...Because Chaucer included such a wide array of pilgrims in the Prologue of The Canterbury Tales, it is difficult to make a general statement that applies to every single person. It is, however, possible to note a couple of traits that apply to most of the pilgrims, even if there are a few exceptions. First and foremost, it is clear that the vast majority of the religious pilgrims are either corrupt or lack true religious convictions. The Pardoner, for example, takes advantage of poor parish priests through "double talk and tricks," convincing them to buy religious relics of extremely questionable origin. The Monk, similarly, uses his position enrich himself, exchanging religious services for money or gifts. The Monk, the narrator notes, "was an easy man in giving shrift, when sure of getting a substantial gift." With few exceptions (the notes at the end of the chapter notes that the Knight, Parson, and Ploughman are the only exemplary pilgrims), the pilgrims are generally unlikeable and immoral. While the speaker gives long descriptions of many of his fellow pilgrims, he does not spend much time speaking about himself. When he remarks that he is describing the other pilgrims "as they appear to him," he is doing a couple of things. First, he is informing the reader that his observations include personal biases; the descriptions are not absolute truth coming from an omniscient narrator but rather are filtered through the lens of a character in the story. Second, the narrator is...
Words: 423 - Pages: 2
...Biography of Geoffrey Chaucer (1340/1345 – 1400) Geoffrey Chaucer was born between 1340 and 1345 in London and died around 1400. He was known as the ‘Father of English literature’ and established the English writing instead of the French and Latin. He was a page to the Countess of Ulster, Elisabeth, who was the wife of the third son of King Edward III. He met Philippa Roet when both were around 10 years old; they both worked in the palace to take care of the Queen’s daughter Philippa of Eltham. In 1359 Geoffrey went off to war in France. He was taken prisoner and the King paid part of his ransom, so he could get away. After this he went to serve the King. In 1366 he married Philippa Roet-Chaucer. In September 1369 he wrote a book for a Duchess, it was called ‘The Book of the Duchess’. In 1370 Geoffrey traveled for the king to France, Genoa, Florence and possibly other places we don’t know about. He stayed loyal to the King, but tried to focus himself on his literally work more around 1378, which was the year in which he made his last journey for the King Edward III. In 1380 a rape-claim was filed against him. Cecile Campaigne claimed to be raped by the writer and Geoffrey was sentenced to a debt of ten pounds (which was around half his money for the year at the time) and he paid it. This is said to be true, but we don’t have proof other than a legal record. In 1387 Philippa died, of unknown reasons. On the 24th of December in 1399 Chaucer rented a place in the gardens...
Words: 845 - Pages: 4
...The author wrote the book Chaucer with purpose. The purpose I found was that all the characters have a twist in what they should be doing as opposed to what they actually do. The characters have a bad reflection on their society. For example the monk should be a holy person, take vows of silence and other things that people would imagine a monk would do. In this story the monk is shown as a person that hunts and kills animals and doesn’t exactly worship like people imagine he would. As well the prioress should be a kind lady that’s very lady like and everyone thinks she’s well mannered but in the story she sleeps around and doesn’t do about anything she’s supposed to. There is also the Parson, he is a very holy person like he is supposed to...
Words: 299 - Pages: 2
...individual storyteller. But the casually adopted view that Chaucer utilised a separate genre for each of his tales is an over-simplification of a far more subtle overall generic scheme. For a start, Caroline D. Eckhardt explains that up to the twelfth century, Medieval statements about genre, such as those of Isidore of Seville, Bernard of Utrecht, Honorius of Autun and Matthew of Vendome, usually accounted for no more than four identifiable poetic genres. In the thirteenth century, Geoffrey of Vinsauf and John of Garland extended these lists, though not by much. At this time, the concepts of tragedy and comedy had little to do with humour or pathos, but were instead measures of the movement of fortunes of the characters involved, as well as their social status; Geoffrey of Vinsauf describes comedy as "a rustic song dealing with humble persons, beginning in sadness and ending in joy"(CTC 181) and tragedy as a work "showing the misfortunes of grave persons, beginning in joy and ending in grief"(CTC 181). By today's standards, these interpretations of genre seem rather constrictive. In all likelihood Chaucer was of the same opinion - his manipulation of the generic guidelines that he had inherited through the literary tradition is subtle, extensive, and witty. Like a painter who produces a vivid and kaleidoscopic work from a palette of primary colours, in The Canterbury Tales Chaucer continually merges, mixes, adds to and detracts from the standards...
