep my old age still
For as long a time as it may be God's will.
Nor will Death take my life from me, alas!
Thus like a restless prisoner I pass
And on the ground, which is my mother's gate,
I walk and with my staff both early and late
I knock and say, 'Dear mother, let me in!
See how I vanish, flesh, and blood, and skin!
Alas, when shall my bones be laid to rest?
I would exchange with you my clothing chest,
Mother, that in my chamber long has been
For an old haircloth rag to wrap me in:
And yet she still refuses me that grace.
All white, therefore, and withered is my face.
"But, sirs, you do yourselves no courtesy
To speak to an old man so churlishly
Unless he had wronged you either in word or deed.
As you yourselves in Holy Writ may read,
'Before an aged man whose head is hoar
Men ought to rise.' I counsel you, therefore,
No harm nor wrong here to an old man do,
No more than you would have men do to you
In your old age, if you so long abide.
And God be with you, whether you walk or ride!
I must go yonder where I have to go."
"No, you old beggar, by St. John, not so,"
Said another of these gamblers. "As for me,
By God, you won't get off so easily!
You spoke just now of that false traitor, Death,
Who in this land robs all our friends of breath.
Tell where he is, since you must be his spy,
Or you will suffer for it, so say I
By God and by the holy sacrament.
You are in league with him, false thief, and bent
On killing us young folk, that's clear to my mind."
"If you are so impatient, sirs, to find
Death," he replied, "turn up this crooked way,
For in that grove I left him, truth to say,
Beneath a tree, and there he will abide.
No boast of yours will make him run and hide.
Do you see that oak tree? Just there you will find
This Death, and God, who bought again mankind
Save and amend you!" So said this old man;
And promptly each of these three gamblers ran
Until he reached the tree, and there they found
Florins of fine gold, minted bright and round
Nearly eight bushels of them, as they thought.
And after Death no longer then they sought.
Each of them was so ravished at the sight,
So fair the florins glittered and so bright,
That down they sat beside the precious hoard.
The worst of them, he uttered the first word.
"Brothers," he told them, "listen to what I say.
My head is sharp, for all I joke and play.
Fortune has given us this pile of treasure
To set us up in lives of ease and pleasure.
Lightly it comes, lightly we'll make it go.
God’s precious dignity! Who was to know
We’d ever tumble on such luck today?
If we could only carry this gold away,
Home to my house, or either one of yours—
For, well you know that all this gold is ours—
We d touch the summit of felicity.
But still, by daylight that can hardly be.
People would call us thieves, too bold for stealth,
And they would have us hanged for our own wealth.
It must be done by night, that's our best plan,
As prudently and slyly as we can.
Hence my proposal is that we should all
Draw lots, and let's see where the lot will fall
And the one of us who draws the shortest stick
Shall run back to the town, and make it quick,
And bring us bread and wine here on the sly,
And two of us will keep a watchful eye
Over this gold; and if he doesn't stay
Too long in town, we'll carry this gold away
By night, wherever we all agree it's best."
One of them held the cut out in his fist
And had them draw to see where it would fall,
And the cut fell on the youngest of them all.
At once he set off on his way to town,
And the very moment after he was gone
The one who urged this plan said to the other:
"You know that by sworn oath you are my brother.
I'll tell you something you can profit by.
Our friend has gone, that's clear to any eye,
And here is gold, abundant as can be,
That we propose to share alike, we three.
But if I worked it out, as I could do,
So that it could be shared between us two,
Wouldn't that be a favor, a friendly one?"
The other answered, "How that can be done,
I don't quite see. He knows we have the gold.
What shall we do, or what shall he be told?"
"Will you keep the secret tucked inside your head?
And in a few words," the first scoundrel said,
''I'll tell you how to bring this end about."
"Granted," the other told him. "Never doubt,
I won't betray you, that you can believe."
"Now," said the first, "we are two, as you perceive,
And two of us must have more strength than one.
When he sits down, get up as if in fun
And wrestle with him. While you play this game
I'll run him through the ribs. You do the same
With your dagger there, and then this gold shall be
Divided, dear friend, between you and me.
Then all that we desire we can fulfill,
And both of us can roll the dice at will."
Thus in agreement these two scoundrels fell
To slay the third, as you have heard me tell.
The youngest, who had started off to town,
Within his heart kept rolling up and down
The beauty of these florins, new and bright.
"O Lord," he thought, "were there some way I might
Have all this treasure to myself alone,
There isn't a man who dwells beneath God's throne
Could live a life as merry as mine should be!"
And so at last the fiend, our enemy,
Put in his head that he could gain his ends
If he bought poison to kill off his friends.
