The True Characteristics Of Society In Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales were written and pieced together in the late 1380's, early 1390's.  The author of the book is Geoffrey Chaucer.  When considering the structure of the tales, one can deduce that they were put together using Framework Narrative, a very unique style of writing.  The opening prologue speaks of 29 pilgrims, including Chaucer, who are all on a pilgrimage to Canterbury. All of them are seeking a certain shrine for spiritual cleansing, and relief.  The journey was to be long, but in the end it would all be worth it.  Chaucer's social views and prejudices are revealed through his description of the pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales.

Along the pilgrimage of Geoffrey Chaucer’s prologue of The Canterbury Tales, the narrator describes two distinct characters, the Knight and the Pardoner. The characters share somewhat similar lifestyles, but they are undoubtedly different people in temperament, only traveling with the same group to see the Archduke of Canterbury, Thomas à Becket. The Pardoner is a man of the church who sells indulgences, a method of being forgiven by paying money to the church, but this Pardoner greedily takes money and bribes for his personal exploitation. The other character, the Knight, has just finished fighting for the sovereign in holy wars and wishes to give thanks for all he has done and been fortunate to have. Although the Knight and the Pardoner are both experienced in their respective professions, these ultimately contrasting characters reinforce the idea that power does not always lead to corruption.

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.

Canterbury Tales is an exquisite literary work for numerous reasons among them being the satirical way that Chaucer is able to get his agenda across. However, as the times change, the areas where we need to provide more discretion change as well. There are a lot of characters in Canterbury Tales that while they were great for their time period are either nonexistent or not relevant anymore. The occupations alone have changed dramatically simply based on the demands that we now have socially or in the work force. In addition, while it is still a mainstay in millions of households, the church and religion don’t hold as big a sway over the current factions you would find in the world. While Chaucer, the father of the English language, does a masterful job when he intricately describes his characters in the general prologue, if the tales were adapted for modern times he would need to add a celebrity, an athlete, and a news anchor.

In the General Prologue of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the Host instructs the pilgrims to tell ‘“Tales of best sentence and moost solaas’” (GP 798). In other words, in order to win the contest, the pilgrims must tell stories which both impart serious meaning/wisdom (“sentence”) as well as entertainment (“solaas”). While the pilgrims all achieve these two goals to varying degrees, The Pardoner’s Tale seems at first to succeed very well in providing both moral teaching and entertainment. However, while his tale effortlessly satisfies the “solaas” requirement, the Pardoner cannot truly provide the “sentence” he aims for, as his lesson degrades into hypocrisy and he lacks the respect from the other pilgrims necessary to afford his tale the impact he intends.

of the poor outfit of the Knight. Instead he attempts to point out that the

Throughout centuries human beings have evolved, but various traits of human nature remain the same. An epic poem named “The Canterbury Tales” written by Geoffrey Chaucer provides examples that demonstrate traits of human nature that are still relevant in our world today even if this piece of literature was written hundreds of years ago.The Canterbury Tales is framed by having multiple people from different social lives and statuses share stories which demonstrates how these pilgrims think and act, in other words their human nature, on their way to the martyr St. Thomas in a pilgrimage. These characters portray different traits of human nature such as having religious aspirations, falling in love, and thinking in an evil way in their stories which are all still lively relevant in today's society.

Although Chaucer's society was in the midst of dramatic transformation regarding traditional medieval hierarchy, the social paradigm in the late 1300s

The Knight, for example, is chosen to narrate the first tale. He is in the highest position from a social standpoint and displays the most admiring virtues for a medieval Christian man-at-arms: bravery, prudence, and honor. In contrast, belonging to the clergy, the Pardoner serves the author’s purpose of criticizing the church, as the character is exceptionally good at faking relics and collecting profits in his own benefit. Chaucer portrays in this tale the disagreement with the excess wealth and the spread corruption in Church at that

Child sexual abuse is a common occurrence. We recently talked about the Jerry Sandusky case, Discuss the ways in which Chaucer examines class and social status in The Canterbury Tales.

In Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, the prioress’s behavior can be interpreted as being part of the change occurring within religious institutions, which were changing to allow for freedom of thought and individual choice, as the nun does when she takes the liberty of customizing her fine garb by wearing it with beads and a gold brooch. The nun is one of the first characters to be given a name and as such is identified as being an individual, and not just seen as being a nun. The nun’s deviation from expected behavior and norms can thus be seen as a positive trait which Chaucer praises as women became more independent and redefined their own roles in society. Excessive understatement, negative imagery, and refined diction, however

In The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer comments on moral corruption within the Roman Catholic Church. He criticizes many high-ranking members of the Church and describes a lack of morality in medieval society; yet in the “Retraction,” Chaucer recants much of his work and pledges to be true to Christianity. Seemingly opposite views exist within the “Retraction” and The Canterbury Tales. However, this contradiction does not weaken Chaucer’s social commentary. Rather, the “Retraction” emphasizes Chaucer’s criticism of the Church and society in The Canterbury Tales by reinforcing the risk inherent in doing so.

Learning About Medieval Life and Society from Chaucer's General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales I have been studying Geoffrey Chaucer's General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, of which I looked specifically at six portraits, these being: the Knight, his son, a young squire, the prioress, the wife of Bath, the Miller and the Pardoner. From these portraits I was able to observe the ways of life and society in medieval times. I found out about social status, fashion, wealth, romantic love, the importance of manners and the church during this era - and these are just the topics I took particular interest in; there were many other areas of medieval life and society that Chaucer's General Prologue to

Chaucer describes the Church as being the most corrupt segment of society. The “Prologue” shares with the reader an insight into Pilgrims lives of the fourteenth century. In Chaucer's “Prologue” to the Canterbury Tales the Parson shows the best example of a true religious. The Parson preaches and lives the faith as best as possible. The Parsons extreme generosity to the poor, not minding his very low income, shows that there were some religious people that weren't corrupt. Secondly the Pardoner is depicted a person who is very selfish, only does things that benefit him,

Geoffrey Chaucer, in his novel Canterbury Tales, characterizes twenty four pilgrims on their journey to Canterbury. Ranging from knights to aristocrats to the trade class , the descriptive passages depict his opinions on each traveller. These characters in turn reflect Chaucer’s criticism and attitude towards medieval society, an example of social commentary. One character specifically used to reflect Chaucer's views on Scottish culture, the lower class, and corrupt businessmen is the Miler. In the general prologue, Chaucer reveals an overall negative opinion towards the Miller’s appearance and actions, reflecting his disappoint with aspects of the Middle Ages.