The Friar and the Parson in The Canterbury Tales Essay

The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer, is a collection of stories from various characters through the viewpoint of Chaucer the pilgrim and then through Chaucer the poet. The story is written like a story-within-a-story. Chaucer uses irony to describe the Friar, who is worldly, not exactly what a friar should be. On the other hand, Chaucer shows an admiration for the Parson; however, he does not completely dislike the Friar either.

First, we have the Parson. He is the only really devout and holy churchman in the party of pilgrims. Although the Parson lives in almost complete poverty, begging for his living, he is rich and full of holy and thoughtful deeds. He is described as being a good man with a yearning to help others and to promote holiness. He is not very worldly as Chaucer tells us, “He much disliked extorting tithe or fee, nay rather he preferred beyond a doubt, giving to the poor parishioners round about, from his own goods and Easter offerings, he found sufficiency in little things.” Here Chaucer tells us how good of a man the Parson is and how he makes do, happily, with what little he has. He is a pastor of a town where he practices what he preaches; he teaches the Gospel to the people of the town. The Parson can be described as the opposite of the Friar.

The friars of the day are those who take a vow of poverty and are licensed to beg in certain areas. Chaucer tells us that this Friar “was an easy man in penance giving, where he could hope to make a decent living.” Chaucer uses this passage to present an irony in the Friar. The Friar is described as a sensual and shameless man who uses many excuses to get people to give money, whether for prayers or forgiveness. He also loves money and accepts all types of bribes. This accepting of bribes shows an irony between the friars of the time period and the Friar in Chaucer’s tale. Although the Friar took a vow of poverty and needs to beg for a living, he is very worldly, too worldly for a friar. Another example of irony is when Chaucer tells us that the Friar knows the taverns better than the poor houses. The Friar in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales is far from what a true friar should be.