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The Pardoner's Tale
According to Harold Bloom, Chaucer is one of those great writers who defeat almost all criticism. Nevertheless, this volume pulls together some of the best criticism on The Pardoner's Tale, which is a part of Canterbury Tales.
The title, Geoffrey Chaucer's The Pardoner's Tale, part of Chelsea House Publishers' Modern Critical Interpretations series, presents the most important 20th-century criticism on Geoffrey Chaucer's The Pardoner's Tale through extracts of critical essays by well-known literary critics. This collection of criticism also features a short biography on Geoffrey Chaucer, a chronology of the author's life, and an introductory essay written by Harold Bloom, Sterling Professor of the Humanities, Yale University.
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First published January 1, 1372
About the author
Geoffrey Chaucer
1,002 books1,384 followersGeoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343 – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for The Canterbury Tales. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He was the first writer to be buried in what has since come to be called Poets' Corner, in Westminster Abbey. Chaucer also gained fame as a philosopher and astronomer, composing the scientific A Treatise on the Astrolabe for his 10-year-old son, Lewis. He maintained a career in the civil service as a bureaucrat, courtier, diplomat, and member of parliament.
Among Chaucer's many other works are The Book of the Duchess, The House of Fame, The Legend of Good Women, and Troilus and Criseyde. He is seen as crucial in legitimising the literary use of Middle English when the dominant literary languages in England were still Anglo-Norman French and Latin. Chaucer's contemporary Thomas Hoccleve hailed him as "the firste fyndere of our fair langage" (i.e., the first one capable of finding poetic matter in English). Almost two thousand English words are first attested to in Chaucerian manuscripts. As scholar Bruce Holsinger has argued, charting Chaucer's life and work comes with many challenges related to the "difficult disjunction between the written record of his public and private life and the literary corpus he left behind". His recorded works and his life show many personas that are "ironic, mysterious, elusive [or] cagey" in nature, ever-changing with new discoveries.
Among Chaucer's many other works are The Book of the Duchess, The House of Fame, The Legend of Good Women, and Troilus and Criseyde. He is seen as crucial in legitimising the literary use of Middle English when the dominant literary languages in England were still Anglo-Norman French and Latin. Chaucer's contemporary Thomas Hoccleve hailed him as "the firste fyndere of our fair langage" (i.e., the first one capable of finding poetic matter in English). Almost two thousand English words are first attested to in Chaucerian manuscripts. As scholar Bruce Holsinger has argued, charting Chaucer's life and work comes with many challenges related to the "difficult disjunction between the written record of his public and private life and the literary corpus he left behind". His recorded works and his life show many personas that are "ironic, mysterious, elusive [or] cagey" in nature, ever-changing with new discoveries.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
September 28, 2025
2.5 ⭐️ Another school book.
I enjoyed this one a little bit more than I did the Miller’s Tale. I thought that the overall writing was really good, I just didn’t care much else about it. In definitely learning that I don’t really like Middle English classics, it’s just not for me personally.
I enjoyed this one a little bit more than I did the Miller’s Tale. I thought that the overall writing was really good, I just didn’t care much else about it. In definitely learning that I don’t really like Middle English classics, it’s just not for me personally.
June 20, 2019
Wow... truly surprising. The story is three-fold: The pardoner, a man of the cloth, reveals to the entourage how immoral he is... despite being society's moral standard. Next, he gives a brilliant, passionate sermon on human vices, then ends with a startling tale to illustrate his points.
I'm sincerely beside myself with how deeply Chaucer delves into this character's complex personality. Ir's equally shocking he slams the Church so hard. Any history I've read indicates that doing so was unconscionable in that day and age... and more so given Chaucer's stellar career as a statesman.
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I'm sincerely beside myself with how deeply Chaucer delves into this character's complex personality. Ir's equally shocking he slams the Church so hard. Any history I've read indicates that doing so was unconscionable in that day and age... and more so given Chaucer's stellar career as a statesman.
