Literary/Historical AnalysisChaucer

Although Geoffrey Chaucer’s Pardoner’s Tale is undoubtedly fiction, like all fiction literature it is based on many non-fiction elements. In the case of The Pardoner’s Tale, Chaucer uses the story to make social commentary on his time and to give the reader an insightful view of the profession of the pardoner.
As a result of the massive amount of deaths each day, due to “The Plague”, many began to realize that death very well could come knocking at their door at any time. In fear of eternal damnation, they performed acts of penance to free themselves of sins they had committed in hopes of having their souls sent to heaven (Packet, 61). Pardoners began showing up around this time and made the process of sin purging ...