Essay Chaucers Canterbury Tales - 2356 Words

Take any pilgrim whose tale we read and show Chaucer artfully matches the story to the teller. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Of the many stories he writes the tale told by the Wife of Bath is the most verbal and for its time the most forthright exposition of the role women did not have but could have in that time period. The wife of Bath’s story is fairly general a man is accused of trying to rape a woman and the sentence for this charge is to be hung. The mean pleads and pleads to be acquitted of his charge so the queen of the time says he will not be hung if he finds the answer to a certain question. The question is â€Å"What is it women most desire.† He is given one year and one day to find this answer and until the day before his†¦show more content†¦The Wife of Bath I see as being more the naà ¯ve, idealistic old hag. Another correlation is how sly they both are and how they like to gossip. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;I am pretty positive Chaucer meant for the Old Hag to be related to the Wife of Bath for the different reasons I have explained. It is still odd how the character made it into Canterbury Tales but interesting all the same; The Wife of Bath’s story best describe whom she herself actually is. Chaucer’s portraits of the clergy and church related position show evidence of a religious system full of corruption and hypocrisy. Examine in depth 2 or 3 of Chaucer’s pilgrim portraits from the prologue, illustrate or demonstrate how the medieval church was in need of reform. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The late 14th century church almost a disgrace to the meaning and reputation it was supposed to be upholding. This was not true for all of the church as is true all of Chaucer’s characters were not exact remakes of their real life counterpart. The clergy (Monk and Prioress and Friar) and other church related affiliates (Summoner and Pardoner) are made out to be corrupting the church. The Friar was a member of the mendicants, who were a group that traveled from town to town supposedly helping the poor this was however not what he did. The Summoner and pardoner were both not qualified for the positions they held and were in a sense stealing money from those thatShow MoreRelatedThe Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer1582 Words   |  7 Pages Geoffrey Chaucer wrote the Canterbury tales a collection of short tales in the 14th century. The compilation of stories are told by different characters within the narrative as part of a game proposed by the host. Each individual must tell two stories on their journey and two stories on their way back. Each story tells some aspects of English life during the time and often added satire like qualities to the English life. In particular Chaucer often tells stories with elements of the relationshipRead MoreChaucer s The Canterbury Tales1064 Words   |  5 PagesGeoffrey Chaucer, The Author of the Canterbury Tales, is known as the Father of English Literature and is one of the greatest English Poets of the Middle Ages. Chaucer was a soldier, a diplomat, a civil servant, and a courtier, enabling him to experience different aspects of each social ranking, which he demonstrated through his poetry. The Canterbury Tales, his most famous work, is a collection of short stories within a frame story, making for an interesting and memorable narrative about 29 pilgrimsRead MoreThe Canterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer2127 Words   |  9 PagesIt is unknown when Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, but it is assumed that he wrote it in 1387. There are many different aspects and themes throughout this paper that are very prominent. One theme that is very important is the importance of company. 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One of these characters is the PardonerRead MoreThe Canterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer2664 Words   |  11 PagesThe Canterbury Tales The Canterbury Tales was written by Geoffrey Chaucer in 1392, during the medieval period in Europe. Three important aspects, his family’s ties to the court, his schooling and working for royalty (XI), and his love for reading and learning (XII) all combined and enabled him to create his greatest work, The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer includes many different characters, pilgrims, all from very unique walks of life. Although there are not as many women included as men, their storiesRead MoreThe Canterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer2648 Words   |  11 PagesThe Canterbury Tales was written by Geoffrey Chaucer in 1392, during the medieval period in Europe. Three important aspects, his family’s ties to the court, his schooling and working for royalty (XI), and his love for reading and learning (XII) all combined and enabled him to create his greatest work, The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer includes many different characters, pilgrims, all from very unique walks of life. Although there are not as many women included as men, their stories give some extraordinaryRead MoreChaucer s The Canterbury Tales906 Words   |  4 PagesIn the general prologue to Geoffrey Chaucer’s, The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer reveals his dissatisfaction of the distribution of power and how that power was maintained in the Medieval England estate system, through the use of his physical description of each of the pilgrims and by the personality of specific members of each caste. To portray these characters and the flaws that they represent in actual medieval society, Chaucer heavily relies on the use of irony to describe many of the travelers inRead MoreThe Canterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer1073 Words   |  5 PagesIn The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer introduced and described a variety of fictional characters that lived in the Middle Ages. It was the time period that European civilians were governed by a system called feudalism. Where kings were the head of the system an d everyone was categorized in social classes. In the prologue of The Canterbury Tales the first character introduced was the knight. Geoffrey Chaucer depicts the knight correctly by characterizing him as a chivalrous and honorable man,Read MoreCanterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer1380 Words   |  6 PagesCanterbury Tales Canterbury Tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer was a story of not the people themselves but a social statement of how the people of higher standing were viewed by the middle class. In the time that Canterbury Tales was written it was a time of corruption of the Church. There were many clergy members that were mentioned in this story. Each of the characters was unique in the way they went against the standards they should be held to. The most interesting this story was definitely TheRead MoreThe Canterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer2221 Words   |  9 Pagesin medieval literature is the Canterbury Tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer. This research seeks to examine the life of Chaucer, the Canterbury Tales, and the impact and legacy of both the author and the work. Agnes Copton gave birth to a baby boy c. 1340, whom she named Geoffrey. The baby took the surname of his father John Chaucer, who came from a family of wine merchants. The family relied on strategic relationships to subsidize where they lacked in wealth. Chaucer was fluent in French, Italian