Lies And Deciets During The Plague
...death that was constantly looming the streets and alleys of cities. Because of this fear, many priests and other holy men sought to use the fear as a way to make a profit for themselves. Many people of this time who knew about the lies and deceptions did not feel that it was right, so many of the authors decided to let the people know the truth behind these evil dealings. Authors used their stories to express their feelings while bringing the reader's attention to the lies and manipulations of the holy men in hopes of bringing about a reform.
Many of the authors during this time, such as Geoffrey Chaucer, used their works to express their feelings about the priests. In Chaucer's "The Pardoner's Tale", Chaucer expresses his feelings with his tone of writing and through one of his main characters. "I wolnon of the Apostles counterfere. I wol have money, wolle, chese, and whete, al were it yeven of the provereste page, or of the provereste widwe in a village, al shold hir children sterve for famine" (195). Chaucer uses this distressing tone to express his anger towards the fact that most of the holy men who lie do not care about who they are taking from. He deliberately writes this passage to strike into the readers what was really going on. Chaucer also in part shows his anger through the host at the conclusion of the tale.
"Thou woldst make me kisse thyn olde breech and swere it were a relik of a saint, thogh it were with thy fundament depeintÂ…I wolde I hadde thy coillons in myn hond in stede of relikesÂ…thay shuld be shryned in an hogges tord" (207). Chaucer expresses with this passage his anger about how priests would do whatever it took to make a profit. The host is angry because the pardoner has already told the group of travelers about his lies and tricks, but he is still trying to collect money.
In "The Pardoner's Tale", the Pardoner,...
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