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July 28, 2013
‘The Canterbury Tales’ has survived for some 650 years and with good reason. Originally conceived as a vast project whereby a group of disparate individuals from all walks of life undertake a pilgrimage to Canterbury and decide to establish a competition on route to alleviate the boredom (itself a humorous joke on the fact that they should all really be considering their sins and thinking on God): a story telling competition – they will relay one tale each on the way there and one on the way back. The charismatic host will then decide on the winner. As with Shakespeare, many of the tales are not necessarily original. They are drawn from and inspired by other literature of the era as well as Chaucer’s own imagination. Moreover, as with Shakespeare the numerous different copies transcribed by scribes and relayed by word of mouth have resulted in many of the tales having multiple versions and some becoming mere fragments. Furthermore, many of the tales have either been lost or were never completed due to Chaucer’s untimely death. There is an enormous amount of scholarship surrounding Chaucer and the authorship of his tales. However, what remains important about them to my mind is not whether he uses this word rather than that or whether he was influenced by French or German literary antecedents, but the stories themselves.
Probably like many out there, I was first introduced to Chaucer at A Level where my dynamic English teacher made us read the ‘Wife of Bath’s Tale’ aloud with accents. This was initially greeted with significant embarrassment and tittering. However, it brought the text to life and although we were all at first sceptical and fairly uncomprehending – this is not English we thought – we were soon drawn into the rhythms of the language and laughing uproariously. It was an all girls school and any whiff of a sexual innuendo sent us into fits of giggles even at 17.
I have since read a number of his tales although by no means all and what remains impressive is Chaucer’s ability to engage with a range of genres and create tales that are so different. We can laugh at ‘The Shipman’s Tale’ or be captivated by the romance of the ‘Knight’s Tale’ or drawn into a fantasy where animals speak in the ‘Nun’s Priest’. Yet at the same time there is not only wonderful poetry here, but Chaucer also provides us with an enlightening insight into Medieval society. Here is an eclectic group of people thrown together by a situation that would have never allowed them to socialise otherwise and their cultural views and roles within this society are brilliantly exposed.
This is nowhere more so than in the case of the Pardoner’s Tale. A pardoner is a supposedly religious man who sells ‘pardons’ – bits of saints bodies or pardons to ensure that the recipient who repents will gain a quicker passage to Heaven. Well, this may seem entirely out of touch with our society. Yet what Chaucer exposes here is a corrupt religious practice and practitioners playing on the fears of those who have nothing and their primitive beliefs in hell fire and damnation whilst himself living an entirely immoral lifestyle governed by materialism, pride and lust (sound familiar?). Unlike the other tales, this is appropriately narrated from the setting of another inn which allows the pardoner to drink throughout and attempt to peddle his wares (rather less successfully) at the conclusion of his tale.
His tale, which he takes some time to get around to after a long preamble about his experience of the world’s sins, is the story of three rogues. Indulging at an early hour of the morning, they witness a funeral procession and when they are told that the corpse is an old friend who has been killed by a familiar local assailant – Death – they determine to find the figure of Death and kill him. Yes, indeed they are foolish rogues. On the way into the forest to meet their target they encounter an old man who claims that he wishes to die, but can’t. However, he is able to tell the rogues where to find Death as he has searched for him. If they follow a short path into the forest, they will find Death. They promptly do exactly this only to discover an enormous treasure of gold. Sending their youngest member back to town for victuals to consume whilst they wait as they cannot simply take the gold home without arousing suspicion, they each begin to formulate their own plots. Without revealing too much, it is soon obvious that it is not merely gold that they have discovered in the forest at all.
This is a superb tale and I certainly enjoyed it as much as that of the ‘Wife of Bath’ and more than ‘The Nun’s Priest’s Tale’ that I read last year. The story is at once sinister with its gothic overtones and at the same time darkly comic whilst being told by a charismatic narrator – the kind of character we love to hate, and have to listen to. The tale and prologue contains both a moral imperative and a religious satire. At only about 700 lines or so including introduction, this is an easy read. However, I would strongly recommend reading an annotated edition that can provide you with an insight into not merely some of the less familiar language, but also to some of the contextual details that enable a fuller understanding of the text.
There is also a superb adaptation aimed at younger audiences made by the BBC in 1998, which I feel captures some of the spirit of the main narrative.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS8a9F...]
