Category: Canterbury Tales

One significant author who demonstrates natural and effortless use of humorous satire is Geoffrey Chaucer as evident in his “Canterbury Tales.” As one reads along it becomes obvious that Chaucer is a great humorist who utilizes humor to confront the vices in the society in a refined manner and the stories remain vivid in the reader’s memory. Overall, humor is prevalent in “Canterbury Tales” through which Chaucer effectively discusses the serious subject of religious corruption and greed without being too uptight.

Chaucer uses humor in the Canterbury Tales to unmask the religious corruption that was prevalent among members of the clergy. Chaucer depicts the clergy as preoccupied with greed for money such that they give a backseat to their faith. Money matters to all groups of people in society so Chaucer uses the concept of greed in his satire through which he ridicules the hypocrisy of the clergy as evident in the “Prologue”, “Friar’s Tale”, “and Summoner’s Tale”. Religion was a critical aspect of the society as Chaucer was writing and thus religious corruption is a very serious subject for Chaucer. By infusing humorous satire in the narrations, he hopes to call for social change. For example, in the “Prologue,” Friars were members of a clergy expected to swear to live in poverty for charitable donations. Thus, humor emerges when the reader realizes the Friar’s gluttonous nature whereby money has to change hands before he could pray for people to be pardoned. Chaucer infuses humor when he says, “He was a lenient man in giving penance/Where he knew he would have a good gift” (Chaucer Lines 227-8). The fact that the friar cannot offer his services without money is a reflection of his greed.

Even while tackling the serious subjects of religious corruption, Chaucer’s use of humor also manages to entertain. For instance, in the “Friar’s Tale” when the Summoner and the Yeoman meet a farmer stuck in mud, the farmer proclaims, “the devil take all, horses, and cart, and hay (Line 283).” The Summoner says to the Yeoman, ‘Here shall we have a prey,’ (Line 284).’ The Summoner thinks that the farmer is serious, and the Yeoman can take all of his belongings, but the Yeoman explains that the farmer did not mean it literally. Such humor illustrates the Summoner’s greed whereby he is ready to take any form of gift from others even if he leaves them disadvantaged. Moreover, in “Summoner’s Tale,” Chaucer begins the story by saying that the Friars are only worthy to live in Satan’s butt since they are so greedy and exploitative. A story is then given whereby friar goes to the house of Thomas who is significantly ill to ask for gifts with the promise that he would become better. However, Thomas, aware of the friars’ greed and extortion, maintains that he has already donated much to other friars. When the friar attempts to manipulate Thomas to change his mind, he agrees albeit on condition that the friar would divide the gift equally with fellow friars. Thomas urges the friar to reach around to his bottom and he releases a monstrous fart into the friar’s hands (Lines 2130-2151). The Friar gets mad because he expected to find some gifts, yet he gets a smelly fart. Chaucer uses this humor to discuss a serious subject because Thomas is on his death bed. Chaucer unmasks the friars’ obsession with material gains rather than saving souls which is the essence of their calling.

Just like “Canterbury Tales”, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” also utilizes humorous satire to discuss serious subjects. Knights were noblemen expected to uphold a code of honor and failure to which would result in public humiliation. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” illustrates that upholding the code of honor is not easy as it might appear since even knights are vulnerable to outside forces that can undermine their loyalty. Compared to the humor in “Canterbury Tales” stories that generously uses humor not just to inform but also to entertain, the humor in ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is not that profound since it merely informs without going much into entertaining. The humor in “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” successfully counterbalances the serious subject of upholding respect and reputation among Knights by recognizing their human limitations.

In this tale, the author employs humor even as he discusses the serious subject of upholding respect and reputation which is actually a matter of life and death for the knights. For example, the author elicits humor when he gives an exaggerated description of events when Sir Gawain first beheads the Green Knight whereby “The fair head to the floor fell from the shoulders…/ he reached out among the rows that stood there, caught up his comely head and quickly upraised it (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Lines 426-432).” The fact that the Green Knight must uphold his respect and reputation becomes evident when he gracefully picks up and replaces his head and rides away on his horse. The reader finds it funny that everyone is confused yet they continue to party. Through this humorous depiction, the author demonstrates how much respect and reputation matters for the Knights.

Humor is also used in this story to illustrate human limitations. Sir Gawain plays a game with the Lord for three days whereby they exchange their findings each day. During the three days, the host gives Gawain his captures including a herd of does, wild boars and a fox respectively. In turn Gawain gives the host kisses including one on the first day, two on the second day, and three on the third day in line with what he receives from Lady Bertilak. On the first day, Gawain “kissed him with all the kindness that his courtesy knew/‘There take you my gains, sir! I got nothing more (1389-90).” The situation evokes humor as the reader realizes that Gawain tries to uphold the code of honor by not lying yet he cheats by not giving the host the green belt he is given by the lady on the third day and that highlights that after all he is a human being with limitations. In fact, the Green knight forgives Gawain and acknowledges that despite his shortcoming Gawain is a worthy opponent since he overcomes their traps to uphold his respect and reputation.

The use of humor to highlight the issue of human limitation emerges in another instance. During the three days that Gawain spends in their house, the lady tries to tempt him into intimacy. One dawn while Sir Gawain is still sleeping, the Lady comes into Sir Gawain’s room and tells him “‘You are a careless sleeper, if one can creep on you so! /Now quickly you are caught! If we come not to terms/I shall bind you in your bed… (Lines 1209-11).” Though such humor the lady hints that she wants to sleep with him. On his part, Gawain begs the fair lady ‘But if you would, lady gracious, then leave grant me, and release your prisoner and pray him to rise/I would abandon this bed… (Lines 1218-20).” On his side Gawain uses humor to jokingly play along by asking for mock forgiveness and by so doing he downplays her intentions. Gawain recognizes that giving in to her advances would culminate in him breaking the code of knightly honor by betraying Lord Bertilak thereby undermining his respect and reputation.

In conclusion, both “Canterbury Tales” and “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” utilize humorous satire to discuss serious topics. Chaucer employs satire to discuss the serious subject of religious corruption and greed that was prevalent among the clergy. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” employs humor to recognize the human limitations while discussing the serious subject of upholding respect and reputation among Knights. Chaucer’s use of humor is profound since he goes the extra mile to utilize humor to entertain unlike “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” where the humor is not as profound since it merely informs without going much into entertaining. Still, one cannot help but appreciate both authors’ efforts to utilize satire to enlighten and impact change in the society.

While reading The Canterbury Tales, it’s hard to not think about what made the author, Geoffrey Chaucer, write these various numbers of comical stories. Each story has an incredibly different theme to it and Chaucer never finished writing all of the stories like he had planned. After doing research, these stories seem to be strongly influenced by the implementation of status labels. What was once a simple time without many labels quickly turned to a complex way of life where one’s worth was determined by numerous factors. Society had gone from three basic categories to a world with labels of birth, wealth, profession, and personal ability. Chaucer took this major change as an opportunity to write about the stereotypes formed and even somewhat ridiculed them through his works.

