Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

Superior Essays
Canterbury Essay Geoffrey Chaucer was very clear about the characters he admired and despised in The Canterbury Tales. The prologue was a huge clue in revealing who Chaucer's favorite groups of people were. He had extremely strong opinions of these people in which he expressed through his writing. There were two certain people that Chaucer specifically favored. These people were the knights and the women. Right from the beginning it was very obvious that Chaucer valued the feudal class. In the prologue, the knight was portrayed to be honorable and virtuous. It was said that he "had loved chivalry, truth and honor, liberality and courtesy." (Chaucer 17 lines 45-46). Of course the Knight told a moral tale rather than the other travelers who …show more content…
Ironically, the church people fit this category. It may seem odd that Chaucer would express hate for the religious people since he is very religious himself. However, these church folks did not always do their jobs. In the tales, Chaucer gives the religious characters poor physical and personality traits to help get his point across. The way the religious folk act in The Canterbury Tales is a reflection of how they acted in Chaucer's time period. They were merely con-artists and manipulators. In The Summoner's Tale, a friar is portrayed as a con-man. The friar went from door to door promising people he would pray for them in return for money. In reality, the friar was not really praying for people like he was supposed to be doing. He was scamming them for their money. Even the actual Friar was just as greedy as the Friar in The Summoner's Tale. It was said in the prologue that "He was an easy man in giving penance where he knew he would gain a good pittance." (Chaucer 27 lines 223-224). Chaucer wrote the Friars to be a con-men in The Canterbury Tales because that is how he viewed people who "worked for the church". Chaucer disliked these people so much because they did not help the people or the

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    During the Medieval Period, qualities such as honor, selflessness, and chivalry were highly regarded in society. For instance, any person, particularly a knight, who chose to demonstrate these respectable character traits was expected to uphold them despite any temptation or struggle he may have encountered. In order to make this more attainable, the Knight’s Code of Chivalry was invented, which acted as a set of ethical and social guidelines for people to abide by. Yet unfortunately, despite humanity’s efforts to live morally grounded lives, it still makes the human person no less susceptible to sin and evil. This is exhibited through Geoffrey Chaucer’s use of the characters in “The Physician’s Tale” to expose the corruption of the court system, emphasize the absurdity of a Knight’s Code of Chivalry, and exemplify the manner in which such corruption preys on the virtuous.…

    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After the Miller tells his tale the Reeve is personally offended. The Reeve was easily angered from the story and said he would break the Millers neck which establishes his choleric personality. However, the Reeve does not actually commit these actions, he simply tells a tale personally attacking the Miller. In The Reeve’s Tale Chaucer displays women as property; however, he is a product of his environment. In the Middle Ages, women were considered their husband’s or father’s property.…

    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Think about the stereotypical raider or pirate. This image presumably portrays a tough, unkempt, and harsh man. This man probably doesn’t really care about others and will do anything to get what he wants, or his treasure, he even steals and lies. Now think about how others view that man and what they think of him. Most would say that he is eerie and intimidating looking, while others may admire him for his bravery and strength.…

    • 832 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Geoffrey Chaucer and Marie de France have strikingly similar themes within the Breton Lai’s they have produced within their works. A Breton Lai is a narrative form of English and French Medieval literature that usually consist of tales of Courtly love, Chivalry, and often using supernatural elements within the story as well. Both Chaucer’s work of The Wife of Bath’s tale and Breton Lais produced by Marie de France such as Bisclavret and Lanval incorporate all of these elements and they will be examined and compared in this response. The Earliest Breton Lai’s were written by Marie de France and although we have no way of knowing whether or not Chaucer read Marie de France’s works, we can clearly see a connection between the two authors as shown in The Wife Of Bath’s Tale.…

    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The Middle Ages is often portrayed as an era of strict adherence to religion and its faith-based social hierarchy. The General Prologue to Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales demonstrates the influence of this feudal system while also revealing its shortcomings, specifically concerning the unethical behavior of individuals across all classes. In his General Prologue, Chaucer uses his ironic writing style to expose an assortment of moral and behavioural flaws among the seemingly virtuous pilgrims. One type of flaw Chaucer reveals is the pilgrims’ compulsion to obsessional behaviour.…

    • 1785 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    On the basis of entertainment and lesson-teaching, it is not difficult to see which tale in The Canterbury Tales is the best. Each pilgrim journeying to Canterbury tells their own story with a lesson and a bit of entertainment, and their stories reflect their actions and personalities. “The Pardoner’s Tale,” “The Wife of Bath’s Tale,” and “The Miller’s Tale” represent their storytellers while capturing the attention of the reader. However, only one of the tales has the strongest lesson and the most balanced amount of entertainment. “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” rises above the other stories in terms of lesson-teaching and entertainment because it demonstrates a revolutionary lesson while resisting the urge of being too obscene or too hypocritical like the other two tales.…