If you are looking for a first taste of Chaucer, this is definitely the text for you: lively, entertaining and brilliantly written, yet also utterly revealing of the era, I thoroughly enjoyed the ‘Pardoner’s Tale.’
Probably like many out there, I was first introduced to Chaucer at A Level where my dynamic English teacher made us read the ‘Wife of Bath’s Tale’ aloud with accents. This was initially greeted with significant embarrassment and tittering. However, it brought the text to life and although we were all at first sceptical and fairly uncomprehending – this is not English we thought – we were soon drawn into the rhythms of the language and laughing uproariously. It was an all girls school and any whiff of a sexual innuendo sent us into fits of giggles even at 17.
I have since read a number of his tales although by no means all and what remains impressive is Chaucer’s ability to engage with a range of genres and create tales that are so different. We can laugh at ‘The Shipman’s Tale’ or be captivated by the romance of the ‘Knight’s Tale’ or drawn into a fantasy where animals speak in the ‘Nun’s Priest’. Yet at the same time there is not only wonderful poetry here, but Chaucer also provides us with an enlightening insight into Medieval society. Here is an eclectic group of people thrown together by a situation that would have never allowed them to socialise otherwise and their cultural views and roles within this society are brilliantly exposed.
This is nowhere more so than in the case of the Pardoner’s Tale. A pardoner is a supposedly religious man who sells ‘pardons’ – bits of saints bodies or pardons to ensure that the recipient who repents will gain a quicker passage to Heaven. Well, this may seem entirely out of touch with our society. Yet what Chaucer exposes here is a corrupt religious practice and practitioners playing on the fears of those who have nothing and their primitive beliefs in hell fire and damnation whilst himself living an entirely immoral lifestyle governed by materialism, pride and lust (sound familiar?). Unlike the other tales, this is appropriately narrated from the setting of another inn which allows the pardoner to drink throughout and attempt to peddle his wares (rather less successfully) at the conclusion of his tale.
His tale, which he takes some time to get around to after a long preamble about his experience of the world’s sins, is the story of three rogues. Indulging at an early hour of the morning, they witness a funeral procession and when they are told that the corpse is an old friend who has been killed by a familiar local assailant – Death – they determine to find the figure of Death and kill him. Yes, indeed they are foolish rogues. On the way into the forest to meet their target they encounter an old man who claims that he wishes to die, but can’t. However, he is able to tell the rogues where to find Death as he has searched for him. If they follow a short path into the forest, they will find Death. They promptly do exactly this only to discover an enormous treasure of gold. Sending their youngest member back to town for victuals to consume whilst they wait as they cannot simply take the gold home without arousing suspicion, they each begin to formulate their own plots. Without revealing too much, it is soon obvious that it is not merely gold that they have discovered in the forest at all.
This is a superb tale and I certainly enjoyed it as much as that of the ‘Wife of Bath’ and more than ‘The Nun’s Priest’s Tale’ that I read last year. The story is at once sinister with its gothic overtones and at the same time darkly comic whilst being told by a charismatic narrator – the kind of character we love to hate, and have to listen to. The tale and prologue contains both a moral imperative and a religious satire. At only about 700 lines or so including introduction, this is an easy read. However, I would strongly recommend reading an annotated edition that can provide you with an insight into not merely some of the less familiar language, but also to some of the contextual details that enable a fuller understanding of the text.
There is also a superb adaptation aimed at younger audiences made by the BBC in 1998, which I feel captures some of the spirit of the main narrative.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS8a9F...]
If you are looking for a first taste of Chaucer, this is definitely the text for you: lively, entertaining and brilliantly written, yet also utterly revealing of the era, I thoroughly enjoyed the ‘Pardoner’s Tale.’
August 28, 2013
This was the tale I had studied at A-level and my first taste of Chaucer. I hated this character, he was as corrupt as others in his profession. But yet he is seen to be boasting of his corruption. I remember when I was studying this, I mainly found the context interesting which was the corruption of the church at the time and Chaucer calling on it.
September 16, 2021
definitely one to reread - lots to unpack
March 7, 2023
“get your bands up” - the pardoner
Read
August 5, 2023barf
Read
November 9, 2024Irony at its finest!
