What Lies Beneath - General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales.

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What Lies Beneath

Imagine a police officer patrolling the streets dressed as a clown. He meets a priest who is carrying a gun.  Is there something wrong with this picture?  This is an exaggerated example of how human beings expect certain behaviours from people given the positions they are in.  We make assumptions based on what society has taught us to believe, and often deny ourselves the truth.  Our assumptions are often false because people often do not possess the qualities we expect them to have in their position in our community.  We are easily deceived by false appearances because of our prior belief of the qualities an individual should possess.

In Geoffrey Chaucer’s “General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales,” the realities of the human nature are examined.  Chaucer paints a picture of the Knight by describing physical characteristics while also describing his values and morals.  The Knight possesses the qualities expected of a knight and is therefore seen as an object of perfection.  In contrast to this perfection, the Prioress and the Doctor both stray far from the stereotypical expectations.  Chaucer focuses primarily on the Prioress’s appearance, leading the reader to believe that she does not fit the mould of a stereotypical nun.  The Doctor’s actions are Chaucer’s primary focus on this character.  He abuses his role as physician in order to maximize his wealth.  

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Through Chaucer’s illustration of the Knight the reader can conclude that he is the object of perfection; he possesses all the qualities expected of a knight.  The Knight is a strong, worthy and noble individual.  He has proven his loyalty through the many battles he has fought in.  The Knight’s primary concern is in the temporal world instead of in the spiritual world.  The community was more important to him than his appearance when “he was late come from his viage/And wente for to doon his pilgrimage”(ll.77-78).  Just as expected of a knight “he was a verray, parfit, gentil”(l.72).  By ...

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