Juxtaposition In The General Prologue

In the poem, the Prioress is a nun whose real name is Madame Eglantine. A nun’s job was to show her faithfulness to God and altruism to the unfortunate. The poet Chaucer revealed Madame Eglantine’s character unable to demonstrate the characteristic traits of a nun. She refuses to follow the attributes of being a nun. The author craftily demonstrates to his audiences the resistance of conforming to the traditional role of a nun seen in Line 123-133.

By analyzing “The Canterbury Tales”, one can conclude that Chaucer did see the merits of the church, but by no means regarded it in a wholly positive light. Whereas some of the clergy are viewed as devout and God-fearing, others are viewed as con- men and charlatans. One can even venture to say that Chaucer was using this story as somewhat of a criticism of the church, showing the flaws of its leaders and the greed that permeated it at the time.

The Nun cares too much about her appearance and how other people think of her. Her desire to be well-mannered is not something a child of God is supposed to worry about during her time as a nun. Instead, the Nun should be spreading the words of God and inspiring other people to follow Christianity.Not only is the Nun obsessed with her appearance, she

The fact that Chaucer’s main reason of retracting his tales in The Canterbury Tales is to avoid accusations arising from writing some of the tales is no secret. The fictions rather use some words and an approach that at the time would have sounded offensive to the pilgrimage or as a criticism of the church. He uses the retraction to appeal to not only truth as an ideal virtue but also to the words of the pilgrims that

Chaucer’s innovation in the Pardoner’s performance tests our concept of dramatic irony by suggesting information regarding the Pardoner’s sexuality, gender identity, and spirituality, major categories in the politics of identity, without confirming that information. Our presumed understanding of the Pardoner as a character lacks substantiation. As we learn about the Pardoner through the narrator’s eyes and ears, we look to fit the "noble ecclesiaste" (l. 708) into the figure shaped by our own prejudices and perceptions, as any active reader must do. But the Pardoner, ever aware of his audience, does not offer clear clues to his personality. This break between what the other

In the very first lines of The General Prologue, Chaucer is already demonstrating how his work can be read in two ways: nominalistically and realistically. The nominalist, Chaucer’s pilgrim narrator, sees the lines meant to interpret one way, while the realist, Chaucer the poet, interprets the lines another way.

Knowing this, the assertion of the Prioress in the correctness of religious standards in her tale shows the shallow prospect of her Christian rhetoric. Victoria Wickham elaborates on this precept of Chaucer’s satire on Christianity and on anti-semitism overall when she states, “such discrepancies between the depiction of the Prioress, and the woman revealed in her tale, showing a ‘bold and obvious satire of anti-Semitism,’... asserts that ‘Chaucer doubtless wants us to relish the irony of the Prioress's contempt for the improper style of life of which she is also in lesser degree guilty’... [and] make a statement about the conditions of the medieval Church through her.” Clearly, the irony within the Prioress’s rhetorical premises deviates within her own morally weak character portrayal, ultimately indicating Chaucer’s satire on the faults of the societal Christian beliefs and the inherent anti-semitic ideologies within the Christian

In the debate, a number of different options have emerged. Some, like medieval author Paul Ruggiers, argue that it is impossible to determine the Prioress?s attitude and that, ?we must be satisfied with ambiguity.? Others like writer Victoria Wickham argue the most popular belief, that the Prioress?s bigotry is without question and readers should be more concerned about the degree rather than the fact itself. But there is another possibility. Edwards and Spector, two prominent medieval scholars, put aside the issue of racism temporarily and instead offer an alternative interpretation on the very nature of Chaucer?s love-hate contradiction in the Prioress?s tale. They argue that the love vs. hate contradiction is not dependent on outside forces, but is actually an internal conflict within the Prioress herself. Consequently, the individuals and subsequent groups in her tale are not specific characters but culturally influenced manifestations representing separate issues. In this way her personality becomes the allegory of her tale, making specific references within her story irrelevant to her true attitude.

