The Canterbury Tales: The Friar Outwits The Summoner

Part I of Essay
The Friar clearly outwits the Summoner in Geoffrey Chaucer’s marvelous novel, The Canterbury Tales. In “The Friar’s Tale” the friar cleverly portrayed an image of the summoner whereas in “The Summoner’s Tale,” the summoner relied upon vulgarity to depict a portrait of the ....

Part II of Essay
.... and a thief: “And Judas kept a bag, and was a thief, just what a thief was he…he was a thief, a summoner, a pimp.” By doing so, the friar implies that a summoner must indeed know the deceitful arts of theft and embezzlement: “He knew so much of bribery and blackmail I should be two years telling you the tale.” By giving so many portraits of a summoner, the friar is sketching what he thinks of summoners in general. Having gathered all this, “A summoner isn’t much to be commended.” The summoner however, resorts to vulgarity due to anger ....