Words: 319 - Pages: 2
...In The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer shows us a vivid glimpse into the medieval society. Through his work we have been able to determine how people of each social class and profession have been stereotyped. These stereotypes could possibly have been true for many individuals, giving us more of an insight to these olden times. In the beginning of the novel, Chaucer gives a descriptive prologue to each of the twenty-nine characters. Through these descriptions we are shown who is admired by the author and who is disliked. Though this is done very discreetly, it is still very prevalent. These prologues describe each and every character in extreme detail. Chaucer goes on to describe their character and appearance as well as what each does for a living and their social class. While describing the characters he admires, he paints them as being very good looking and having noble personalities. On the other hand, the ones he hates the most are shown in a very negative light on both appearance and personality alike. The reason he dislikes the people he does is due to their social standing....
Words: 579 - Pages: 3
...Name Professor Name English 101 09 Feb 2014 The Miller’s Tale Geoffrey Chaucer was a deeply religious person that was distressed about the level of corruption in his Church. Unable to come out and attack the erosion of morality and campaign against rampant corruption he put pen to paper. Chaucer used the Canterbury Tales as a way of attacking religious excess and argue that the Church should return to its pious roots. The Canterbury Tales were written from the prospective of a traveling Pilgrim coming across various people in his travels. These encounters are what lead to the tales. A prologue before each story lays out the purpose of the tale and what kind of tale it will be. The more rough and crude tales, such as The Miller’s Tale, are told in front of a raucous crowd that is usually in a pub or bar. These tales are often told to a loud and boisterous crowd and the pub owner often has to defuse tensions. Chaucer paired stories together as either a response to a previous story or an attack on a profession that would be refuted in the following story. The Miller’s Tale was the second tale and was the first story to quite or repay the story teller. It also should be noted that this tale followed a chivalrous and high society tale called The Knight’s Tale. Chaucer purposefully place The Miller’s Tale to occur after the The Knight’s Tale to provide comedic relief and contrast the previous tale. Further, the prologue to The Miller’s Tale sets the stage for the next...
Words: 1436 - Pages: 6
...Chaucer Essay “The Battle of the Miller and Knight” The Miller's Tale, the second tale introduced to us in Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales brings us the saga of a carpenter named John, and his young wife Alison, whom he is very possessive of, afraid that if he let her out of her 'cage', she would fly away. Nicholas, an Oxford student whose talent involved "making love in secret", was a boarder at John and Alison's home, and had taken quite a liking to Alison. Also included in the tale, Absalon, a parish clerk serving the church and best described as a 'pretty boy', was in love with Alison too, and took daily nighttime strolls outside her window, singing love songs and strumming an old guitar. This tale of sexual adventures contains similarities and differences when compared to the first installment in Chaucer's book, The Knight's Tale. The Knight's Tale also included a pair of love-birds, though this time it was two men, two "knight brothers", who had fallen in love with the same girl. They ended up going against each other in a fight to win her hand. In the end, one man, Palamon, ended up winning Emily's hand in matrimony and they lived through a long, healthy marriage. After the Knight had finished his story, the Host pronounced the Monk to share the next tale with the group, assuming they would be going down the royal rankings of the people surrounding him. As the Knight had just told his tale, it would make sense to let the Monk go next. However, as the spotlight...
