Summoner's Tale

There is a specific reason that Chaucer gets the Summoner to tell that tale that he shares with the group. The Summoner is angry after hearing the Friar’s tale. He then sarcastically suggests that the Friar told a well-documented story since friars and fiends are always good friends (Chaucer, Geoffrey). The Summoner then makes a point about Friars in general telling a story of how twenty thousand Friars came from under Satan’s tail and that not all Friars are holy (Chaucer, Geoffrey). The Summoner then tells a tale of how a Friar goes around promising prayer for items people would give him, and then never sends the prayers (Chaucer, Geoffrey). The Friar then goes on to tell that the Friar fondles a sick elder man’s wife and kisses her on the cheek, then proceeds to tell the sic man that anger is not the way to go about things (Chaucer,

Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales in a collection of 24 stories while on a pilgrimage to visit the relics of Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. The purpose behind this pilgrimage is for the pilgrims to visit the shrine to seek forgiveness for their sins. Due to the long trip, the host made a deal with everyone to tell two stories on the way and back from Canterbury and whoever tells the best one receives a paid for meal. Each character telling their stories gives away bits of information and a visual idea of who they really are. In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer uses detail, point of view, and descriptive language to portray the Pardoner and Summoner to be worse than the Skipper.

By using funny descriptions and puns within his diction, he creates a satire that is both entertaining and political in nature. For example, the imagery he uses when describing the flatulence scene is both vulgar and timeless. He writes of Nicholas and Absolon’s interaction, “This Nicholas anon leet fle a fart,/As greet as it had been a thonder-dent,/That with the strook he was almoost yblent;/And he was redy with his iren hoot,/And Nicholas amydde the ers he smoot” (lines 3806-3810). Chaucer manages to compare the sound of Nicholas’s passing gas to thunder and says that it was so toxic that it almost blinded Absolon. The way Chaucer words this selection is so matter-of-fact and simply stated, that it increases the hilarity of the whole incident. Although Chaucer is entertaining his audience, he is also seeking to show the immorality of the every day people who surround him. This satirical use of language sets a tone that is both jovial and constructively

A red light flashes when questioning the authenticity of the Friar. He is distinguished as a festive, merry man who drinks excessively and carouses with several women. He is very money conscious, an excellent beggar, and despises associating himself with the poor or unfortunate. The Friar’s integrity is questioned also by Gower, who writes,

In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, the playwright introduces the compelling, complex, and complicated character of the Prince of Denmark, Hamlet. In the events of the play, Hamlet swears revenge against his uncle for the foul murder of his father, the king. However, despite his intense catalyst, Hamlet reveals to be continuously torn between his motive of revenge and conflicted conscience, generating an inability to carry out his desired actions. While Hamlet possesses the passion and intellect to murder his uncle, Claudius, his actual inclination to act upon the murder directly opposes that of his powerfully emotional contemplations (S.T. Coleridge). Hamlet’s overzealous thoughts become unrealistic compared to his actual endeavors throughout the play.

The Friar’s tale mocks the idiotic summoner who says “ i’ll hold to my engagement...though you were...the very Devil”(298). The Friar’s mockery of the Summoner and his occupation would soon be repaid by the vengeful and angry Summoner.

Evil is a word that is rooted in thoughts, and actions. The concept of evil is a convoluted force. In Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, morals are reexamined through each tale. Chaucer discusses moral evil and its relevance to innocence, specifically in the Pardoner’s Tale, with the three rakes, and in the Prioress Tale, with the young boy. The seducing of innocence to become dishonorable is evil. All things wicked start from innocence.

The Canterbury Tales, written and narrated by Geoffrey Chaucer, explores manipulation and dishonesty in the Catholic Church. The Nun in “The General Prologue” exemplifies improper qualities to which a Prioress should have. Along with the Nun, The Friar in “The General Prologue” uses false information to gain customer. In “The Pardoner’s Tale,” the Pardoner uses greedy tactics to wield other pilgrims into buying his relics.In Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Chaucer uses the Nun and the Friar in “The General Prologue” and the Pardoner in “The Pardoner’s Tale” to show the hypocrisy in the Church.

The play “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare is about a guy named Hamlet going through a hard time in life, after the death of his father, and the remarriage of his mother to his uncle. Throughout the play were are able to get a greater understanding of who Hamlet really is. The actions of Hamlet in Shakespeare's master piece “Hamlet” proves him to a revenge seeker, emotional, and crazy.

During the Middle Ages, there were many revolutionary things happening. When people think of the Middle Ages, knights may come to mind. That’s because chivalry was probably one of the most important concepts of the time. There was also a plaque from 1348-1350, not to mention the church and states’ shaky relationship. Without some of the literature of this time period, there would be little understanding of the culture and lives of people during the Middle Ages. The Pardoner’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer tells how even hundreds of years ago, greed took a hold of people. Sir Gawain and The Green Knight shows how important chivalry was during this time period. The Wife of Bath depicts the importance of chivalry, too, while also telling about the struggles that women faced.

In the year of 1390, an intriguing frame story known as The Canterbury Tales was written by Geoffrey Chaucer, which discussed 24 unique characters with their own personalities and patterns of behavior (Lumiansky). The summoner within the story demonstrates the corruption within the Catholic Church, exploiting his privileges with a grin on his face. The primary excerpt throws in statements such as, “Children were afraid when he appeared,” and “Questio quid juris”, which means, “I ask what the point of the law [applies]”, frequently used by The Summoner to stall and evade the issue at hand (Elements of Literature). He did as he wanted when he wanted, often utilizing the system itself within his own endeavors, even when it inconveniences

     There is an old saying, "The sins of the fathers are visited upon the sons." When the sons in question are Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras - pivotal characters in Shakespeare's Hamlet - one might wonder how each man's father affects their particular natures - their particular sins. While Hamlet could be considered a story in the vein of Cain and Abel; a jealous man who slays his brother, an allusion which Claudius himself makes during his "prayer" at the climax of the play - "O! my offense is rank, it smells to heaven,/It hath the primal eldest curse upon 't;/A brother's murder! . . ." (III, iii, 36-39) - the greatest sum of miseries in the play are caused by the paths taken by Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras

The Medieval Period in history brought along scores of fables about everything from knights engaging in courtly love to corruption in the Catholic Church. The Canterbury Tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer expertly encapsulates many of the great motifs of the era. The Tales are a series of stories and descriptions of characters of all social classes that were composed in the late 1300’s. Chaucer utilizes a multitude of literary techniques to convey his personal views of people, and ultimately, what they represent in society. The author uses such devices when depicting two morally contrasting characters, the Parson and the Summoner, that are documented in the Prologue.

The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu deals heavily with Japanese religions and its influence on Japanese society. Themes of jealousy, responsibility and guilt are also mixed in with the religious themes. Religions and ideals clash through the course of the novel. Shikibu focused on the two religions of Buddhism and Shinto. Buddhism represents the modern day religion in the novel and Shinto is viewed as the old religion. As the novel progress the readers start to see the fusion of the two religions. Throughout the novel several people such as women and priests live their lives according to the religion they choose to follow. This work of Japanese literature also includes demons

The Friar is a bad guy. He is licensed to hear confessions and uses his position to beg for money, operating under the assumption that penance works better through payment than prayers. He also has the reputation of getting girls into "trouble," then helping to marry them to others