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The magnitude of characters in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales creates some very interesting relationships. An example of one of these relationships would be the connection between Alisoun of Oxenford and Alisoun of Bath and how these characters fit into the natural sex ideology. In some aspects, these women are very similar, but they also have significant differences. The natural ideology of sex is defined by Alfred David as, “being neither too obsessed with physical gratification and domination, nor too fixated on some goal apart from the pleasure of sex itself” (Zumdahl 2).…

    • 1949 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In his prologue to the Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer initially sets the tone for the prologue by providing the reader with in-depth detail on the setting. He then proceeds to introduce every pilgrim he meets at the Tabard Inn by revealing the characteristics they possess and ranking each individuals’ social status from highest to lowest. Chaucer therefore begins with the highest ranking pilgrim, the Knight, and depicts each pilgrim in detail through the last and lowest ranking character described, the Host. H.S. Bennett said, in reference to Chaucer’s writing, that “no detail was too small for him to observe, and from it he could frequently draw, or suggest, conclusions which would have escaped many.” Bennett’s words emphasize the…

    • 247 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Women are viewed in a variety of ways, depending on culture and opinion. Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales walks us through various tales of men and their interactions with women. Chaucer also includes the tales of the Prioress, the two nuns and the Wife of Baths. From a close reading of the text, it could be assumed that women were associated with little to no value. They were used primarily for sexual reasons and weren’t considered sacred.…

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales clearly has a views of the marriage and the opposite sex as unworthy of a man's time because disappointments always follow. As one can tell, The women in these tales are greatly hated due to their personality and certain characteristics while the men are all liked in many was even if they are the main cause of the tragdies that unfold. Men are also pretrayed as innocent and honorable while they women are treated like property with no choise for their futures. Chaucer does touch on some cases where women are treated badly by men but shown that the men in return end up with little to no punishment. Lastly, Geoffrey Chaucer’s view on women in The Canterbury Tales is greatly satirized allowing him to be seen as…

    • 134 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    This shows the difference between The Knight and The Miller 's Tale. In the Miller 's Tale John and Nicholas both have very rude and immature language in the way they speak to people. It is shown Chaucer prefers the more noble, classy man over what the Miller’s tale portrays which is why it’s very fitting that the narrator introduced him as the first character since he depicts what a true noble man should be during the medieval times. The Knight’s tale illustrates a perfect example of a hierarchical and patriarchal society, which also shows the how many people can change their lives and fate by their…

    • 2494 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Chaucer utilizes his intelligence and storytelling ability to criticize medieval English society in his compilation of short stories, The Canterbury Tales. The church's power and its ability to harshly punish dissenters forced Chaucer to use his stories as a way of questioning established religious beliefs and commenting on his society. Chaucer appears to have enjoyed criticizing established religion and societal norms, and uses his texts to illustrate these criticisms. The most prominent criticism is when Chaucer mentions the flood which Noah had to face. Even though this reference is a major part of the tale, its main role is to further progression of Chaucer’s story.…

    • 950 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Their courtesy extended from respectable battle tactics to gentle service to ladies. Overall, Chaucer’s glorified description of the Knight tells readers how appreciative he is for the Knight’s pureness. In remembering Marilyn Monroe’s quote, the highest respect Chaucer offers to the Knight is treasured. In medieval times, infamous for the corruptness of society, the Knight’s immaculate nature is remarkable as is his allegiance to God and his people which Chaucer depicts so clearly and eloquently in The Canterbury…

    • 2146 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Through these stories, they help us begin to realize who that person was and how they became who they are. To correlate with the story personally, there are many people who can be chosen who would have easily been along with Chaucer on his journey to Canterbury. I believe that an artist, an athlete, and a teacher would have been part of the group of people Chaucer would allow to join him as he sets out on an adventure. I believe that a artist would have joined Chaucer by his side to get to Canterbury. The artist I chose specifically would be Selena Gomez, as she is viewed as a very important woman in our day in history today.…

    • 1021 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The General Prologue in the poem Canterbury Tales reflects the social classes of medieval society fairly clear. If you can understand the meaning behind Chaucer's satire. The characters reveal Chaucer's purpose by using the different positions in the society to judge the characters social position and if they really amount to it. One character who helps reveal Chaucer’s purpose is the Doctor described in the prologue. He told us how he was a good doctor, but seemed to care about the money more than the actual patient.…

    • 441 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays