Question
Please read the text below from the Prologue of the Canterbury Tales
He and a gentle Pardoner rode together,
A bird from Charing Cross of the same feather,
Just back from visiting the Court of Rome.
He loudly sang, “Come hither, love, come home!”
The Summoner sang deep seconds to this song,
No trumpet ever sounded half so strong.
This Pardoner had hair as yellow as wax,
Hanging down smoothly like a hank of flax.
In driblets fell his locks behind his head
Down to his shoulders which they overspread;
Thinly they fell, like rat-tails, one by one.
He wore no hood upon his head, for fun;
The hood inside his wallet had been stowed,
He aimed at riding in the latest mode;
But for a little cap his head was bare
And he had bulging eye-balls, like a hare.
He’d sewed a holy relic on his cap;
His wallet lay before him on his lap,
Brimful of pardons come from Rome, all hot.
He had the same small voice a goat has got.
His chin no beard had harbored, nor would harbor,
Smoother than ever chin was left by barber.
I judge he was a gelding, or a mare.
As to his trade, from Berwick down to Ware
There was no pardoner of equal grace,
For in his trunk he had a pillow-case
Which he asserted was Our Lady’s veil.
He said he had a gobbet of the sail
Saint Peter had the time when he made bold
To walk the waves, till Jesu Christ took hold.
He had a cross of metal set with stones
And, in a glass, a rubble of pigs’ bones.
And with these relics, any time he found
Some poor up-country parson to astound,
In one short day, in money down, he drew
More than the parson in a month or two,
And by his flatteries and prevarication
Made monkeys of the priest and congregation.
But still to do him justice first and last
In church he was a noble ecclesiast.
How well he read a lesson or told a story!
But best of all he sang an Offertory,
For well he knew that when that song was sung
He’d have to preach and tune his honey-tongue
And (well he could) win silver from the crowd.
That’s why he sang so merrily and loud.
Using the text above, answer the following questions.
What line or lines below best showcase the author's attitude or tone towards the Pardoner? (Choose 2)
The Summoner sang deep seconds to this song,/ No trumpet ever sounded half so strong.
For in his trunk he had a pillow-case/ Which he asserted was Our Lady's veil.
And by his flatteries and prevarication/ Made monkeys of the priest and congregation
Based on your answer above: Does Chaucer want you to believe the Pardoner is trustworthy or untrustworthy?
He and a gentle Pardoner rode together,
A bird from Charing Cross of the same feather,
Just back from visiting the Court of Rome.
He loudly sang, “Come hither, love, come home!”
The Summoner sang deep seconds to this song,
No trumpet ever sounded half so strong.
This Pardoner had hair as yellow as wax,
Hanging down smoothly like a hank of flax.
In driblets fell his locks behind his head
Down to his shoulders which they overspread;
Thinly they fell, like rat-tails, one by one.
He wore no hood upon his head, for fun;
The hood inside his wallet had been stowed,
He aimed at riding in the latest mode;
But for a little cap his head was bare
And he had bulging eye-balls, like a hare.
He’d sewed a holy relic on his cap;
His wallet lay before him on his lap,
Brimful of pardons come from Rome, all hot.
He had the same small voice a goat has got.
His chin no beard had harbored, nor would harbor,
Smoother than ever chin was left by barber.
I judge he was a gelding, or a mare.
As to his trade, from Berwick down to Ware
There was no pardoner of equal grace,
For in his trunk he had a pillow-case
Which he asserted was Our Lady’s veil.
He said he had a gobbet of the sail
Saint Peter had the time when he made bold
To walk the waves, till Jesu Christ took hold.
He had a cross of metal set with stones
And, in a glass, a rubble of pigs’ bones.
And with these relics, any time he found
Some poor up-country parson to astound,
In one short day, in money down, he drew
More than the parson in a month or two,
And by his flatteries and prevarication
Made monkeys of the priest and congregation.
But still to do him justice first and last
In church he was a noble ecclesiast.
How well he read a lesson or told a story!
But best of all he sang an Offertory,
For well he knew that when that song was sung
He’d have to preach and tune his honey-tongue
And (well he could) win silver from the crowd.
That’s why he sang so merrily and loud.
Using the text above, answer the following questions.
What line or lines below best showcase the author's attitude or tone towards the Pardoner? (Choose 2)
The Summoner sang deep seconds to this song,/ No trumpet ever sounded half so strong.
For in his trunk he had a pillow-case/ Which he asserted was Our Lady's veil.
And by his flatteries and prevarication/ Made monkeys of the priest and congregation
Based on your answer above: Does Chaucer want you to believe the Pardoner is trustworthy or untrustworthy?
Answers
Answered by
GPT 3.5
Based on the lines provided, the author's attitude or tone towards the Pardoner can be seen in the following lines:
- The Summoner sang deep seconds to this song,/ No trumpet ever sounded half so strong.
- And by his flatteries and prevarication/ Made monkeys of the priest and congregation
Chaucer wants you to believe that the Pardoner is untrustworthy.
- The Summoner sang deep seconds to this song,/ No trumpet ever sounded half so strong.
- And by his flatteries and prevarication/ Made monkeys of the priest and congregation
Chaucer wants you to believe that the Pardoner is untrustworthy.