The Friar's Tale
E951587
"The Friar's Tale" is one of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, in which a friar maliciously satirizes a corrupt summoner through a moralizing story about greed, hypocrisy, and diabolic justice.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Canterbury Tale
ⓘ
Middle English narrative poem ⓘ frame tale episode ⓘ |
| author | Geoffrey Chaucer NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| centralConflict | a corrupt summoner’s alliance with a devil for profit ⓘ |
| collectedIn |
The Canterbury Tales (various modern translations)
ⓘ
The Riverside Chaucer NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| compositionDate | late 14th century ⓘ |
| contrastsWith | The Summoner's Tale NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin | England ⓘ |
| depicts | abuse of ecclesiastical authority for personal gain ⓘ |
| featuresCharacter |
a corrupt summoner
ⓘ
a yeoman who is actually a devil ⓘ |
| followedBy | The Summoner's Tale NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| genre |
fabliau
ⓘ
moral tale ⓘ satire ⓘ |
| hasPrologue | The Friar's Prologue NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| includedIn | most modern editions of The Canterbury Tales ⓘ |
| influences | later English satirical treatments of corrupt officials ⓘ |
| language | Middle English ⓘ |
| literaryFunction | escalates the quarrel between Friar and Summoner in the Canterbury frame ⓘ |
| literaryMovement | Middle English literature ⓘ |
| literaryPeriod | Middle Ages NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| meter | rhymed couplets ⓘ |
| moralFocus | divine and infernal punishment for extortion ⓘ |
| moralLesson | those who practice extortion risk damnation ⓘ |
| moralOutcome | the summoner is carried off to hell ⓘ |
| moralPerspective | criticizes clerical corruption from within the clergy ⓘ |
| narratedBy | the Friar NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| narrativeDevice | ironic pact between summoner and devil ⓘ |
| originalScript | Latin alphabet ⓘ |
| partOf | The Canterbury Tales NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| precedes | The Summoner's Tale in The Canterbury Tales sequence NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| primaryTheme |
corruption in the medieval church
ⓘ
diabolic justice ⓘ greed ⓘ hypocrisy ⓘ |
| setting | medieval England ⓘ |
| structure | narrative framed by the Canterbury pilgrimage ⓘ |
| studiedIn | medieval English literature courses ⓘ |
| taleToldBy | the Friar NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| targetsOfSatire |
ecclesiastical courts
ⓘ
summoners ⓘ |
| tone |
didactic
ⓘ
mocking ⓘ |
| verseForm | iambic pentameter (predominantly) ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.