October 26, 2025
Greed is the root of all evil. Truly a reflection of the human race.
February 4, 2021
amusing
November 26, 2024
Great prologue. Decent tale. Second favorite so far.
April 1, 2025
The Pardoner is my problematic fave. The Uncle Rico of the Canterbury Tales if you will......
In all seriousness though, he's such an interesting character because he's such a terrible person but he's 100% upfront about it. He tells his Tale about the danger of greed and then immediately tries to sell the pilgrims fake relics (that he told them were fake too). Icon.
In all seriousness though, he's such an interesting character because he's such a terrible person but he's 100% upfront about it. He tells his Tale about the danger of greed and then immediately tries to sell the pilgrims fake relics (that he told them were fake too). Icon.
July 25, 2015
The Pardoner, along with the Wife of Bath and the Host, are the most vivid and dynamic of Chaucer’s pilgrims. The Pardoner is a wretched man, boastful of his nefarious arts yet confident enough to then ply them on his fellow pilgrims. It’s not enough that he is a con artist, he must tell others of his exploits. But he can’t help but then try to con them with his tricks.
When trying his arts on the Host, the Host takes him down a few pegs, responding he’d rather cut off his (the Pardoner’s) testicles and carry them in hog’s turds rather than kiss the Pardoner’s relics.
The Pardoner’s story is great. What I find most interesting is the old man who is also seeking Death – not to kill it, but to submit to it. Worn by time and age, made weak and withered, he seeks to return to the Earth, to the mother, and he raps upon the ground with his cane to gain entrance. It’s a very stark interlude in an already dark story.
The Cambridge edition has a very good introduction, providing the context of the story and some important historical background. The text of the story itself, though, it pointless to read. It provides no footnotes, and the endnotes are sparse and difficult to use.
If you are already familiar with Chaucer’s English, this is the reading edition for you. If not, enjoy the introduction and then go to the Everyman’s Library edition that puts more copious notes right on the page to assist in the reading.
When trying his arts on the Host, the Host takes him down a few pegs, responding he’d rather cut off his (the Pardoner’s) testicles and carry them in hog’s turds rather than kiss the Pardoner’s relics.
The Pardoner’s story is great. What I find most interesting is the old man who is also seeking Death – not to kill it, but to submit to it. Worn by time and age, made weak and withered, he seeks to return to the Earth, to the mother, and he raps upon the ground with his cane to gain entrance. It’s a very stark interlude in an already dark story.
The Cambridge edition has a very good introduction, providing the context of the story and some important historical background. The text of the story itself, though, it pointless to read. It provides no footnotes, and the endnotes are sparse and difficult to use.
If you are already familiar with Chaucer’s English, this is the reading edition for you. If not, enjoy the introduction and then go to the Everyman’s Library edition that puts more copious notes right on the page to assist in the reading.
October 23, 2019
Oof. Some of the things you have to read for school.
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January 8, 2016
[Short review from memory until I re-read and re-review at a later date:
The second book I've been made to read in academic circles that I've actually enjoyed?! I think so. What I liked so much was that it's in Ye Olde English, which is great, but often hard to understand. Reading it in both ways (translated and original) will definitely be done, I feel.]
The second book I've been made to read in academic circles that I've actually enjoyed?! I think so. What I liked so much was that it's in Ye Olde English, which is great, but often hard to understand. Reading it in both ways (translated and original) will definitely be done, I feel.]
January 29, 2021
While I agree with overall moral of this tale, I believe the story and execution to uninteresting. It is a classic, but it still doesn’t excuse the unrealistic characters and predictable ending. 2 Stars for this one.
February 20, 2017
I may or may not have rapped this entire story...
December 16, 2024
Gambling and cursing? 🤬🤬😳
October 5, 2021
"I care not a bit, when they are buried"
A very engaging and thought provoking read, this allegory about the prevalence of greed and its ability to hide in society lays entwined with a satirical view of a member of the clergy. Preaching in a mist of drunkenness, the text offers a hopeful view when it comes to shunning greed, avarice, and preventing it from burrowing within one's soul and even their most pure pursuits: have good intentions.
