Extra what is ironic in the words used by the narrator to describe the summoner in "the prologue"
to the canterbury tales?
excerpt below

you'd meet none better if you went to find one. /why, he'd allow- just for a quart of wine-/
any good lad to keep a concubine. (ii. 666 668)

the present continuous is a verb tense which is mainly used to indicates that an action is in progress at the moment of speaking.  

it is formed using: person + verb to be (am/is/are) +verb + - ing form  

example: i am studying at this moment .

in addition, the present continuous is also used in order to express things that will or will not happen in the near future.

example: i am having dinner with some friends tonight.

the speaker sometimes   uses it   to express that an action is repeated and it causes irritation on the part of the speaker

example: my sister is constantly complaining about everything.

the author wants to draw the reader deeper into the experiences.