The Wife of Bath’s Tale is about a man whose punishment is seeking out what women want most in life. This man goes on a hunt and meets this old woman who tells him the secret is that women want control of their husbands life and their own lives. The old woman then asks the man if he would marry her, he becomes disgusted at the idea but is eventually forced to consent. The man is miserable and talks very ugly of his new wife but she does not get upset. She asks her new husband if he would rather her be loyal and ugly or beautiful and unfaithful. He says that he trusts her judgment and says for her to choose. Since he gave her control over it, she became both loyal and beautiful and they lived happily.

I believe this story was influenced by the stereotype that’s held around women during this time period. It is said that Chaucer enjoyed writing and wrote for entertainment of himself and friends and family This tale is taking a jab and women and what they want in life. I don’t believe that is what women really want but it made a good story and Chaucer grew up in a time where women were seen as objects and not people.

Another example of a stereotype written into one of Chaucer’s stories is the Knight’s Tale. This story begins with two knights who while in prison fall in love with the same woman. One is released but forbidden from Athens so he gets a disguise and returns to work for the woman. The other knight escapes prison and there is a tournament set up so the two knights can fight over the woman. One wins but is then fatally knocked off of his horse, so the other marries the girl.

Chivalry was obviously a big part of this time period, so it’s not a surprise that it was portrayed in one of the tales. In my opinion, Chaucer put this in his work because men were taught to grow up with chivalry, even though not all did. The knights in the story fought until one of them died just to win this woman, which shows great bravery and that they would have done anything to end up with this woman.

Love triangles and objectifying women play a strong part in the next tale, The Miller’s Tale. It starts with a student who seduced his landlord’s wife to spend a night with him while he also convinced his landlord that the second flood would be approaching soon so that he would be busy preparing for the flood. Another young man is also secretly in love with the landlord’s wife so he goes to her window to ask for a kiss when she sticks her rear out of the window and releases gas. The young man then gets mad and goes and gets a hot poker and returns for another kiss. This time, the student decides to stick his rear out but he gets branded and screams for water causing the landlord to believe that the flood was here.

This tale has two young men stepping out of their “social status” and competing for a woman that should be considered out of their league due to her status of being a married woman. This is very unlike things that happened during Chaucer’s time because most people would not cheat because almost everyone was very religious and the Bible said that cheating and lying was a sin, so this was out of Chaucer’s normal storylines based on society.

The Reeve’s Tale starts out with two students who keep getting cheated by the miller out of grain, so they go to the mill to watch the grind the corn so the miller can’t steal any of it. The miller unties their horse so they go running after it and the miller steals some of the flour. The students just stay at the millers house after they catch the horse because its so late. The know the miller stole flour so one student seduces the miller’s daughter while the other seduces his wife. Once the miller realizes what had happened, he tries to beat the students but his wife thinks he is one of the students so she beats him over the head and the students return their stolen goods and escape.

As was mentioned earlier, most people were very religious in these times because they had no idea why you wouldn’t be. The Reeve’s Tale has a theme of an evil end will come to an evil man. A proverb is mentioned at the end of the telling of this story that accompanies that message also. Chaucer was a Christian and was portraying the Biblical work in his own work because he is a religious man.

Another tale that portrays a stereotype in society would be The Clerk’s Tale because it starts with a man who decides he needs to test his wife’s courage. He does this by telling her that he thinks he needs to kill their children and she agrees whatever he wants. He does not actually kill the children however, he does send them away to his sister. His final test is having her prepare for his wedding with a new woman. She obeys all of her husbands requests and afterwards he informs her that she is and always will be his wife.

In The Clerk’s Tale, Chaucer is mocking the idea that women must follow every mans order or else she isn’t worthy of being a wife. Again, the stereotypical thought that women are below men and men can do whatever they want. The clerk even mentions afterwards how there aren’t many women like that nowadays.

The Pardoner’s Tale is a story about three boys who heard of this thing called death who keeps killing people, so these three drunken boys go on a hunt to find death and kill him. An old man tells them that they will find death under a tree, but instead they find bushels of gold. They plan to sneak the bushes of gold home once its night so no one can see them. One of them goes into town to get snacks and drinks while the other two stay behind to watch the bushes and also plan a way to kill the other so they don’t have to share the money with him. While the one boy was headed to get snacks he also got added poison to two bottles of wine so he also didn’t have to share the gold with them. Once the younger one comes back, he is automatically killed, then they decide to sit and have a glass of wine. Then they also immediately die, so no one ends up with the gold.

Money plays a big part in stereotyping: if you have a lot of money, you’re most likely positively stereotyped, and vice versa. The Pardoner’s Tale shows that money isn’t everything though, Chaucher was born into wealth and a good life, so he was playing around with the aspect of money and what it means in that day and age because he knew the positive side of having money. .

Chaucer had many different influences from the surrounding society while he was writing; women, money, and chivalry. As the labels we sadly still know and use today became so influential in Chaucer’s time, he chose to not fall victim to the labels. Instead, he poured himself into writing the tales and almost making fun of the labels. The Canterbury Tales, in their satirical format, have become commonly used in college classes throughout the US.

The Canterbury Tales was written by Geoffrey Chaucer most likely in the late 1380s and early 1390s. After Chaucer wrote The General Prologue, he continued to write more tales concerning the same characters’ stories. The General Prologue introduces the twenty-nine pilgrims and uses each character to represent how society was during that time period. In the narrative poem, The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer uses the portrayal of the nun to convey the motif of imposters in the Roman Catholic Church by using the literary elements historical context, satire, and character behavior.

One way that Chaucer conveys the motif of imposters is by using the literary element, historical context. N. S. Thompson demonstrates how Chaucer uses literary devices, “With vivid irony Chaucer creates not only a company of pilgrims who are—with notable exceptions— mainly irreligious individuals, but who also represent the new social and economic conditions of the late middle age.” (Thompson 1). Thompson is explaining that Chaucer also used the social and economic conditions of that time to represent characters. According to Robert O. Payne, “Many late medieval writers, like Chaucer, saw that bureaucracy as overelaborate, self-important, and far too blind to fraud and corruption within its own ranks” (Payne 121). With this Payne is explaining that Chaucer knew of the corruption during that time period. This displays how Chaucer uses the nun to convey the motif of imposters by using historical context.

Chaucer also uses the literary element, satire, to convey the motif of imposters. Chaucer explains how “She certainly was very entertaining, / Pleasant and friendly in her ways, and straining / To counterfeit a courtly kind of grace, / A stately bearing fitting to her place, / And to seem dignified in all her dealings.” (Chaucer 148). This quote shows that the nun is acting a little too friendly and flirtatious, which is not typical of a nun, considering they take a vow of chastity and dedicate their lives to the Lord. Chaucer describes her appearance “Her cloak, I noticed, had a graceful charm. / She wore a coral trinket on her arm, / A set of beads, the gaudies tricked in green, / Whence hung a golden brooch of brightest sheen / On which there first was graven a crowned A, / And lower, Amor vincit omnia.” (Chaucer 149). This quote discloses her fancy and elegant appearance, unlike a normal nun who usually does not wear anything expensive because they live in poverty. This expresses how Chaucer conveys the motif of imposters using satire against the nun.