So simple, and yet, it is a message that needs to be reiterated even today. So often can we become caught up in the physical things such as money and food. So often can addiction "kill" us, leaving us void of what is our potential, goodness.
This was simple yet incredibly engaging, and for those who enjoy sharpening their personal philosophy or simply wish to take a look at the cyclic nature of the human condition, I would highly recommend this book.
A very engaging and thought provoking read, this allegory about the prevalence of greed and its ability to hide in society lays entwined with a satirical view of a member of the clergy. Preaching in a mist of drunkenness, the text offers a hopeful view when it comes to shunning greed, avarice, and preventing it from burrowing within one's soul and even their most pure pursuits: have good intentions.
So simple, and yet, it is a message that needs to be reiterated even today. So often can we become caught up in the physical things such as money and food. So often can addiction "kill" us, leaving us void of what is our potential, goodness.
This was simple yet incredibly engaging, and for those who enjoy sharpening their personal philosophy or simply wish to take a look at the cyclic nature of the human condition, I would highly recommend this book.
July 31, 2023
The Pardoner is next up, he's a religious person who makes money off his preaching. His tale is about three men who are up all night gambling and drinking. They learn about a friend's death, and decide to go take on Death themselves. At the advice of an old man who claims he can't die, they go to find Death buy instead find some treasure. One leaves to get food and wine, and the other two plot his death... but the first guy also wants to murder his two friends - all just out of greed. He poisons the wine he brings back, so the two guys kill him and die from the poisoned wine.
The whole thing kind of moves along the seven sins. The Pardoner puts a lot of emphasis on their Gluttony when they're drinking and gambling and obviously ends with Greed.
The whole thing kind of moves along the seven sins. The Pardoner puts a lot of emphasis on their Gluttony when they're drinking and gambling and obviously ends with Greed.
April 8, 2021
Ok that was really fun because it wasn't about love, but i am also deeply amused by the fact that the editor of my edition, David Lawton, spent like 90% of his introduction talking about the fact that "we as readers can't move on from the ambiguity of the pardoner's genitals" (paraphrase) but like. i think that might be just you bro. like. i'm fine leaving that to be the pardoner's business, and his business alone.
May 28, 2025
I was expecting more from this tale and in fact missed a detail that led me to over analyze this and think it more interesting than it actually was. I in fact thought the parson was covering up his awful person and using this tale as an epic allegroy to the truth of his character. But no he was just a piece of shit from the get go and everyone knew that. This was not epic. It was lamer than I thought it'd be.
January 11, 2023
Another great Chaucerian tale! A witty and pointed religious satire about greed and morality from a narrator who is shockingly honest about his own ruthlessness and hypocrisy.
The tale itself is great but I was particularly intrigued by the pardoner’s rambling prologue, which is incredibly shrewd and ironic.
The tale itself is great but I was particularly intrigued by the pardoner’s rambling prologue, which is incredibly shrewd and ironic.
February 25, 2022
I had so much fun analysing this for some reason. I compared a few bits to Shakespeare’s Macbeth. It was fun. But what I’ve figure out in these 7 pages is that both the Pardoner and Macbeth are just two greedy bastards.
December 20, 2024
"I wish I had your ballocks in my hand
Instead of relics in a reliquarium;
Have them cut off and I will help to carry ’em.
We’ll have them shrined for you in a hog’s turd." oh this is classic literature alright
Instead of relics in a reliquarium;
Have them cut off and I will help to carry ’em.
We’ll have them shrined for you in a hog’s turd." oh this is classic literature alright
Read
June 3, 2026One of the characters rightly points out that charlatans have ascribed the title of "relic" to so much garbage. It was an issue then, and it's still an issue today. People can be so gullible.
Seek after God and him alone, not some dead saint's supposed bone.
Seek after God and him alone, not some dead saint's supposed bone.
Read
October 16, 2019huh
November 23, 2020
As typical from Chaucer, so much irony and hypocrisy is involved her. Overall I loved the theme of the seven deadly sins which perfectly fits the pardoner
August 20, 2021
Funny and ironic
Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews