Question

ddle ages through the
m the canterbury tales
y geoffrey chaucer
translated by david wright
the prologue of the pardoners tale
\gentlemen\ said he, \i take pains to preach
in churches with a lofty, resonant voice,
regular as a bell i ring it out,
for everything i say i have by heart:
my texts the same one as it always was—
radix malorum est cupiditas.
\to start with, i declare where ive come from,
and then produce my certificates, one by one;
my licence with the seal of our lord bishop
which i show first—thats to protect myself
so that nobody, whether priest or cleric,
dares interdict me from christs holy work.
its only after that i say my piece:
documents, certificates, mandates, bulls
from popes, patriarchs, bishops, cardinals,
i show, and say a few words in latin
—thats to give spice and colour to my sermon—
it also helps to stir them to devotion.
then i bring out long boxes made of glass,
chockful of rags and bones, each one a relic,
or so they think; and ive got, set in brass,
the shoulderbone of one of jacobs sheep,
\dearly beloved brethren,\ i begin,

ow listen carefully. just dip this bone
into a well, and then if calf or cow,
ill put your name down on my prayer-roll,
and you shall enter to the bliss of heaven
which statement best describes the satire in the excerpt?
chaucer criticizes the notion that divine
forgiveness depends on giving money.
chaucer criticizes the idea that people go to
heaven after death.
chaucer criticizes the practice of confessing ones
sins to a priest.
chaucer criticizes the fact that clergymen earn
more than peasants.

Explanation:

In "The Prologue of the Pardoner’s Tale", the Pardoner uses relics and claims to offer divine forgiveness in exchange for money (e.g., putting names on a prayer - roll for a reward). The other options are incorrect: the excerpt does not criticize the idea of going to heaven, the practice of confession, or the income difference between clergymen and peasants. It focuses on the corrupt practice of linking divine forgiveness to monetary offerings.

Answer:

Chaucer criticizes the notion that divine forgiveness depends on giving money.