Another way that Chaucer conveys the motif of imposters is by using the character behavior literary element. Chaucer clarifies that the nun spoke “daintily in French, extremely, / After the school of Stratford-atte-Bowe;” (Chaucer 148). This quote presents that the nun is well-educated, which is abnormal for a nun at that time period. Chaucer talks about her mealtime manners, “No morsel from her lips did she let fall, / Nor dipped her fingers in the sauce too deep; / But she could carry a morsel up and keep / The smallest drop from falling on her breast. / For courtliness she had a special zest,” (Chaucer 148). These actions are proof that she must come from a family of wealth, and is too acquainted with the above-average lifestyle. This reveals how Chaucer uses the nun to convey the motif of imposters with the literary element, character behavior.

Using the literary elements historical context, satire, and character behavior, Geoffrey Chaucer conveys the motif of imposters in the Roman Catholic Church with the portrayal of the nun in the narrative poem, The Canterbury Tales. This poem analyzes the way that the nun acted in The Canterbury Tales, which is substantially different from the typical ways of a nun. Chaucer used different literary elements to illustrate the actions and his feelings of each character in the story. The Canterbury Tales is a frame story and although Chaucer wrote many tales after the General Prologue, he never completed the collection of stories due to his death on October 25, 1400.

Introduction: Unveiling the Wife of Bath

Every “Abril” in fourteenth century England, everyone from the aristocrats to the peasant class, excluding the royals and serfs, was required by the Church to make a pilgrimage to a holy destination. In Georffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, rife with satire, thirty pilgrims journey together to Saint Thomas Becket’s shrine in Canterbury, England. To begin their adventure, the group meet in Southwark outside London. In an attempt to prevent boredom and make the journey more interesting, one of the pilgrims named Harry Bailly, who is the Host, recommends that each pilgrim create four stories. Each pilgrim is to create two tales on the way to the shrine and an additional two tales on the trip home for a total of 120 tales. The pilgrim chosen by Harry Bailly who creates the most interesting and moral story will win a meal paid by the other twenty-nine “losers” at the Tabard Inn upon the group’s return. Although Chaucer intended 120 tales, only twenty-two tales were actually completed, along with an additional two fragments. Through the incorporation of the tales into the poem, The Canterbury Tales becomes a literary frame. Chaucer the Pilgrim, the narrator for the entire journey, illustrates the stories of each pilgrim. One of the pilgrims, the Wife of Bath may be one of the most eminent figures in Geoffery Chaurcer’s The Canterbury Tales. To portray the Wife of Bath’s lavish lifestyle and independent mindset, Chaucer uses satirical elements to embellish her life further. Chaucer has the uncanny ability to match tale to teller.

Defying Conventions: The Wife of Bath’s Appearance and Marriages

The Wife of Bath is an example of true beauty in Medieval society with “gap teeth, set widely” (Chaucer, GP15) and large hips. Additionally, Chaucer mentions that the Wife of Bath’s face is “bold …, handsome, and in a red hue” (15). The Wife of Bath’s beautiful complexion and enjoyment of socializing “indicates a good-natured gregariousness” (Rossignol, “The Wife of Bath” par. 3). Having been married to five men, the Wife of Bath knows how to manipulate men into pleasing her.

Economic Independence and Social Status

A widow and a member of the middle class, the Wife of Bath has gained wealth through the inheritances of her five husbands and her successful cloth-making business. The Wife of Bath makes “kerchiefs … of finely woven ground” (Chaucer, GP15) and sells them to others to provide for herself. As a member of the working middle class, the Wife of Bath justifies that a woman can be financially successful through employment and that “the dependency status of women in medieval society” (Howard par. 3) can change. Additionally, in the General Prologue, Chaucer implies that the Wife of Bath dresses tastefully with hose “of the finest scarlet red / And gartered tight; her shoes were soft and new” (15). The Wife of Bath’s “well set-up appearance, as has been suggested, is in keeping with the strong directness of her character” (Bowden par. 3). The Wife of Bath also rides “easily on an ambling horse” (Chaucer, GP15), concluding that “her clothing and the horse that she rides suggest prosperity” (Rossignol, “The Wife of Bath” par. 3). Chaucer has also added satirical elements to embellish the life of the Wife of Bath, “hinting at qualities such as pride, wrath, envy, and lust” (par. 3). More specifically, satirical elements can be seen in the fact that the Wife of Bath has been married five times “in addition to other ‘company’ (Chaucer, GP 15) in youth” (Rossignol, “The Wife of Bath” par. 3). Through the Wife of Bath’s Prologue about her five husbands and her Tale about a knight searching for the key to love, many important details about her life are uncovered.

Exploring the Wife of Bath’s Prologue: A Reflection of Her Life

Chaucer first begins to develop the Wife of Bath’s character in her Prologue, which introduces her “spirited vindication of her way of life—that is, of marriage and sexuality” (Ruud par. 2). Although the Wife of Bath has had multiple marriages, she believes nothing is wrong in her doings because the five marriages have all been approved by the Church. Still, many may question how one can truly and faithfully love all five husbands, especially if the Wife of Bath is open to the idea of a sixth husband after the death of the fifth. Additionally, during the pilgrim’s discussion about virginity and marriage, the Wife of Bath defends that marrying multiple times does not and should not be criticized. Although many of the pilgrims support Christ’s belief in one marriage in a lifetime, the Wife of Bath asserts that God never intended for everyone “to follow in His footsteps” (Chaucer, WBP 261) and implies “she never heard a definition of those numbers” (Bloom par. 2). The pilgrims continue to examine Saint Paul’s belief that the wife and the husband owe each other “the ‘marriage debt’ (that is, sexual pleasure)” (Ruud par. 3). The Wife of Bath evidently agrees that both should be responsible to pay. Toward the end of her Prologue, the Wife of Bath alludes that she has had three “good” husbands, who treated her as an equal in the relationship, and two “bad” husbands, who consumed the power in the marriage. The Wife of Bath has found that she is happiest in a marriage in which she attains the power, which is proven when she says, “I’ll have a husband yet / Who shall be both my debtor and my slave / And bear his tribulation to the grave” (Chaucer, WBP 262). In other words, she would obtain control by accusing her husband of being at fault.

The Wife of Bath’s Prologue endorses her personality because her Prologue proves that each marriage has left a lasting impact on her character and has developed her into a more independent women. During her first marriage, the Wife of Bath realized she wanted to hold the power in the relationship; her obtaining of power can be seen in her other marriages. The Wife of Bath learns to gain the power by refusing to sleep with her husbands “until they [give] her control of their property” (Rossingol, “Wife of Bath’s Prologue” par. 2). Additionally, the Wife of Bath’s fourth husband had a mistress, and she is proud to assert “that she was his Purgatory on Earth” (Bloom par. 9) by causing him to suffer when she pretended to be interested in another man. Through the Wife of Bath’s past discussed in her Prologue, readers can see that her previous life and marriages affect her profoundly.