Words: 825 - Pages: 4
...THE GLENCOE LITERATURE LIBRARY Study Guide for The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin i Meet Benjamin Franklin Benjamin thought that his older brother James was too hard on him, and they often fought. When his apprenticeship ended, Franklin went to Philadelphia. This city, far more than his birthplace of Boston, became Franklin’s home. In Philadelphia he established his own business and raised his family. After Franklin retired from business in 1748, he embarked on a new career as a civil servant. He served in the Pennsylvania Assembly and became deputy postmaster-general. Sent to England as a representative of the Assembly, he spent five years there. During that time, he made the acquaintance of statesmen and scientists alike. Years later, he returned to England and found himself caught up in the growing tension between the thirteen colonies and the British government. Franklin’s loyalties were divided. He felt affinities to the colonies and to King George II of England. When he could tolerate the British government’s policies toward the American colonies no longer, he sailed back to the colonies. By the time his ship arrived, the first battles of the American Revolution had already been fought. Franklin was chosen to serve on the Second Continental Congress, which, acting as the government for the colonies, declared independence from Britain and appointed George Washington as commander in chief of the American army. Franklin was one of five...
Words: 8712 - Pages: 35
...“I have no title to aspire/ Yet when you sink I seem the higher” In light of this statement, analyse the role that power plays in a text you have studied. In Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, the role of power is widely explored through Alyson, The Wife of Bath. The Wife’s ability to manipulate and gain dominion over her husbands can be a result of her sexual and libidinous nature, as she uses this attraction to gain pecuniary and societal power. Furthermore, marriage is portrayed as a crucial tool in the gaining of power, as it plays an extremely important role in Alyson’s “wynning” of status and money, as without her husbands one would be without these fortunes. However, the Wife’s dominance and power is questioned by the raw youth of her later husbands, as one experiences the endearing aspect of her fifth husband, Jankyn, as he represents the power left in the patriarchal hegemony of the era, withdrawing all the previously gained power the Wife had obtained. Firstly, the gain and control of power in the Wife of Bath can be seen through the role of sex within the tale, as sex not only secures money and land for the Alyson, but also rewards her with great dominance within the patriarchal hegemony: “I wo lde no lenger in the bed abyde, If that I felte his arm over my syde, Til he had maad his raunson unto me; Thanne wolde I suffre hym do his nycetee. And therefore every man this tale I telle, Wynne whoso may, for al is for to selle.” Here, the Wife explains that...
Words: 1754 - Pages: 8
...believe that they are living in a much warmer, more welcoming society than the hardships portrayed in parts of these texts. Each audience member takes these texts to heart differently. In Margery Kempe’s adventure, she is giving a detailed account of her interactions on her travels to Jerusalem. In contrast, Chaucer in the general prologue, gives us details of many different characters in his quest to the shrine of Thomas a` Becket in Canterbury. In the following paragraphs, different aspects will convey how Margery Kempe and Geoffrey Chaucer make the audience want to emulate or avoid these writers quests. One can easily tell the difference in society is overwhelming comparing to today`s society. In the general prologue it is clearly shown that the society is extremely autocratic. The life of a monk in today`s society is quite different to the life of a monk in medieval times. A monk is meant to be a religious figure in society, however he is conveyed more as a knight in medieval times. This monk is licensed to go outside the monastery at all times “A monk ther was, a fair for the maistre, An outridere, that lovede venerie, Amanlyman, to been an abbot able” (Chaucer,Geoffery 165). Here the monk is not portraying the usual actions of a monk in society. The society is money orientated as some characters do not carry out their occupations without receiving money. A friar in today’s world is devoted to God. In medieval times, the friar neglects his duties as he will only carry...
Words: 1032 - Pages: 5
...Corruption of the Church has plagued many Christian societies throughout history as dishonest members misinterpret and misuse the word of God. This is especially true in fifteenth century England. In the Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer uses estates satire, ridiculing not only the Clergymen but all three social classes in order to highlight the flaws of society. He uses specifically uses “The Pardoner’s Tale” to highlight the deep-seated corruption of the Church during this particular time. The social commentary is focused around a Pardoner, authorized to grant forgiveness of sins, or indulgences, as a hyperbolic example of the flaws in the Church. Chaucer exposes increasing corruption, issues with clergymen, and the normality of deception...
