Chaucer's Amphibologies and 'The Old Man' in The Pardoner's Tale
- Author / Editor
- Pearcy, Roy J.
Chaucer's Amphibologies and 'The Old Man' in The Pardoner's Tale
- Published
- English Language Notes 41.4 (2004): 1-10.
- Description
- Pearcy traces the history and literary use of amphibology-'in Chaucer, a statement capable of two interpretations, uttered by a speaker with supernatural or oracular powers to a listener who can perceive only a meaning at variance with the true intent of the message (TC 4.1406, MkT, NPT, KnT). In PardT, the Old Man uses amphibology to punish the rioters; the trickster Saint Martin of Jean Bodel's fabliau speaks similarly.
- Chaucer Subjects
- Pardoner and His Tale.
- Troilus and Criseyde.
- Language and Word Studies.