Three of Chaucer’s tales are written with a central Christian theme, the Prioress’s Tale, the Second Nun’s Tale, and the Parson’s Tale. The Prioress’s Tale is said to be about a miracle of the Virgin Mary, the Second Nun’s Tale is a biography of Saint Cecilia, and the Parson’s Tale is considered a sermon. Just as The Canterbury Tales shows a theme of Christianity, it also shows a theme of religious corruption. In the tales of the Friar, Prioress, Pardoner, and Monk, corruption of the church is shown and influences each character in a different way. In the Friar, the focus is on money, horses, and the responsibility of his monastery. But, the Friar also seduces women and provide them with a spouse to stay out of trouble. In the tale of Prioress, Chaucer describes her as too busy being a court lady to take care of her nunnery. In the Pardoner, he takes advantage of others by taking money for giving pardons for the sins of others, even going as far as selling relics. The Monk takes money for forgiveness, refuses to help the poor, and pays other beggars to leave so he can attain all of the money from that area. He does all of this while he is supposed to be pledging his life to poverty and those less fortunate. Chaucer shows a theme of Christianity just as he shows a theme of religious corruption. As

What they have in common is that in all versions, Jews are seen as absolute evil.” – Manfred Gerstenfeld. In this tale of the Prioress’s, it is explored in a new historical criticism, and Chaucer describes the Jewish population in the tale as being menacing and savage from the Prioress’s perspective. In this tale, we seek to find the discourse of the text, and how at this specific time how the cultural conditions differ from modern times. The Tale, is also examined in a subjective manner because of the ideologies and approaches in which we can interpret history; together with these two theories are Chaucer’s personal and individual identities.

When a young or older lady wants to enter the nun congregation, she has to observe the nuns for a period of time. She gets to see how nuns live their everyday lives; she then will ask herself if she really wants to make their life her life. If she makes the decision to become a nun, then she begins the two year novitiate. During this time, the “young sister” concretely learns about the work she will always be doing and she will be learning from the other “Sisters” who have already made their vows to be a nun. The new sister will be performing them herself for the rest of her life as a nun. Later, on she will assist with the poor by asking for charity for the ones that have nothing. All in all she will make her vows before the congregation and before God to seek sanctity according to the rules of the Church.

Many pilgrims in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales held a religious position. Some of these people’s personal ideas have caused debates and criticism over Chaucer’s opinion of the Catholic Church. Critics have discussed the ideas that were presented both subtly and openly. Two of the pilgrims and their tales will be discussed: the Prioress and the Pardoner. Both of these tales offer points of criticism in the Catholic Church.

The Prioress’s portrait is the first portrait of the General Prologue in which Chaucer displays satire. Her portrait shows that although she is a prioress, she is not well-suited for life in the church and that she needs to work on a major part of her job: her conscience. Chaucer mentions her conscience twice within her portrait, but the word is never used in context of her clerical responsibilities, which Chaucer never mentions even though they should be one of her main priorities. The word is instead used to praise her on her courtly appearance. Chaucer’s use of the word “conscience” as praise in “The Prioress’ Portrait” allows him to expose her shortcoming as a prioress without explicitly criticizing her.

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.

In Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales “General Prologue”, we are introduced to three groups of the estate; the aristocrats, clergy, and the workers, each responsible for their own duties. These duties consisting of ministering to the spiritual needs of the people yet they often suffer from the same sins meant to absolve in others. In the following paragraphs below, we will be focusing more on the estate of the clergy rather than that of the other estates. The estate of the clergy being comprised of the Nun, the Monk, the Friar, the Pardoner, the Summoner, and the Parson. Focusing on how the majority of the character’s behaviors, dress, and actions within the prologue reflect their hypocritical lives to the value of their estate. Although, this may be true there is always one hero who stands out of all the corrupt and honorably adheres to those values of their profession. This character being thus worthy of such respect.