Additionally, the Wife of Bath’s Prologue is well-suited for her lifestyle. The Prologue is largely Christ and saints’ beliefs about a religious marriage. While the Wife of Bath protests that her marriages were all Church-approved “at the church door” (Chaucer, GP 15), most of the other pilgrims would argue the marriages were anything but Christian. The Prologue’s central topic about Christ’s definition of a good Christian marriage is ironic because the Wife of Bath believes she is moral by describing that her marriages comply with Christ’s definition of a religious married life by finding the loopholes.

The other pilgrims have varying reactions to the Wife of Bath’s Prologue. The Pardoner, for example, interrupts the Wife of Bath in the middle of her Prologue announcing, “I was about to take a wife; alas! / Am I to buy it on my flesh so dear? / There’ll be no marrying for me this year!” (Chaucer, WBP 262). Clearly, the Pardoner has no interest in marrying anymore for fear that his wife will arrogate all of the power. On the other hand, the Summoner and the Friar are amused by the Wife of Bath’s Prologue because of its length and her imprudent past. The Friar sarcastically says, “This is a long preamble to a tale!” (280), to which the Summoner replies, “You’re spoiling all our fun with your commotion” (281). The other pilgrims are able to learn further about the Wife of Bath’s life and prepare for her Tale, which is a Breton lai.

Analyzing the Wife of Bath’s Tale: Lessons and Morals

The lessons behind the Wife of Bath’s Tale illustrate “that a happy marriage actually occurs when there is mutual love, respect, and kindness” (Ruud par. 9), meaning that the Wife of Bath is happiest in a relationship in which she and her husband share the power, a concept that flouts the social standards. As the Wife of Bath is talking to the other pilgrims on the journey about her “happy” marriages, she reveals that her criteria for a successful marriage are achievable in Middle Ages society. Another important feature about the Tale is that the knight surrenders his dominance, rather than simply giving it away forcefully such as in situations the Wife of Bath has created for her husbands. The Wife of Bath unwittingly wants this “token submission on the part of the husband” (Howard par. 5) in marriage but has never had a relationship thus far.

The Wife of Bath’s Tale is well connected to her lifestyle for many reasons. The Wife of Bath’s Tale about a couple happily sharing power together in a marriage is her ideal marital relationship, which is what she has always been trying to achieve in each of her marriages. The Wife of Bath’s Tale is appropriate for her because she wants independence in a marriage. The woman in the Tale is granted independence from her husband as the Wife of Bath has been yearning for this type of freedom from her husbands.

The Tale evokes a debate among the other pilgrims, as some argue that it invokes a “‘marriage debate’ [among] … the Merchant, Clerk, and Franklin” (Ruud par 10). The other pilgrims agree that the Wife of Bath’s Tale does support her beliefs and morals as the Tale reflects her desires in life. Through her actions, the Wife of Bath proves that any woman can “live the best life that she can for herself in a repressive, male-dominated society” (Rossignol, “The Wife of Bath” par. 1). Thus, the Wife of Bath is truly unlike any other character in The Canterbury Tales, and the themes in her Tale match her beliefs in life and marriage.

Conclusion: The Wife of Bath as a Reflection of Societal Contradictions

In Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer has the uncanny ability to match tale to teller. As the thirty pilgrims travel to Saint Thomas Becket’s shrine, twenty-four tales are shared; each has a unique moral teaching and plot line which profoundly suits the teller’s personality and past. The Wife of Bath incorporates her outrageous past into her tale creating a meaningful yet valuable lessons from her tale. The most prominent lesson of her tale is to give women equal power in a relationship, as the link will then become stronger for the two people.

The middle ages or Medieval times can be best described as the [footnoteRef:1]‘Age of Faith’ through the eyes of the church. Its stature and placement at the time, provides a clear understanding to its reputation of power and influence on society as a whole. [footnoteRef:2]For example, in a period of hardship, invasions and unpredictable political structure, the Catholic Church took control and began to amalgamate society, eliminating discrimination of wealth or social class, ultimately providing society with a sense of hope in a time where it did not exist[footnoteRef:3]. This essay will cover Geoffrey Chaucer’s poetic novel, ‘The Canterbury Tales’, discussing his views on religion and faith through his characters, diving into the underlying messages of each character’s pilgrimage purpose, as well as the differences between faith and religious corruption. [1: Joy, Maddie. 2019. ‘The Age Of Faith’. Prezi.Com. https://prezi.com/0fmwhocdvmvk/the-age-of-faith/. ] [2: Stewart, Summer. 2019. Study.Com. https://study.com/academy/lesson/quotes-about-religion-in-the-canterbury-tales.html] [3: Ibid. Stewart, Summer. 2019]

Geoffrey Chaucer, marks religion and faith as a characterizing trademark, in his novel of 15th-century ballads ‘Canterbury Tales’.[footnoteRef:4] The tales shadows the lives of twenty-nine travellers recounting accounts of each other, on a pilgrimage to Canterbury to Saint Thomas’ resting site. Chaucer portrays his thoughts on religion, faith and the church through each character and their stories. Moreover, many of his characters are seen as either devoutly religious, from the church or using religion as a form of personal gain. These characters make it difficult for the readers, to overlook the deep nature of religion and Chaucer’s personal views in his writing, thus showing the development of faith as one of the main themes. [4: Chaucer, Geoffrey. 2019. ‘Geoffrey Chaucer’. Christian History | Learn The History Of Christianity & The Church. https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/poets/geoffrey-chaucer.html. ]

First and foremost, in order to adequately analyse the topic of Faith and religion in the style of a pilgrimage, we must first define a pilgrimage as well as understand what is meant by ‘Religion’ in Chaucer. [footnoteRef:5]A pilgrimage is most commonly defined as a journey of faith, in search of spiritual or moral significance. This definition coincides with Chaucer’s views as he touches on faith and religion, through his characters and each of their journeys. The concept of [footnoteRef:6]‘Religion’ in Chaucer, demonstrates that there are aspects of religion throughout his writings. Canterbury Tales, from the very beginning, makes evident that a pilgrimage or journey has various religious dimensions. Furthermore, seven specific pilgrims, are made known throughout the general prologue, as being most connected to the church: The Pardoner, Clerk, Monk, Parson, Friar, Summoner and the Prioress, each a character of the church, displaying characteristics that contradict the church’s teachings. Each character presents a life that appear to be more or less further away from what may be customary in individuals of their calling; for example, the Prioress weeps over dead mice, overly feeds her pet dogs and tends to wipe her mouth before drinking her wine. It seems as though the Parson is living a true Gospel life, the Clerk is intensely immersed in his studies, the Monk owns horses for hunting purposes and rarely prays, eluding to the fact that they must cost a fair bit of money and seems not to pay as often as he should. Others, however, have lives set apart by gluttony, sexual obscenity and greed, the Summoner and Pardoner appearing to be especially a long way from the Christian standards. Thus, depicting that although people of the church and are supposed to be living their lives in accustom to Christian ideals, they portray flaws that are presented in the author’s use of ironic language. In relation to this, as each pilgrim embarks on their journey, the reader is left pondering on the aspect that life itself is customarily thought of as a journey or pilgrimage. This then, may prompt the idea that in Christian ideology, the objective of a pilgrimage is God’s judgment, and that for the pilgrims of the time, at least, this opened the possibility of heaven and hell, paradise and damnation. A pilgrimage conceivably offers a period of reflection, atonement, and transformation, whereby those going to Hell can alter their course and make a fresh start. The ironic as well as satiric undertones can be seen in Chaucer’s descriptions of each character, using words such as “good and “perfect”. [footnoteRef:7]the Shipman is a ‘good felawe,’ the Doctor a ‘verray, parfit praktisour,’ the ‘good Wif’ of Bath is a ‘worthy woman.’ the Summoner is ‘a gentil harlot and a kynde, a better felawe should men naught fynde.’ These descriptions give a good indication of the irony and Chaucer’s satiric form of writing, as he allows the readers to form their own judgments on each character, whilst giving readers an opportunity to see the reality of each pilgrim behind closed doors. [5: Cleft, Jean Darby; Cleft, Wallace (1996). The Archetype of Pilgrimage: Outer Action With Inner Meaning. The Paulist Press. ] [6: Brother Anthony of Taize, 2019. ‘Chaucer And Religion’. Anthony.Sogang.Ac.Kr. http://anthony.sogang.ac.kr/Religion.htm.] [7: Ibid., Brother Anthony of Taize “Chaucer and Religion” ]

