Revenge in the Friar and Summoner Tales, Essay Example

Since this paper is about revenge, at first I thought it would have to be more about the Summoner’s tale than the Friar’s. That’s because the Friar went first with his insulting story about a summoner, and so didn’t seem to be having revenge. But it turns out that at that time in English history, friars and summoners were professional enemies. So they had reasons to hate each other on sight, and did. The Friar was just getting his revenge in first.

The Summoner answers with a story that shows a friar to be as stupid as the Friar showed a summoner to be. That’s why both stories remind me of the attack-ads that run on TV during elections. The candidates defend themselves by attacking their opponents. There you lie, you summoner! and By God I’ll then repay him, every jot. They both get revenge on each other, but only at the cost of their own integrity and dignity. Neither knows how to take the high road.

I think that the contrast in revenge can be found in the stories’ outcomes. In the Friar’s tale, a summoner speaks to a “yeoman” with perfect truth and is rewarded with perfect truth in return. But he’s too stupid to be saved from Hell by the old woman he hopes to victimize. In the Summoner’s tale, a friar spends nearly all his time telling lies to Thomas with the intent of swindling him, but the friar is too stupid to be saved from final humiliation by a young squire. So the summoner’s fate is serious and the friar’s is funny, as basic a distinction as you can get.