On the other hand, the vivid description of the Summoner is disgusting. His skin is full of pimples and boils. He smells of garlic and wine. Chaucer writes, “No borax, ceruse, tartar, could discharge, Nor ointment that could cleanse enough.” The tone is vivid as to how unclean the Summoner was. He was unclean in body and mind. He lied and was sanctimonious. He was suppose to be a man of God and he was very much full of pride and of the purse. The Summoner’s bad nature could bring harm to others as illustrated by Chaucer’s statement, “he brought duress on any young fellow in the diocese. Chaucer’s writes vividly about the Summoner, “who had a fiery-red, cherubic face.” In other words he is not what he seems. Fiery-red is incongruent with a cherub. The impact on the reader is heightened by the dissonance of terms. The hypocrisy is highlighted by the tone of the language. The tone of Chaucer’s writings used vivid descriptions to heighten the impact of the themes and messages he was expressing. The contrast between The Summoner and The Wife of Bath is striking. The disgust for hypocrisy could be seen, smelled and understood vividly in the characterization of the Summoner. Whereas, the attraction to the Wife of Bath was a tribute to honest thinking. On the other hand, the vivid description of the Summoner is disgusting. His skin is full of pimples and boils. He smells of garlic and wine. Chaucer writes, “No borax, ceruse, tartar, could discharge, Nor ointment that could cleanse enough.” The tone is vivid as to how unclean the Summoner was. He was unclean in body and mind. He lied and was sanctimonious. He was suppose to be a man of God and he was very much full of pride and of the purse. The Summoner’s bad nature could bring harm to others as illustrated by Chaucer’s statement, “he brought duress on any young fellow in the diocese. Chaucer’s writes vi...