Further examination brings readers to the Pardoners tale, which tells a story of three rioters, who are gambling, drinking and blaspheming in a tavern. The three suddenly learn of the death of a friend. Chaucer brings not only a sense of humour to this story, but a religious perspective as he demonstrates the lack of examination of conscience in the three pilgrims, rather they make oaths to each other and set out on their own quest of revenge, hoping to defeat death himself. They set out on their journey, with a lack of understanding to the immensity of their endeavor; a message is given to them by the Prioress on a brooch [footnoteRef:8]‘Amor vincit omnia’, (love conquers all). This quote eludes to the question, how much love do they really have. Furthermore, she may have also told them that Christ can be the only one to conquer death: [footnoteRef:9]’Death is swallowed up in victory (I Corinthians 15) depicting the center of the Christian gospel. Thus, the three continue, setting out to echo his work, by the oaths they have made, [footnoteRef:10]’Criste’s blessed body they torrent. [8: Ibid., Brother Anthony of Taize “Chaucer and Religion” (707)] [9: Ibid., Brother Anthony of Taize “Chaucer and Religion” (707)] [10: Ibid., Brother Anthony of Taize “Chauser and Religion” (707)]

Their next experience follows their meeting with a poor elderly man. He welcomes them with humble religious affability, [footnoteRef:11]’lordes, god yow se’, and in return, he is insulted for being so old; by this, the tale of Wife of Bath, young man rings a bell. The old man recounts his very own patient zeal for a death that is yet to come. He then teaches them the appropriate way to speak to the elderly, citing the bible. The three make no sense of his words, acquire nothing, and neglect to see he finished by blessing them. They leave the old man, only asking where they can find death, he points to a route leading to an old oak tree in a grove, where of course they find a pile of gold. [11: Ibid., Brother Anthony of Taize “Chauser and Religion” (713)]

This tale brings light to a lot of religious components. As they embark on their pilgrimage and get to their end goal, they must turn away from the right path. In the old testament, the oak tree and the grove are vague areas, occasionally holy, such as the oak of Mamre, the burial site of Abraham[footnoteRef:12], which on occasion, has been consecrated to false gods. In guiding the three there, the elderly man recalls two expressions, he first preaches that ‘the love of money is the root of all evils’, although he himself embodies the love of money[footnoteRef:13], and secondly ‘the wages of sin is death’. Finally, the elderly man’s last words to the three is this, [footnoteRef:14]‘God save yow, that boghte agayne mankynde, And yow amende’. Here, readers discover a reference to humanity. This reference illustrates a need for Gods redemption, offered to all who seek it and work to transform themselves for the better, ultimately completely giving of themselves to his will[footnoteRef:15]. Moreover, the old man is left shocked and completely helpless, as the rioters enter into their perpetrated fates, for all that is left for them is the prayers of the old man, which at this point will not do a great amount for them. This tale helps readers understand the strength of faith in the Lord when it is used wholeheartedly as well as the human error of challenging God’s greatness out of arrogance or for self-gain, further it enlightens the minds of readers, as Chaucer makes evident that no matter the journey, faith in general and faith in God is essential to reach a goal that is far from self-doom. [12: Ibid., Brother Anthony of Taize “Chaucer and Religion” (713)] [13: Ibid., Brother Anthony of Taize “Chaucer and Religion” (713)] [14: Ibid., Brother Anthony of Taize “Chaucer and Religion” (764-5)] [15: Ibid., Brother Anthony of Taize “Chaucer and Religion” (764-5)]

Moreover, Geoffrey Chaucer’s text, Canterbury tales coincides with my findings, as the evidence provided, allows readers to witness his use of biblical text, through his characters. Furthermore, Chaucer not only uses the themes of Religion and faith in his storytelling but allows the audience to make their own judgments on his portrayed characters. This further permits his audience to dive into his stories as pilgrims themselves, alongside his characters.

Furthermore, Geoffrey Chaucer’s text, Canterbury tales can be considered a reliable source as it identifies with the medieval time of the 15th century. It also allows the audience to uncover what life was like in medieval times through a fictional setting. Although it is fictional, it brings an interesting spin on historical evidence, through its poetic power, value, nobility and entertainment, it illustrates the differences of social structure of the time, the church, lower class as well as upper-class citizens, clothing worn and the language used, thus demonstrating its reliability.

Bibliography

1. Brother Anthony of Taize, 2019. ‘Chaucer And Religion’. Anthony.Sogang.Ac.Kr. http://anthony.sogang.ac.kr/Religion.htm.
2. Joy, Maddie. 2019. ‘The Age Of Faith’. Prezi.Com. https://prezi.com/0fmwhocdvmvk/the-age-of-faith/.
3. C. David Benson. ‘Varieties of Religious Poetry in The Canterbury Tales: The Man of Law’s Taleand The Clerk’s Tale.’ Studies in the Age of Chaucer 1986 (1986): 159-167. https://muse.jhu.edu/ (accessed August 23, 2019).
4. Chaucer, Geoffrey. 2019. ‘Geoffrey Chaucer’. Christian History | Learn The History Of Christianity & The Church. https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/poets/geoffrey-chaucer.html.
5. Cleft, Jean Darby; Cleft, Wallace (1996). The Archetype of Pilgrimage: Outer Action With Inner Meaning. The Paulist Press.
6. Joseph, James. 1957. Chaucer’s Presentation of The Church in The Canterbury Tales. Accessed from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1e3c/39baece1e7b83e2147b207cd625f77a3592d.pdfPg 13-50
7. Stewart, Summer. 2019. Study.Com. https://study.com/academy/lesson/quotes-about-religion-in-the-canterbury-tales.html

Satirizing Religious Figures in Canterbury Tales

In the general prologue of Canterbury Tales, the narrator introduces the reader to characters from different walks of life in the course of their pilgrimage to Canterbury. The narrator addresses key themes while describing each pilgrim: their appearance, their vocation, and small details or anecdotes pertaining to their personalities. While Chaucer unifies the group through their common goal of making their pilgrimage, he also addresses the individual pilgrims and their intentions in life throughout the journey. Most importantly, he utilizes the narrator’s voice to create a satirical commentary on class relations during the Middle Ages. His descriptions of the pilgrims directly involved in the Church cleverly address the corruption and elitism that was prevalent amongst church officials during this time.

The first religious figure whom Chaucer characterizes is the Prioress, also known as Madame Eglentyne. The narrator begins by describing her disposition in a somewhat saccharine way and contrasts her seemingly coy demeanor with her less courtly tendencies such as singing with a perturbingly nasally voice or speaking French poorly in an attempt to conceal her noticeable English accent. The narrator reveals that the Prioress is most concerned with appearing courtly by illustrating her painstaking efforts to seem eloquent, modest, and well-versed, ‘And full pleasant, and amiable of port / And penned hire to counterfeit chere / Of court, and to establish of manure,’ (Chaucer, lines 138-140). The narrator enforces how she presents these scrupulous efforts to appear courtly through an anecdote about her demeanor while dining, ‘At mete well y-taught was she with alle: / She leet no morsel from hir lippies fallen, / Ne Witte fir fingers in hir sauce depe. / Wel could she carie a morsel, and well keep / That no drope ne fille upon hire best (Chaucer, lines 127-131). Within the narration Chaucer uses descriptions of physicality to emphasize his satirical commentary:

Hir mouth is full small, and thereto soft and reed.

But sickerly she hadde a fair forheed—

It was almost a spanned brood, I trow—

For hardily, she was nat undergrowth.

The full fetus was hir cloke, as I was war.

Of small coral about hire arm she bars

A pair of beds gauded al with grene;

And then hang a brochure of the gold full scene,

On which there was first written a crowned A,

And after, Amor Vincit Omnia. (Chaucer, lines 152-160)

An important detail within the description of the Prioress would be how she is dressed. The reason her garment is important is that it reveals to the reader her rather affluent socio-economic status and enforces that the Prioress seems to dismiss class issues. Her appearance contradicts the inherent principles and obligations within her vocation to appear modest and not indulge in material goods. The Prioress wearing a fancy rosary and a gold brooch truly reveal the hypocrisy within the Church’s narrative of being charitable towards the poor and dressing modestly to represent their rejection of the temptation of material wealth.

Chaucer also uses the pilgrim’s physicality to emphasize their satirical roles in the prologue. The Prioress is described as having fair skin, a small mouth, and a broad forehead which were the ideal standards of beauty in the Middle Ages. Chaucer chose to illustrate the Prioress this way because it serves as a metaphor supporting the theme that people may not present themselves authentically. Chaucer chose to mock Medieval literature that typically expresses how women with these attributes are pure and courtly by nature. His choice to contrast her appearance with her insecurity and her need to conceal her true self also brings light to the notion that people are not always who they appear to be especially with regard to those who have autonomy within the well-funded and corrupt Church. The narrator continues to address the Prioress’s facade by mockingly calling her ‘compassionate’ for weeping over the harm or death of animals. It’s interesting that not once has the narrator mentioned how she’s demonstrated compassion towards other people. The Prioress is someone who tends to use her demonstrations of compassion to maintain moral control and as an alibi rather than being an authentic and genuinely pious woman who selflessly serves God.

Consecutively following the description of the Prioress, the narrator describes another religious figure, the Monk. Within the first lines of the Monk’s introduction, the narrator remarks on how he hunts for sport. Monks dedicate their lives to working and studying, living in seclusion, and most importantly refraining from possessing luxuries as a sign of selfless devotion. The narrator continues to enforce the Monk’s fondness for hunting and how to contradicts his duties as a monk by stating, “He yaf nat of that text a pulled hen, /That seith that hunters ben nat holy men, /Ne that a monk when he is reckless,” (Chaucer, lines 176-179). Hunting for the sport was primarily done by more affluent members of society which speaks to how this pastime overlaps with the strict Benedictine principles of his vocation. The narrator also reveals why he chooses to engage in this unusual pastime, “This like monk leet olde things pace, / And held after the newe world the space” (Chaucer, lines 175-176). The Monk is not only aware that this hobby violates the order’s code but openly expresses to let ‘old things pass’ and to ‘accept contemporary pleasures’. His philosophy shows the reader how the Monk knowingly takes advantage of his religious standing by keeping his title while actively neglecting his vows.

Like the other pilgrims, the narrator describes the garment the Monk is wearing on the pilgrimage, “ I seigh his sleves pufiled at the hond / With grys and that the fyneste of a lond; / And, for to festne under his hood under his chin, / He hadde of gold y-wroght a ful curious pin: / A love-knotte in the getter ende ther was” (Chaucer, lines 193-197). His cloak is described as having the cuffs lined with the finest grey fur as well as a fancy gold pin clasping his hood in place. Similar to the Prioress, the Monk is more concerned with indulging in luxury goods than abiding by the code he is sworn to as a monk. He is also described as being a larger man with bulging eyes and from this description, the reader can infer that he doesn’t eat modestly and indulges in luxury food as well. Hunting for sport, wearing ostentatious garments, and excessive and careless eating are far from befitting for a monk. Not only do these descriptions add insult to the character himself, but it also reveals his moral neglect towards those who are impoverished and look to figures like him for charity.

While both the Prioress and the Monk like to indulge in fine foods, garments, and activities, there is a distinction as to how they present themselves despite these similarities. The Prioress seems to conceal and hide behind a modest and elegant facade. She also is more deceitful in her intent because she is not outward about her hypocrisy and calculatingly tries to hide it. The Monk, on the other hand, is shameless enough to admit that he doesn’t abide by his code and presents himself more authentically. Both characters represent a larger issue with concern to hierarchy and class during the Middle Ages showing the reader that religious leaders abused their positions and corrupted an institution that had both moral and legal agency over society.

Bigotry in ‘The Prioress Tales’ and ‘General Prologue’

The description in The Prioress’ Tales is full of bigotry and depicts Prioress as a woman of dual character. In the General Prologue, Chaucer describes her as a polite, aristocratic, and godly nun but realistically, she is a bigot whose stories are full of anti-Semitic attitudes. The Prioress’ tales portray her as shallow, non-Christian, and childish. The attitude of the Prioress described in the General Prologue contrasts the description of her in the Prioress tales. Chaucer uses irony and satire to depict Prioress as a woman of many contradictions whose characterization demonstrates the religious trepidations of the clergy in the Middle Ages. The bigotry in the Prioress’ Tales is amplified by Eglantine’s anti-Semitic attitudes, unfair treatment, and demeaning of the Jews religion.

