The Imagery used adds to our impression of the Knights persona. All imagery used gives us glimpses of the Knight’s triumphs in the battlefield and the Christian conquests that he played a part in. This creates an image of the Knight being not only a great warrior but also a warrior of virtue (a true Christian, putting his religion before his life). Each image in the Knight’s passage is set in foreign lands, this shows how much the Pilgrimage to Canterbury means to him. He comes on the pilgrimage with complete sincerity. He does not have any inclination whatsoever to please any person but God; this is signified by his attending in war garments (coming straight from battle).
Chaucer’s use of language is very unique for a description of a person. Every word describing an aspect of the Knight’s character praises him. The Knight is labelled ‘worthy’ five times in the passage. When the tone of Chaucer’s writing is added to the use of words, it is plain for the reader to see that the Knight is perfect in every aspect of his character exposed by Chaucer.
The Knight’s portrait sets high standards for the characters portrayed later to follow. Although none of the other characters are as good as the Knight there are some similarities in some of the non-church characters:
- The Squire (the Knight’s son) has some of the personal qualities of his father; he is also labelled ‘fresh’. In that manner he is better than his father as the Knight lives a sombre life due to the hard service he has given in his life.
- The Yeoman, though a small character; bears great resemblance towards the Knight. His loyalty towards his master is great, he loves his work (foresting) and he is a good Christian (identified by his medal of St Christopher).
- The Clerk has little care for what he looks like or what he dresses in. That is similar to the Knight who also does not pay very much heed to his exterior look.
The main idea Chaucer tries to convey in the Canterbury tales is about the corruption of the Church. The three characters who work for the Church have contradictions in their outside demeanour.
The Prioress has two sides to her personality; feminine and religious. She is the head of a convent yet she blatantly breaks the rules of the Church. She wears her wimple folded to show her forehead, her figure is shown though it shouldn’t be and she wears jewellery.
The Monk and the Friar both have the same problem: they have inflated egos. The Monk does not accept the fact that his order has a much easier lifestyle than the founders did (due to estates being given to monasteries). The Monk also believes that he has the potential to become a higher positioned member of the Church. The Friar serves as the basis of Chaucer’s idea of hypocrisy in the Church. He believes that he is better than the common folk though he continuously takes hefty payments for forgiving people of their sins. A Friar is supposed to live a life of poverty and support for the community. He fawns to the wealthy and holds the poor and sick in contempt (though he would graciously take what little they have).
Chaucer’s tone when talking about the above characters is mocking. The Irony of The Tales of Canterbury is that the Knight who doesn’t work for the Church, is a better servant to Christianity than they are.
