to describe a pilgrimage that he himself took rather than telling
“This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. The Host tries to persuade the Miller to let some bettre man tell the next tale (3130). of estates satire.SparkNotes is brought to you by Barnes & Noble. After talking to them, he agrees to joi… This pose of humility also allows Chaucer as the narrator to present each of the pilgrim’s stories in a very different narrative style according to the type of character he or she portrays. as “we” beginning in line 29, asserting his status Soon after his death, he became the most He describes the April rains, the burgeoning He spends considerable As pilgrimages went, Canterbury was not a very The guildsmen only appear in the General Prologue. Before the Monk can utter a word, however, the Miller interrupts. in distant holy lands, but even more choose to travel to Canterbury
Summoners were supposed to call people before the church court to confess their crimes, but this Summoner can be bought off easily because he cares primarily about his own pleasures. Instead of remaining pious and true to his vows, the lusty Friar cavorts in expensive clothes.
The Canterbury Tales begin in April, as the narrator (Chaucer) begins a pilgrimage from the Tabard Inn at Southwerk to the famed Canterbury, where Sir Thomas a Becket, a martyr for Christianity, is supposedly buried. (including LitCharts Teacher Editions.
society. The Summoner is just as unappealing on the inside as on the outside: he swindles people by taking their money instead of sending them before the church court, and he is also lecherous, making himself the “counselor” of all the local young ladies. In the narrator’s eyes, the Knight is the noblest of the pilgrims, embodying military prowess, loyalty, honor, generosity, and good manners. to set off on their journey. the events of his story, and that he is describing the characters The miserly, wily Reeve knows all the tricks of servants and managers because he uses them himself. The clergy is represented by the The narrator is satirizing the stereotype of the poor, emaciated scholar who spends all his money on books rather than on practicalities like food and clothing; however, the narrator does admit—and seem to admire—that the student truly loves knowledge.
Instead of working for his master’s gain, he steals from the master and jealously hoards all the money that he skims off the top of his dealings. “Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote / The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,” he begins, and writes about the burgeoning flowers and singing birds. he relates how he met the group of pilgrims while staying at the by noting that he has “tyme and space” to tell his narrative. He then shifts into the first-person plural, referring to the pilgrims poor Plowman, are the members of the laity. and their social roles reveal the influence of the medieval genre Summary The narrator begins his character portraits with the Knight. As the General Prologue opens, Chaucer is staying at the Tabard Inn in Southwark, preparing for a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Thomas Beckett in Canterbury … Summary One spring day, the Narrator of The Canterbury Tales rents a room at the Tabard Inn before he recommences his journey to Canterbury. The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue & Frame Story Summary.
by accident, was itself formed quite by chance (25–26). a love story. time and place, but the speaker does this in cosmic and cyclical He has spoken and met with these people, but he has waited His actions are in line with the Greek philosopher Epicurus, who said that happiness comes through pleasure.
The Reeve's Prologue. The pilgrims are uniformly delighted to treat the expedition to Canterbury as a form of entertainment rather than a pious religious journey. “Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote / The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,” he begins, and writes about the burgeoning flowers and singing birds. can be further subdivided into landowners (the Franklin), professionals from memory. a certain length of time before sitting down and describing them. Tabard Inn. The sun has … to visit the relics of Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral, The pilgrims applaud the Knights Tale, and the pleased Host asks the Monk to match it. The pilgrims seek help from the martyr St. Thomas à Becket. While the pilgrims are from all different socioeconomic backgrounds, medieval society is still very hierarchical, with the knight at the top. a pilgrimage, staying at a tavern in Southwark called the Tabard Although only mentioned in passing here, the Second Nun and one of the Nun’s Priests later tell their own tales. popular saint in England. The narrator poses as simply an innocent bystander, a reporter dedicated to presenting as fair and honest a portrait of each of the pilgrims as possible. In contrast with the satirical portraits of the mincing Prioress, the hunting Monk, and the hypocritical Friar, the Parson is described in sincere terms as a devoted servant of the Lord. The other characters, from the wealthy Franklin to the
of the return of spring. Instant downloads of all 1346 LitChart PDFs begins is lengthy and formal compared to the language of the rest