The inconsistencies of Prioress’s character are amplified even further when she tells her tale. While the General Prologue reveals hints and suspicions about her character, her tale, however, is a bigot whose character is revealed through her rampant anti-Semitism. She refuses to bestow mercy on the villains which contradict her character as depicted in the General Prologue. In the prologue, Prioress confesses her unworthiness saying that “For to declare thy grete worthiness/ That I ne may the weight nat sustenance/ But as a child of twelve months old, or less/ That can untether any word expressed” (Chaucer 4). She speaks of the holiness of Mary the Virgin and how she is as weak as a one-year-old child. This reverence to deity is inconsistent with the persona she displays in her tale in which her attitude towards the Jews is vindictive and unmerciful.

The dual nature of the Prioress’s tale depicts her as a woman who is truly naïve of the bigotry in her narration. Many critics have argued that such an anti-Semitic attitude of large magnitude reveals her character as double-faced. In the General Prologue, the author describes Prioress with tenderness and depicts him as tender-hearted. She values innocence and comes across to unsuspecting readers as a pious nun with remarkable social and Christian values. However, in the tale, her narration reveals fierce bigotry. Violence is at the center of her tale. She is very vindictive, portraying the Jews as people thirsty for blood and vengeance. The Prioress’ mothering instincts displayed in the prologue sharply contrast with her bigotry remarks to the mother of the slain boy, saying, “thus hath this wide hir litel sone y-taught” (Chaucer 75). The statement implies that the widow had taught her child a song that led to his murder.

The author uses the Prioress’s tale to demean the Jew’s religion. In the General Prologue, Madame Eglantine, the Prioress, is a religious figure in the tale who is depicted as a pious nun with religious values. However, in the tale, she is vindictive and judgmental. She narrates the story of the slain boy and his faith to portray the Jew’s faith as barbaric as compared to hers. The prioress’s character suggests that she views her religious beliefs as superior compared to that of the Jews. The Prioress’ name itself symbolizes the Virgin Mary as the author states that “She was cleped madame Eglentyne,” (Chaucer 121). While her name was supposed to be an embodiment of love and mercy, her character is the exact opposite. The Prioress holds her religious beliefs as supreme over that of the Jews. Contrary to this notion, mercy and love are major elements that she lacks in her character. This is demonstrated by the unspeakable treatment and vengeance that is meted on the Jews after killing the boy.

The Prioress is unreasonably harsher on the Jews than was the custom of the period. This contradicts the author’s description of her in the General Prologue which depicts her as a pious nun. She is described as an attractive and aristocratic lady with a persona that is worthy to be emulated by other pilgrims. Chaucer states that “Hir greatest tooth was but by Seynte Loy,” (Chaucer 121) implying that she had an unwavering devotion to religion. On the contrary, the glaring and obvious part of her tale is the anti-Semitic views. Her bigotry views, which come out throughout her tale as observed by the readers, show that she is more bigoted that any average peasant of the Middle Ages. She refuses to give mercy to the villains in her narration which portrays a different woman than the one introduced in the General Prologue. She is not authentic and the Chaucer describes her as a “counterfeit” (p. 140) who acts exactly opposite to what she claims to be.

In conclusion, the Prioress’ bigotry is brought out by the shallow, immature, ungodly, and vindictive character that she portrays in her tale. Her description in the General Prologue differs contrastingly from her actual behavior in her tales. Her narration is not only full of anti-Semitic attitudes, but she also inflicts violence and vengeance as well as unfair treatment of the Jews. She judges the Jews harshly and portrays their religion as inferior compared to her own. The portrayal of the Prioress as a woman of many paradoxes serves to show the readers about the religious trepidations of the Middle Ages.

Works Cited

1. Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury tales. Broadview Press, 2012.

Chaucer himself says as much towards the beginning and end of the poem that he tells us that he is looking at each of the pilgrims in terms of rank, clothing, physical and moral state and the person’s actual reason for being on thepilgrimage (‘estaat’, ‘array’ and ’cause’). “A Knight there was, and that a worthy man”. (…) “And wente for to doon his pilgrymage”. The detail in this portrait is the same with all characters. For example, there is a whole host of terms such as ‘sworthy’, ‘trouthe’ and ‘honour’. And there is also a great list of names relating to the battles and tournaments the Knight fought (‘Alisaundre’, ‘Pruce’, ‘Lettow’). After that we are given more personal and maybe surprising traits to consider. His speech is ‘as meeke as is a mayde’, he never spoke rudely (‘no vileynye ne sayde’), his horse is fine but not flashy, and most particularly, we are told that he has come straight from his sea voyage to be on this pilgrimage. All these characteristics summed up make him an individual and coupled with the fact that all the places mentioned were real and historical, they even suggest that the Knight may be modelled on a real figure. The point is that some aspects of him seem to be real, for there is just enough variety and complexity in the surface detail to suggest that he could have existed – even if in fact he did not. All those terms used to introduce the Knight are really of one sort: ‘worthy’, ‘trouthe’ and ‘honour’ are all highly abstract terms and all express chivalric ideals.

The Knight starts off as a highly idealized and crusading knight. Meek in bearing, restrained in speech, so eager to go on the pilgrimage that he did not change his clothes. He is an ideally modest and pious crusading knight. He is as much a ‘type’ of knight as an individual, a simplified ‘caricature’ as much as a complex character. As Chaucer develops him he is also an ideal figure: ‘a verray, parfit gentil knyght’. He is both ‘real’ and ‘ideal’. This applies to all the pilgrims. They are not all equally ‘individual’ or equally ‘typical’, and us as readers need to judge them according to the contribution these elements of the characterization. The Knight is a representative figure in a larger social and divine scheme of things, but that he is also individual and a human being in his own right.

Sometimes Chaucer will start with the character’s appearance and then move on to the moral qualities whereas sometimes he starts with the moral qualities and then moves on to past exploits, with perhaps only a brief mention of physical appearance. ‘Rank’, ‘clothing’, ‘physical and moral state’ and ‘motive’ fit together to produce a harmonious or conflicting view of the character. Understanding the Knight or any other character is to place him or her on a scale running from ‘love of the world’ to ‘love of God’. In the case of the Knight, he is an idealized crusading knight fighting for the ‘love of God’. However, he only appears to be fighting from money and booty as well.

