Tales of The Prioress vs. The Physician
Have you ever sat around with a group of friends and just told stories to have a good time? That is basically the foundation of The Canterbury Tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 1400s. Chaucer was known as a fantastic writer in his time. He got away with writing crude, violent and obscene tales by writing these tales as he “heard” them. He supposedly got the idea to write the The Canterbury Tales in a storytelling contest that was held during a pilgrimage. He claims to have written them down word for word during their travels, though this supposed “pilgrimage’ did not actually occur. In the tales, the contest had specific rules that the character, the Host, said all story tellers must follow to …show more content…
“The Physician’s Tale” concludes with a moral that is not what the story had demonstrated at all. Many who read the tale are confused and surprised that he comes out with saying that the moral is “the worm/Of conscience will bring terror to the firm” (237). As well as the knight in the tale does not honor the code of chivalry because he would rather kill his daughter than helping her or preserving her honor with absolutely no reflection on his part. The pilgrims at this time would have looked down upon that because of the moral codes that are being ignored. On the contrary, “The Prioress’s Tale” ends with a neat and very important moral which is:
“Pray mercy on our faltering steps, that thus
Merciful God may multiply on …show more content…
This was represented by the way that the pilgrims and the Host reacted at the end of each tale. After the “The Prioress’s Tale” the crowd was silent and overcome with dread of what happened to the little Christian boy. Because they all had the same or similar faiths, it pulled in the crowd and made them emotionally react to the story, as Chaucer explains “Now when they heard this miracle every man/ Was sombered; it was marvelous to see” (176). Which of course, emotional reaction is what makes a great story! The story was so powerful that the Host had to interrupt the silence with a joke and says that Chaucer, who was next to tell a tale, should tell a “merry” tale because they were so moved by the Prioress’s tale. When it came to “The Physician’s Tale”, the Host reacts by saying “It gave me heart-disease, or very near”(240). He does enjoy the story, but is quite upset by what happens to the knight’s daughter. It is also quite obvious to the pilgrims that the Physician went so bold and violet just to win the contest, which shows a lot about his character. Chaucer focuses alot on the character of each pilgrim that is introduced and doesn't seem to tolerate cockiness and arrogance, which is the impression you get from the Physician from the beginning. On the contrary,“The Prioress’s Tale” is much more accepted by the crowd. While they are both gruesome, the Prioress’s is simply more tasteful than the deranged
Have you ever sat around with a group of friends and just told stories to have a good time? That is basically the foundation of The Canterbury Tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 1400s. Chaucer was known as a fantastic writer in his time. He got away with writing crude, violent and obscene tales by writing these tales as he “heard” them. He supposedly got the idea to write the The Canterbury Tales in a storytelling contest that was held during a pilgrimage. He claims to have written them down word for word during their travels, though this supposed “pilgrimage’ did not actually occur. In the tales, the contest had specific rules that the character, the Host, said all story tellers must follow to …show more content…
“The Physician’s Tale” concludes with a moral that is not what the story had demonstrated at all. Many who read the tale are confused and surprised that he comes out with saying that the moral is “the worm/Of conscience will bring terror to the firm” (237). As well as the knight in the tale does not honor the code of chivalry because he would rather kill his daughter than helping her or preserving her honor with absolutely no reflection on his part. The pilgrims at this time would have looked down upon that because of the moral codes that are being ignored. On the contrary, “The Prioress’s Tale” ends with a neat and very important moral which is:
“Pray mercy on our faltering steps, that thus
Merciful God may multiply on …show more content…
This was represented by the way that the pilgrims and the Host reacted at the end of each tale. After the “The Prioress’s Tale” the crowd was silent and overcome with dread of what happened to the little Christian boy. Because they all had the same or similar faiths, it pulled in the crowd and made them emotionally react to the story, as Chaucer explains “Now when they heard this miracle every man/ Was sombered; it was marvelous to see” (176). Which of course, emotional reaction is what makes a great story! The story was so powerful that the Host had to interrupt the silence with a joke and says that Chaucer, who was next to tell a tale, should tell a “merry” tale because they were so moved by the Prioress’s tale. When it came to “The Physician’s Tale”, the Host reacts by saying “It gave me heart-disease, or very near”(240). He does enjoy the story, but is quite upset by what happens to the knight’s daughter. It is also quite obvious to the pilgrims that the Physician went so bold and violet just to win the contest, which shows a lot about his character. Chaucer focuses alot on the character of each pilgrim that is introduced and doesn't seem to tolerate cockiness and arrogance, which is the impression you get from the Physician from the beginning. On the contrary,“The Prioress’s Tale” is much more accepted by the crowd. While they are both gruesome, the Prioress’s is simply more tasteful than the deranged