Read the excerpt from The Canterbury Tales.I can sting with my tongue; and when I preachI sting so hard, the fellow can’t escapeSlander and defamation, if so beHe’s wronged my fellow-pardoners, or me,Even if I don’t give his actual name,Yet everybody knows that he’s the oneFrom hints, and other circumstantialities—That’s how I deal with people who annoy us;That’s how I spit out venom, under guiseOf piety, and seem sincerely pious.
A
by revealing the clergy’s lack of theological knowledgeB
by revealing the clergy’s disregard for people experiencing povertyC
by revealing the clergy’s vindictive abuse of powerD
by revealing the clergy’s lack of loyalty to one another