Chaucer's Inversion of Augustinian Rhetoric in the Pardoner's Prologue and Tale

Author / Editor
Hicks, James E.

Title
Chaucer's Inversion of Augustinian Rhetoric in the Pardoner's Prologue and Tale

Published
Essays in Medieval Studies 3: 78-98, 1986.

Description
In PardPT, Chaucer inverts three major precepts of Augustinian sermon rhetoric ("De Doctrina Christiana"): the preacher must pray before preaching, the preacher must maintain a grave and appropriate demeanor, and the preacher must maintain Christian instruction as his goal. Breaking each of these, the Pardoner is an inversion of the ideal Augustinian preacher.

Chaucer Subjects
Pardoner and His Tale.