What Is Chaucer's Dislikes In The Canterbury Tales

·   "Why should he study and drive himself crazy, always poring over a book in his cloister, or work and slave with his hands as St. Augustine orders?" (Chaucer Pg. 4-Line 21)

Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales became one of the first ever works that began to approach the standards of modern literature. It was probably one of the first books to offer the readers entertainment, and not just another set of boring morals. However, the morals, cleverly disguised, are present in almost every story. Besides, the book offers the descriptions of the most common aspects of the human nature. The books points out both the good and the bad qualities of the people, however, the most obvious descriptions are those of the sinful flaws of humans, such as greed and lust.

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.

In the prologue Chaucer talks about many of the characters. He often tells stories and describes how they act and how they are. From being members in the church to having a good and bad reputation in the town, all the characters are unique in their own way. Chaucer describes the summoner, pardoner, and the friar by using indirect characterization in each of their stories.

While both characters have power through working in the church, Chaucer uses their reaction to their job duties to convey the theme. The job of the Parson is to act as priest and serve the people. The Parson “knew Christ’s gospel and would preach it,” meaning he is well versed in his work and good at what he does (Chaucer 491). The Parson is very involved in the church and devotes his time and money to others. The Friar’s job is also similar to that of a priest, friars would affiliate weddings, hear confessions, and preach to the people. Both jobs were well respected positions of authority, the Friar even had “a special license from the Pope,” and such power could

In the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer introduces a variety of characters with a multitude of personalities. From the despicable Summoner to the abrasive Miller, these characters are created with their own personalities and their own human failings. One common fault that characters share is hypocrisy. From pretending to be wealthy to cheating the poor out of money, hypocritical tendencies are abundant in the Canterbury Tales. Throughout the story, Chaucer ridicules the human criticizes the human failing of hypocrisy through the examples of the Pardoner, the Merchant, and the Friar.

Chaucer makes forceful insults in his character explication. “The Rule of good St. Benet or St. Maur/ As old and strict he tended to ignore” (Chaucer 7.) A monk is supposed to have a strong authority in the Church, but Chaucer explains that he breaks the written laws and precedents set by people recognized as Saints and highly acclaimed people. The Monk is a lazy, disgusting man who lived a dishonest and imprudent life.

Different scholars have had different understandings of Chaucer's Retraction and The Canterbury Tales. The divergent views have drawn different interpretations of the intended meaning and the context of its existence. Many scholars believe that The Parson's Tale was Chaucer’s final work. Some people feel Chaucer's Retraction was the final one in the collection, while others doubt that Chaucer was the real author of the repudiation. This dilemma is implored by the fact the retraction completely disowns the earlier versions of Chaucer’s works. Those who agree that Chaucer's Retraction is the actual work of Geoffrey Chaucer give several reasons why he disowned his work. They explain what he sought to achieve and how the retraction relates to The Parson's Tale and the whole framework of The Canterbury Tales.

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

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.

They are both influential members of the church, however, one is more corrupt than the other. The Parson lives in poverty, sets himself as an example for all to follow, and is very pious in his life. The Monk, however, does not care for the rules of the church and blatantly disregards them. He hunts, owns fine fur and clothing, has golden jewelry, and even has animals such as greyhounds and horses. The divergent characteristics of these two men show Chaucer’s intention to expose and make fun of the corruption within the

Chaucer uses stylistic devices such as juxtaposition and analogy in rhetorical questioning when illustrating the Parson in order to reveal the inherent good of this church official. In the beginning of the stanza, Chaucer juxtaposes “poor” and “rich” by writing: “A holy-minded man of good renown / There was, and poor, the Parson to a town, / Yet he was rich in holy thought and work” (Chaucer 487-489). The Parson is by no means monetarily rich because he quite often gave “to poor parishioners round about / Both from church offerings and his property” (Chaucer 498-499). He is undeniably a very generous person but this led him to a life of low level materialistic wealth. It is revealed that he did not mind having little money because “He could in little find sufficiency” (Chaucer 500). This means that the Parson

      In the General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer describes the men and women of the Church in extreme forms; most of these holy pilgrims, such as the Monk, the Friar, and Pardoner, are caricatures of objectionable parts of Catholic society.  At a time when the power-hungry Catholic Church used the misery of peasants in order to obtain wealth, it is no wonder that one of the greatest writers of the Middle Ages used his works to comment on the religious politics of the day.

Negative imagery is used by Chaucer to undermine the effects of the narrator’s words. The manners practiced by the prioress are described by

In Chaucer’s famous novel: The Canterbury Tales, he describes many characters in a satirical way, while others he describes with complete admiration. The narrator (a constructed version of Chaucer himself) is staying at the Tabard Inn in London, when a large group of about twenty-nine people enter the inn, preparing to go on a pilgrimage to Canterbury. After the narrator talks to them, he agrees to join them on their pilgrimage. Although, before the narrator progresses any further in the tale, he describes the circumstances and the social rank of each pilgrim. There are two characters in these tales of the same social class, but Chaucer’s opinion on them vary greatly. These two characters are the beloved Parson, and the loathed Pardoner.