The Parson's Prologue and Tale

The Parson's Tale is the last story in The Canterbury Tales, a book from the 14th century written by Geoffrey Chaucer. The story is told by the Parson, a good priest who takes care of a parish. Instead of telling an entertaining story like the other pilgrims do, he gives a serious speech about the Seven Deadly Sins and how to do penance (making up for a sin so you can be forgiven). In the Middle Ages, there were a lot of essays about sins and penance. To write the Parson's Tale, Chaucer translated guidebooks about penance by two Dominican friars and re-used parts of what they wrote. Modern people usually think the Parson's Tale is boring, especially compared to the rest of the Canterbury Tales. Some scholars used to think it was so different from the other stories, it shouldn't even be part of the Canterbury Tales. Today, scholars think a non-fiction essay with a moral message is a good ending for a book that has told a lot of fictional stories that might be immoral.

Category:The Canterbury Tales