Chaucer presents the pilgrims in a number of loose yet plausible groupings. The first is the Noble Knight, his son the Squire, and the Yeoman, a servant. The second comprises the Prioress, the Monk, the Friar, a nun and three priests, and they are nearly all members of fixed religious communities. The third and largest group are nearly all ‘middle class’: the Merchant, the Clerk, the Lawyer, the Franklin, the five guilds men and their cook, the Shipman, the Doctor, and Wife of Bath. The fourth are two brothers from the ‘lower orders’: the Parson and the Ploughman. And the fifth and last us a more or less motley collection ofrogues: ‘a Reve and a Millere,/ A Somnour and a Pardoner also,/ A Mauncipe, and myself – ther were namo’. A rough social hierarchy, the noble Knight and his entourage, move onto the senior Church figures (the Prioress and others) and then the through the ‘middle’ and ‘lower’ classes. They are also compared with one another in their basic attitudes. The Prioress, for instance, is that she is far more concerned with dainty eating for herself and her dogs than with charity for the starving poor. Comparison with Monk helps point up this ‘food issue’ even more. He is much keener on hunting and feasting than he is on the rigours of the monastic life. Meanwhile, turning to the Friar, he is a stylish father confessor for the rich and pretty, but he has precious little to do with genuinely needy. In the case of the Prioress there is criticism, but it is ironic. With the Monk the criticism is more openly satirical. However, when we get to the Friar, the criticism becomes moral censure: he is a smooth, sly and selfish, rogue. The Monk is lusty and there is a strong suggestion that he is active sexually as well as an active huntsman. The point would be clinched if you referred to the ‘love-knotte’ which the Monk uses to fasten his hood. Like the Prioress’s brooch, which carries the ambiguous inscription Amor vincit omni’. The ‘variations’ are what distinguish the pilgrims within each group, what makes them in some way particular and individual In principle it is as simple as that ‘variations on a theme’. The Knight and the Squire are variations on the theme of ‘chivalry’. The Knight expresses the older, more traditional crusading ideals, while his son is younger and attracted by more fashionably romantic ideals.

Chaucer’s groupings have contrasts and comparisons between groups, as well as within them, might focus on such matters as the presentations on rich and poor, or women and men, as well as a whole range of related contrast between the learned and the ignorant.

Creative response:

You are producing the film version of The Canterbury Tales. Choose five characters and cast them with real-life actors (living or dead). Explain why the actor fits the role. Two or three sentences should suffice.

As the director of the film production of the Canterbury Tales, I would begin to carefully look through my auditioning actors and their qualities to produce and direct a wonderful Canterbury Tales production. For my actor for the Reeve, I would cast Johnny Depp. A reason for casting Depp as the Reeve is because the Reeve like Johnny Depp is seen as a very charming and remarkable person to the public eye. I can see that Johnny Depp’s personality Soarin and shining in many of his films like The Pirates of the Caribbean when he plays Jack Sparrow. Johnny Depp will most definitely be able to portray and integrate the personality of Reeve fully. Along with fully portraying Reeve’s personality, he will be able to give more meaning and depth to the film that will make the audience see what the Canterbury Tales is all about without changing how Reeve is portrayed in the story or plot and to make connections or relations with the original story as well.

For my next actor, I will be taking considerations to cast as Nick Jonas as my Squire. I would take into little deliberation for Nick Jonas to be the Squire because he exemplifies the criteria that as a producer I am looking for. In the Canterbury Tales story, it is stated that a squire is a young man, which Nick Jonas is. The Squire is also portrayed with many talents which can relate to Jonas because he is a famous singer, and songwriter, and even was in many Disney shows and movies. This shows the relation to the Squire because he also writes poetry. I also feel that the skills and experience of his emotions through his music and acting with many roles in the show The Jonas Brothers and Camp Rock movie will help Jonas to be a great squire.

The best fit for my production of The Canterbury Tales as the Wife of Bath would be Kim Kardashian. I see Kim Kardashian fit for the role of the Wife of Bath because she is seen with much confidence, along with standing up for herself, and had multiple marriages. Kim Kardashian fits perfectly into this role because she has the confidence and attitude to play the Wife of Bath. Kim also had previous marriages and a company so she could express her inner Wife of Bath along with being a “boss lady” with confidence.

My next casting auditions will be for the Prioress. I see Angelina Jolie fit for the part of the Prioress because Angelina Jolie has been in many different acting roles from in Maleficent to Mr. Mrs. Smith, and even in Girl Interrupted her acting experience will give her confidence and style that will fully bring the Prioress alive. The Prioress in The Canterbury Tales is described to be likable in many ways. Angelina Jolie is like the Prioress because she has the persona of being a very sociable person, and has done much good like charitable donations, etc. Angelina Jolie as an actor can truly fit the criteria of these characteristics. She is also rarely ever seemed involved with negativity in the media because of her positive attitude. With much consideration and evidence, I see Angelina Jolie as a perfectly fit actor for the role of the Prioress.

For my final auditions, I will be looking at the profile of Courtney Cox. I feel as if Courtney Cox will fit the role of the cook. My thoughts on why she would fit the role of the cook is because in the comedy show Friends Courtney is playing the role of an organized person and a wonderful cook that works for a delightful restaurant in New York City, Monica Geller. I think Courtney playing the role of the Cook will give an ironic feel to the plotline because she was known as a very clean person in the comedy, Friends but as the cook not so much. But Courtney and the cook still have many things alike as she played Monica Geller on Friends who was passionate about cooking just as the cook is.

In Chaucer’s time, society had certain expectations of a monk, doctor, and summoner. All of these characters are thought to be courteous, honest, and intelligent however Chaucer depicts his characters as greedy, dishonest, and inappropriate. Throughout the tales, Chaucer finds humor in the difference between the ideal and the real in the characters that populate The Canterbury Tales. Society views people to be a certain way depending on their occupation despite not knowing who they truly are. All of the pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales have a public identity and that is how society defines them.[2]

The monk, for example, is typically seen as a deeply religious man who vowed to live in poverty, chastity, and obedience. Chaucer explains how different societies view of a monk and how a monk could actually by in this quote from his novel, “He was fat and personable priest; His prominent eyeballs never seemed to settle. They glittered like the flames beneath a kettle; Supple his boots, his horse in fine condition. He was a prelate fit for exhibition, he was not pale like a tormented soul” (Page 135) However, in Chaucer’s tales, the monk is depicted as a rich hunter who lives with many luxuries. Unlike the typical monk, Chaucer is not a religious man as he is said to live like an unholy man. [3]

A doctor is commonly seen as someone who is highly educated, who is kind, and someone who does their best to heal a patient from any injuries or ailments. However, Chaucer depicts his doctor as untruthful. “He was well-versed in Aesculapius too and what Hippocrates and Rufus knew and Dioscorides, now dead and gone” The doctor in The Canterbury Tales lied to society by claiming he was a true doctor. He used common digestives, nutrients, and herbs to heal his patients when really the mixture he concocted did nothing to heal them. If he got caught he blamed it on the stars and other astrological reasons. The doctor was more interested in earning money rather than aiding one of his patients.[4]

In The Canterbury Tales, the summoner was equipped with the job to bring citizens to the court when called upon. The society describes him as an honest, loyal, and sophisticated man however, he was a lazy liar who accepted bribes from criminals. The summoner pretended to be fluent in Latin when he only knew two words. When showing another citizen that he knew Latin he’d make up random words to impress them. “Garlic he loved, and onions too, and leeks. And drinking strong wine ‘till all was hazy. Then he would shout and jabber as if crazy-.” In public, the summoner had no restraint as to what is appropriate and what is not.[5] All of the pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales have a public identity and that is how society defines them. Using his novel, The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer shows the differences between an identity society believes in and true identity.