Finding his life in such a sinful state,
The devil was allowed to seal his fate.
For it was altogether his intent
To kill his friends, and never to repent.
So off he set, no longer would he tarry,
Into the town, to an apothecary,
And begged for poison; he wanted it because
He meant to kill his rats; besides, there was
A polecat living in his hedge, he said,
Who killed his capons; and when he went to bed
He wanted to take vengeance, if he might,
On vermin that devoured him by night.
The apothecary answered, "You shall have
A drug that as I hope the Lord will save
My soul, no living thing in all creation,
Eating or drinking of this preparation
A dose no bigger than a grain of wheat,
But promptly with his death-stroke he shall meet.
Die, that he will, and in a briefer while
Than you can walk the distance of a mile,
This poison is so strong and virulent."
Taking the poison, off the scoundrel went,
Holding it in a box. And next he ran
To the neighboring street, and borrowed from a man
Three generous flagons. He emptied out his drug
In two of them, and kept the other jug
For his own drink; he let no poison lurk
In that! And so all night he meant to work
Carrying off the gold. Such was his plan,
And when he had filled them, this accursed man
Retraced his path, still following his design,
Back to his friends with his three jugs of wine.
But why dilate upon it any more?
For just as they had planned his death before,
Just so they killed him, and with no delay.
When it was finished, one spoke up to say:
"Now let's sit down and drink, and we can bury
His body later on. First we'll be merry,"
And as he said the words, he took the jug
That, as it happened, held the poisonous drug,
And drank, and gave his friend a drink as well,
And promptly they both died.
Questions for Discussion
1. The stories about Death that the servant boy and the innkeeper tell suggest that
A) death from violence and plague is rampant
B) death will be hard to find
C) people are dying from plague
D) people look forward to death
E) none of the above
2. The rioters go looking for Death because they
A) want to repent their sins and find salvation
B) plan to avenge the death of their friend
C) know he has a great store of treasure
D) want to join him in the afterlife
E) none of the above
3. What does the old man they meet tell them?
A) that they can find death in a grove under a oak tree
B) that there's gold under a oak tree in a grove
C) that they will all die within a fortnight
D) that they are destined for fame and fortune
E) none of the above
4. The rioters look for Death under a tree but instead they find
A) a woman
B) money
C) the Bible
D) the Pardoner
E) none of the above
5. Why do the rioters start plotting against each other?
A) because the old man starts telling them lies about each other
B) because each wants a greater share of the gold they find under the tree
C) because they begin to suspect one of them is going to steal all the gold
D) because one of them killed the old man
E) none of the above
6. The youngest rioter plans to kill the other two with
A) a knife
B) a gun
C) poison
D) his hands
E) none of the above
7. When the youngest returns from town with wine how do all three men die?
A) Two of them are stabbed and the third stabs himself.
B) They all die of poisoned wine.
C) The youngest is stabbed and the other two die from poisoned wine.
D) The tree is hit by lightning and a giant limb crushes them.
E) none of the above
8. Which of the following statements best describes the end of the tale?
A) The rioters become rich
B) Death takes the gold florins
C) Death takes a holiday
D) The rioters meet death
E) none of the above
9. The old man in the story probably symbolizes an agent of
A) greed
B) death
C) wisdom
D) fortune
E) love
10. What is ironic about the attitude that the old man has toward Death?
A) Most people seek to avoid death, but the old man looks for it.
B) He has seen death more than once.
C) He refers to his grave as his “mother.”
D) Most people refer to death as an event not a person.
E) none of the above
11. The moral of the story can best be paraphrased as
A) death before dishonor
B) love your neighbor
C) pride precedes a fall
D) honesty is the best policy
E) the love of money is the root of all evil
12. One rioter tells another rioter, “You can trust me as a brother.” At the same time, the reader knows he is planning to kill his friend. This is an example of
A) verbal irony
B) dramatic irony
C) situational irony
D) poetic justice
E) none of the above
13. After the rioters abandon their search for Death, they murder one another. Although they try to destroy Death, they ultimately destroy themselves. This act is an example of
A) dramatic irony
B) poetic irony
C) situational irony
D) verbal
E) none of the above
14. The story demonstrates poetic justice because it contains
A) characters, events, and other things that come in threes
B) a test of characters’ moral fiber leading to their destiny
C) a mysterious guide who helps point the way
D) a just ending that rewards good or punishes evil
E) none of the above
Old English (c. 450-1066)
Middle English (c. 1066-1450)
Modern English (c. 1450-present)
The Canterbury Tales Prologue in Middle English
The "Lord's Prayer" in Old English (Anglo Saxon)