Words: 788 - Pages: 4
...Did you ever think that you would read a story that involves a hot poker, hanging tubs, and a ton of sensuality? The Miller’s Tale, by Chaucer, is a story filled with many opportunities to interpret the text in a variety of ways. The tale is full of tricks, sex, and a dumb husband. All of these components come together to create a story about a young man and woman playing a trick on the woman’s husband. In the Miller’s Tale written by Chaucer, Chaucer uses symbolism, and imagery in order to demonstrate how simple day-to-day objects can represent much more than what meets the eye. Geoffrey Chaucer uses symbolism quite well in the Miller’s Tale. Throughout the majority of the tale, one can see many different examples of symbolism. For now, let’s look at the scene in the tale where Nicholas tells his plan to John about hanging the tubs from the ceiling. In the tale, John prepares to make tubs to hang from the ceiling after being told about the flood that is bound to hit. John gets the tubs ready for himself, Nicholas and for Alisoun. John goes to get the tubs to hang from the ceiling, “He gooth and geteth hym a knedyng trogh, And after that a tube and a kymelyn” (lines 3620-21). Both...
Words: 869 - Pages: 4
...Geoffrey Chaucer, was written in a time where women were often compelled to servitude for men. This was even prevalent in relationships in which men exerted forceful control over women. Despite societal norms, women still strived for some sort of sovereignty in their relationships, which often went ungranted. This imbalance of power caused unhappiness and serious discontent. Chaucer lived in a world where critics were considered heretical and were at risk of capital punishment, i.e. burning at the stake. This caused many faultfinders to resort towards hiding behind fictional characters in order to safely express their beliefs. Chaucer denounces his society’s common...
Words: 1186 - Pages: 5
...Geoffrey Chaucer’s view of the monk in the Reformation In “The Monk’s Tale”, Geoffrey Chaucer give his point of view on monks and builds upon the reformation. When one thinks of a monk they think of a very religious and kind man who goes to the extreme to help others. Chaucer however, does not think this way. Chaucer is stating that the girth of the monk is causing corruption. The story shows that the monk focuses on himself even though monks are supposed to give everything to their fellow people and help them as much as they could. Examples of this is that the the tale states that the monk’s boots were soft and his horse of Great Estate. This means that the monk has many excellent horses in his stable, and that his sleeves were made with the finest fur in the land. The monk also owned greyhounds which are pretty expensive animals. Through these examples, Chaucer is saying that monks use extravagance and care for themselves even after taking a vow on putting others before themselves....
Words: 452 - Pages: 2
...“THE CANTERBURY TALES” BY GEOFFREY CHAUCER COURSE PAPER PRESENTED BY LILIA YAREMA a fourth year student of the English department SUPERVISED BY SPODARYK O. V. an assistant professor of the English department LVIV 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………… 3-4 CHAPTER I. THEORETICAL ISSUES IN LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS…… 5-16 1.1 Linguistic analysis……………………………………………… 5-8 1.2 Discourse and Text analyses….…………….………………….. 9-11 1.3 Stylistic analysis ………………………………………………… 12-16 CHAPTER II. LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF CHAUCER’S CHARACTERS 17-28 2.1 “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” ……………………………………… 18-22 2.2 “The Pardoner’s Tale” ………………………………………….. 23-28 CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………. 29-30 REFERENCES...… ………………………………………………………….. 31-32 INTRODUCTION The theme of the course paper is “Linguistic means of portraying main characters in “The Canterbury tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer”. This paper intends to make an analysis of the language in the collection of stories “The Canterbury Tales”, written by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of 14th century. We will analyze the language used to describe characters. It was based on the idea that every choice made by the author of a sentence is meaningful. Therefore, once we understand the choices the author makes when describing a character, we are able to have a better understanding of what this author expects of the readers. Geoffrey Chaucer is recognized as one of England’s greatest...
Words: 9013 - Pages: 37
