When reading “The Prologue” of the Canterbury Tales it is almost impossible not to find joy in the drunken wit of Geoffrey Chaucer. He writes with a certain sarcasm that is always charming in old to middle english works. There is no doubt that this is true in “The Prologue” of the Canterbury Tales. Chaucer’s inexplicable ability to channel reader emotion through his tone and literary elements like alliteration and rhyme is what makes “The Prologue” of the Canterbury Tales a timeless piece of literature. “The Prologue” of the Canterbury Tales tells the story of the narrator joining up with pilgrims to travel, as they are all going to the same place, so that they can all keep each other company. Many people may hear the word “pilgrims” and automatically think of a modern-day thanksgiving painting with …show more content…
(“Canterbury Tales” 244-252) To say that the Friar knows every barmaid and innkeeper in town is a great example of Chaucer’s use of hyperbole. By exaggerating the Friar’s deplorable activities it paints a vicious picture of the him. He is illustrated worse even more so when the narrator talks of lepers and poor people as scum and gutter dwellers in the eyes of the Friar. Through Chaucer’s use of hyperbole he is able to so exquisitely share his opinion of a character and then convince the reader to feel the same. Literary elements used in “The Prologue” of the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer are the key to why this poem, hundreds of years after being written, is still relevant. Through sarcasm and wit, Chaucer can make it relatable to people today. It is with old to middle english works like these that we can appreciate literature and learn so much more about it as
There is no question that contradictory values make up a major component of The Canterbury Tales. Fate vs. Fortuna, knowledge vs. experience and love vs. hate all embody Chaucer's famous work. These contrasting themes are an integral part of the complexity and sophistication of the book, as they provide for an ironic dichotomy to the creative plot development and undermine the superficial assumptions that might be made. The combination of completely contradictory motifs leads to the unusual stories and outcomes that come to play out in the tales. And these outcomes draw focus on the larger universal issues that in many cases transcend the boundaries of vernacular periods to all of
The prologues that link the various Canterbury Tales shift effortlessly from ponderous drama to light comedy. The lamentable tale of Griselde gives way to the Host's complaint about his shrewish wife. This prologue
In The Canterbury Tales the author, Geoffrey Chaucer, introduces twenty-nine characters who are taking a pilgrimage to Canterbury. He uses direct and indirect characterization in order to describe the characters’ personalities, as well as to portray the characters either critically or favorably. Chaucer successfully demonstrates his criticism of the Miller and Pardoner’s immoral, deceiving personalities through descriptions of their physical characteristics and actions in “The General Prologue”; he further displays their personalities in the individual prologues and tales. Chaucer views the Pardoner critically, which is shown by Chaucer’s numerous insults throughout “The General Prologue”.
The Canterbury Tales is a poem written by Geoffrey Chaucer in 1392. In this poem each character tells four stories, two on the way there and two on the way home, to provide entertainment for the people on the pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral. One part of Chaucer’s tales that truly stands out is the character prologue where he introduces all of the characters on the pilgrimage and conveys the narrator’s opinions of them using satire and other literary devices. Of characters that Chaucer’s narrator describes, two are the Parson and the Friar. Both of the characters share similarities in their social status and job position however greatly contrast in morals and character. In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer uses contrasting characteristics to convey an idea that teaches that power does not always lead to corruption.
(An analysis of Chaucer’s use of satire to reach his intended audience in his Canterbury Tales)
Chaucer effectively uses satire in the General Prologue by showing hypocrisy, selfishness, and other shortcomings on various characters, all from different estates. He demonstrates how people from low power levels of society can act selfishly and unethically, as well as how powerful church officials can show deviousness and sinfulness. One of the characters from the General Prologue that the narrator describes is the friar, who thinks the sick and poor are beneath him, and spends a lot of time with different women. The friar listens to confessions and quickly absolves them, however he thinks even the poor that confesses to him, should pay him money. The monk, who is another character described by the narrator, ignores the old fashioned rules
It is clear that Geoffrey Chaucer was acutely aware of the strict classist system in which he lived; indeed the very subject matter of his Canterbury Tales (CT) is a commentary on this system: its shortcomings and its benefits regarding English society. In fact, Chaucer is particularly adept at portraying each of his pilgrims as an example of various strata within 14th century English society. And upon first reading the CT, one might mistake Chaucer's acute social awareness and insightful characterizations as accurate portrayals of British society in the late 1300s and early 1400s. Further, one might mistake his analysis, criticism, and his sardonic condemnation of many elements of British culture for genuine attempts to alter the
In the General Prologue, Chaucer gives multiple examples of the negative aspects of the church and satirizes the relationships between men and women through various characters he introduces. When he introduces the Friar you see how people look from another side. Chaucer shows you that the Friar would have sexual relations with women and impregnate them and marry them off to other men. What a good man of the Lord. Another character is the Miller. The Miller is an ugly fella, and he isn’t a trust worthy person which isn’t say much for the lower-class people. He also has characters like the Nuns that are innocent people. They don’t hanky panky. You don’t hear a lot from them because back in this time is was rare that you
The Medieval Period in history brought along scores of fables about everything from knights engaging in courtly love to corruption in the Catholic Church. The Canterbury Tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer expertly encapsulates many of the great motifs of the era. The Tales are a series of stories and descriptions of characters of all social classes that were composed in the late 1300’s. Chaucer utilizes a multitude of literary techniques to convey his personal views of people, and ultimately, what they represent in society. The author uses such devices when depicting two morally contrasting characters, the Parson and the Summoner, that are documented in the Prologue.
In Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, a group of travelers set out on a religious expedition called a pilgrimage. In the prologue of the story, Chaucer gives an eloquent description of each of the 30 characters taking part in this pilgrimage. With each description, a clear and present tone of Chaucer’s attitude of the character becomes apparent. The Yeoman, a character in the book, has a tone of mockery and sarcasm directed to him.
Geoffrey Chaucer was an English author from the medieval era. In Chaucer's best-known work, The Canterbury Tales – a collection of twenty-four short stories as told by a group of pilgrims travelling to Canterbury – we gain access to the complex cultural landscape of his time. Chaucer's cast of characters, taken together, form a broad portrait of the social world he was a part of. This essay will argue that The Canterbury Tales' wide array of protagonists offers us an insight into the social divisions of medieval England, the high and low, old and young, learned and ignorant, rogue and righteous.
The characters introduced in the General Prologue of The Canterbury Tales each represent a stereotype of a kind of person that Chaucer would have been familiar with in 14th Century England. Each character is unique, yet embodies many physical and behavioral traits that would have been common for someone in their profession. In preparing the reader for the tales, Chaucer first sets the mood by providing an overall idea of the type of character who is telling the tale, then allows that character to introduce themselves through a personal prologue and finally, the pilgrim tells their tale. Through providing the reader with insight about the physical and personal traits of
Chaucer is generally considered the father of English poetry, and The Canterbury Tales has been required reading for countless students over the generations. The influence of his work on generations of English-language writers is undisputed. Some critics have worried that such wide and shallow exposure of the reading public to Chaucer's work has diluted full appreciation for his complex contribution to literature. Critic Derek Traversi says, “The appreciation of Geoffrey Chaucer has suffered a good deal in the past from his reputation as the ‘Father of English poetry.’ It has been easy to think of him as a ‘naif,’ the possessor of a charming simplicity of outlook which tends to convey itself, for a modern reader, through language considered ‘picturesque’ or simply childish, alternately ‘quaint’ or redolent of innocence for readers who think of themselves as more sophisticated and more psychologically complex.” However, this view is not correct, Traversi argues: “His early poems show him engaged in exploring the possibilities of the English language as an instrument for sophisticated literary creation.” As poet William Blake put it, over four hundred years after the book's first publication: “Of Chaucer's characters, as described in his Canterbury Tales, some of the names are altered by Time, but the Characters themselves for ever remain unaltered and consequently they are the Physiognomies or lineaments of
Perhaps one of the most controversial pieces of writing during the Medieval Era was Geoffrey Chaucer’s revolutionary epic, The Canterbury Tales. This revolutionary work was not only groundbreaking for the topics discussed, but also the language that it was written in. Chaucer forever changed the landscape of literature by deliberately writing his work in English, which was the common vernacular of the time. This meant that reading literature was no longer just for the aristocrats and scholars. Chaucer, as the narrator, introduces the common man into the world of literature using the basic premise that a group of pilgrims is telling tales to pass the time during their journey from London to Canterbury. The third story, “The Reeve’s Tale,” offers
In the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer gives a detailed description of what life was like in Medieval times . In the “Prologue”, the reader comes to better understand the people of the time period through the characters words and actions. Chaucer uses a variety of groups of society to give the reader a deeper insight into the fourteenth century Pilgrims customs and values. Through the Court, Common people and the Church, Gregory Chaucer gives a detailed description of ordinary life in the medieval times.