Talk:The Parson's Prologue and Tale

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A sermon is a talk on a religious or moral subject given by a member of the clergy as part of a religious service; a long and tedious talk, especially one telling somebody how or how not to behave. In his prologue he says that he wants to tell a story of “virtuous sentence”. When he says sentence he means sententious. Sententious means tending to use, or full of, maxims and aphorism; inclined to moralizes more than is merited or appreciated; expressing much in few words. Sententious has the connotation of being pompous which is how he acts. That is why he tells a sermon. He wants to moralize people and since he is pompous, he talks in a rather haughty tone.