The Prologue Of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

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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

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