The Tale of Forgiveness: Use of Verbal and Situational IronyIn "The Tale of Forgiveness," Geoffrey Chaucer masterfully frames an informal homily. Through verbal and situational irony, Chaucer is able to accentuate the moral characteristics of the Pardoner. The essence of the story is illustrated by the glaring discrepancy between the storyteller's character and the message of his story. By analyzing this contrast, the reader can place himself in the mind of the Pardoner in order to account for his psychology. In the Prologue of the tale, the Pardoner clearly admits that he only preaches for the greed of gain. His sermons revolve around the biblical idea that “the love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). Ironically, however, the Pardoner condemns the same vice he lives with, as he proclaims that "greed is the theme I use in all my sermons, to make people free to give pennies, especially to me." . Thus, lust is both the substance of his sermons and the mechanism by which he thrives. He clearly states that repentance is not the central focus of his preaching, mentioning that "my mind is set on what I want to gain and not on the correction of sin." Rather, his primary intention is to acquire as many shillings as possible in exchange for his insignificant graces. In this regard, it can be argued that although the Pardoner is evil, he is not a dissembler. His psychology is clearly not guided by hypocrisy because he does not hide his intentions under false pretenses. Chaucer obscures in ambiguity the true nature of the Pardoner's psychology. Middle of paper......nations of his thought processes, it is clear that the Pardoner does not practice what he preaches. It is ambiguous, however, whether the Pardoner believes what he preaches, but simply does not follow his preaching, or whether he does not believe what he preaches at all. It is evident, however, that the Pardoner has an astute mind. He is very efficient at what he does. Although he exploits the Church for his personal purposes, he succeeds in obtaining what he pursues. The effectiveness of his strategy is confirmed by Chaucer's description of the Pardoner as a "noble ecclesiastic" and as being without equal in his profession. So, amidst all his flattery, there is a spark of genius that complements his minimal level of ethics. This intellectual finesse is the bed of the river from which all the products of his mind flow...