Certainly, "The Pardoner's Tale" is an attack on the hypocrisy and greed rampant in the Medieval church of Chaucer's day. The Pardoner not only doesn't practice what he preaches, but he, in fact, does the exact opposite. The tale is also significant in that it reinforces the Medieval Era's admiration for morality tales and plays, while suggesting that the people promoting such stories are, perhaps, the most in need of them.
Obviously, one does not have to search very far to realize the continued significance of "The Pardoner's Tale" to our society today. While our society is decidedly more secular, examples of hypocrisy, such as the Pardoner's, abound. Many people espouse certain beliefs or principles and practice essentially the opposite. More specifically, greed remains a powerful driving force in our economy and government. Perhaps, we have more Pardoners than we would like.
"The Pardoner's Tale" is, obviously, rife with all types of irony. The very nature of the Pardoner, who is greedy, telling a tale warning against the dangers of greed is situational irony, as is the preface of killing Death in the tale. The old man telling the rioters that they will find Death is under the tree is verbal irony since he actually means that they will find their deaths, caused by the money which is there, instead of a personified figure of death. The most prevalent example of dramatic irony occurs when the rioters are planning on killing the others to keep more money, since we know what they are planning but the other rioters don't.
Obviously, one does not have to search very far to realize the continued significance of "The Pardoner's Tale" to our society today. While our society is decidedly more secular, examples of hypocrisy, such as the Pardoner's, abound. Many people espouse certain beliefs or principles and practice essentially the opposite. More specifically, greed remains a powerful driving force in our economy and government. Perhaps, we have more Pardoners than we would like.
"The Pardoner's Tale" is, obviously, rife with all types of irony. The very nature of the Pardoner, who is greedy, telling a tale warning against the dangers of greed is situational irony, as is the preface of killing Death in the tale. The old man telling the rioters that they will find Death is under the tree is verbal irony since he actually means that they will find their deaths, caused by the money which is there, instead of a personified figure of death. The most prevalent example of dramatic irony occurs when the rioters are planning on killing the others to keep more money, since we know what they are planning but the other rioters don't.