what type of tale is the pardoner's tale
a moral tale an extended exemplum
title: The Pardoner's Tale text: The Pardoner's Tale "The Pardoner's Tale" is one of "The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer. In the order of the Tales, it comes after The Physician's Tale and before The Shipman's Tale; it is prompted by the Host's desire to hear something positive after that depressing tale. The Pardoner initiates his Prologue—briefly accounting his methods of conning people—and then proceeds to tell a moral tale. The tale itself is an extended exemplum. Setting out to kill Death, three young men encounter an Old Man who says they will find him under a nearby tree. When they arrive they discover a title: The Pardoner's Tale text: Knight intervenes and urges them to make peace. The prologue—taking the form of a literary confession—was most probably modelled on that of "Faus Semblaunt" in the medieval French poem "Roman de la Rose". The tale of the three rioters is a version of a folk tale with a "remarkably wide range" and has numerous analogues: ancient Buddhist, Persian, and African. The relationship between tellers and tale is distinctly significant in "The Pardoner's Tale". The Pardoner is an enigmatic character, portrayed as grotesque in the General Prologue. He is seemingly aware of his sin—it is not clear why he tells the title: The Pardoner's Tale text: in Flanders at an indeterminate time, and opens with three young men drinking, gambling and blaspheming in a tavern. The Pardoner condemns each of these "tavern sins" in turn—gluttony, drinking, gambling, and swearing—with support from the Christian scriptures, before proceeding with the tale. The rioters hear a bell signalling a burial; their friend has been killed by a "privee theef" known as Death, who has also killed a thousand others. The men set out to avenge them and kill Death. An old man they brusquely query tells them that he has asked Death to take him but has failed. He title: The Pardoner's Tale text: the character in the General Prologue to "The Canterbury Tales", which inherently reflects the quality of the narrative attributed to him. The old man who appears before the rioters has been the subject of considerable debate. Many persons and scholars reference him as "death in person", "the Wandering Jew", "Old Age itself", and "Death's messenger". W. J. B. Owen refutes these views as he points out that "He is seeking Death; and that Death or his agent should find death is contrary to all the logic of allegory." Owen argues that a character is merely an old man and not title: The Pardoner's Tale text: then says they can find death at the foot of an oak tree. When the men arrive at the tree, they find a large amount of gold coins and forget about their quest to kill Death. They decide to sleep at the oak tree overnight, so they can take the coins in the morning. The three men draw straws to see who among them should fetch wine and food while the other two wait under the tree. The youngest of the three men draws the shortest straw and departs; while he is away, the remaining two plot to overpower and