Chaucer: The general Prologue to the "The Canterbury Tales"
Chaucer: The general Prologue to the "The Canterbury Tales" Select two or three portraits from The General Prologue and discuss Chaucer's use of variety of detail in comparing and contrasting the characters. In your answer you should consider the following aspects: * The nature of the characters presented * Different kinds of emphasis in the descriptions * The sense of a varied medieval society The knight, the prioress and the doctor of physics are three characters presented very differently in the General Prologue. The knight is defined in terms of his virtues and actions to defend the faith, far more than by his appearance and words. He has fought honourably both for his earthly Lord and for the Lord of all Christians campaigning along the whole frontier- "Ful worthy was he in his Lordes were." It is interesting to see that Chaucer has begun with the pilgrim who has the highest social status, and is the top of the hierarchy. Despite of his prowness and his undefeated record, he was humble and had an idealised moral standard- "Truth and honour, freedom and courtesy." He is a character who is skilful and decent as he respects the laws. He is well-mannered and upright- "To riden out, he loved chivalrie." He never spoke fowl language about any person and thus was good-natured- "He never yet no vileynie." He behaved himself very modestly- "and of his porte as meeke as is a
After reading Chaucer's "General Prologue" I can clearly see that the way in which Chaucer presents "frankelyn" and the "millere" are very different. Throughout the prologue
Write a comparison of the presentation of at least two of the pilgrims from Chaucer's "General Prologue." After reading Chaucer's "General Prologue" I can clearly see that the way in which Chaucer presents "frankelyn" and the "millere" are very different. Throughout the prologue we can see more of favouritism towards Frankelyn and we can definitely say that Chaucer likes Frankyelyn more than the Millere. Frankyelyn is one of the highest class people on the pilgrimage other than the knights; He is continuously referred to as generous and noble. "It snewed in his hous of mete and drynke" "Ful many a fat partrich hadde he in muwe, And many a breem and many a luce in stuwe." "Was nowher swich a worthy vavasour" And on several occasions he is referred to the colour white which represents purity and innocence. "Whit was his berd as is the dayesye" "whit as morne milk." These references to the colour white and naturalistic images are used to create a positive effect towards Franklyn. However the Miller is the complete contrast. We can see quite clearly that Chaucer doesn't like the miller, he is portrayed as a low class middle man who is gruesome to look at and a crook. "Upon the cop right of his nose he hade A werte, and theron stood a toft of herys, Reed as the brustles of a sowes erys;" Here Chaucer also uses naturalistic imagery but not in the same way as he does for
An Interpretation of Chaucer's "Dream Vision" Narrative Frame
Joe Bohn ENG-336W Prof. Tisdale An Interpretation of Chaucer's "Dream Vision" Narrative Frame When thinking of dreams, we often consider their perplexities. Often, they are filled with metaphors and unrealistic images. As in Geoffrey Chaucer's "dream visions," they often seem discontinuous, ending as if by the result of some external force like the unexpected sound of an alarm clock. In Chaucer's "dream visions," we recognize elements of our own dreams: the juxtaposition of seemingly unrelated images and events, and fantastic journeys, and as in our own dreams, Chaucer's narrator is merely an extension of himself pondering his own identity and the mysteries of life. One may find that his "dream visions" are difficult to interpret, but aren't our own dreams hard to interpret as well? Are they not also naught more than "dream visions?" In the fantastic poetic landscape of Chaucer's "dream visions," non-human entities such as animals frequently speak, allegorically assuming personas. This occurs in The Parliament of Fouls, when the narrator witnesses various species of birds congregating in a stratified fashion on Valentine's Day to choose their mates. This also occurs in The House of Fame, when the narrator finds himself in conversation with a giant eagle, which seems to have a strikingly familiar voice, perhaps the voice of his own conscience. At times, the fantastic
Chaucer's pardoner "Though told by a self-confessed liar and hypocrite, the tale has a powerful moral and imaginative effect." How far do you agree with this view of the text?
"Though told by a self-confessed liar and hypocrite, the tale has a powerful moral and imaginative effect." How far do you agree with this view of the text? Chaucer's pardoner is an enigmatic, paradoxical figure, both intriguing yet repulsive. From the very beginning of his Prologue the Pardoner makes no attempts to hide his "ypocrise," instead taking a perverse pleasure in the extent of his corruption. As seen in the portrait of the Monk in The General Prologue, Chaucer allows the Pardoner to condemn himself. He purposely reveals his methods of extracting money from" the povereste widwe in a village" his contempt for his usual audience of "lewed peple" and complete disregard for the doctrines of the Church. The Pardoner's blatant hypocrisy is most evident in the theme of his sermons: "Radix malorum est Cupiditas." The irony of this is fully evident when he later announces "I preche nothing but for coveitise." During the Middle Ages pardoners were infamous for being "frauds, libertines and drunkards" (Charles Moseley). At first glance Chaucer's Pardoner seems true to type, he is the one called upon for "som mirthe or japes," the worst is immediately expected of him; we see the "gentils" beg "lat him telle us of no ribaudye." However, Chaucer's pardoner is more psychologically complex. The Pardoner is neither a preacher nor a priest yet he usurps these roles. Pardoners were
What Lies Beneath - General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales.
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
Medieval Medicine In Geoffrey Chaucer's " The Canterbury Tales".
Omar Hernandez Teresa Gibson English 2332 June 27, 2003 Medieval Medicine In Geoffrey Chaucer's " The Canterbury Tales" we learn how physicians use to practice medicine. In the Prologue Chaucer talks about how physicians would use the humor system, astrology to diagnosis and treat their patients, and also shows that there was a huge difference between a surgeon and a physician during these times. Chaucer describes the medical practitioner as "He knew the cause of every malady, were it of hot or cold, of moist or dry,...The cause being known, down to the deepest root, (Chaucer 14)". In medieval times medicine was quite different than modern day western medicine. Nowadays, there is almost always a cure for whatever the problem may be. If not there will be an extensive amount of research that will take place in order to find a cure. One of the ways that physicians would diagnosis patients was with the use of the humor system. This system was based on the four humors, blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile (Gibson). All of these are directly related to four earthly elements, earth, air, water, and fire (Gibson). Earth paired with black bile, air with blood, water with phlegm, and fire with yellow bile (Gibson). Each of these pairs brought upon a certain amount of balance in order maintain health. "Melancholy, like earth, was cold and dry. Phlegm, like water,
Notes on geoffrey chaucer's life and the pardoner's tale.
NOTES ON GEOFFREY CHAUCER'S LIFE AND THE PARDONER'S TALE Chaucer's life Chaucer lived in the 14th century. He wrote poetry for society's most rich and powerful people. When he wrote the Canterbury Tales he encapsulated the entire spectrum of modern life up to 1400. From the records that were found it is thought that Chaucer was born around 1344. In 1359, at the beginning of the Hundred Years' War, the French took Chaucer prisoner. He was released after the King paid £16 for his discharge (this proves him to be of great importance to society). It is thought that he may have returned to study law at the Inner Temple, as a wide knowledge of this subject is shown in his later work. However, by the time Chaucer was in his twenties he held the position of a Squire at the Royal Court, which was a middle ranking position. French was spoken a large amount of the time at court and Chaucer would have believed it to be the language of gallantry and enlightened society. Chaucer was, once again, in France in 1370. It is therefore obvious that French was a substantial inspiration in his work. The king asked Chaucer to visit Italy, Genoa and Florence (in 1372 and 1378). This was a very influential time for Chaucer, in the context of his poetry, as he was exposed to some of Italy's greatest literary works. He was greatly inspired by Boccaccio (1313-75) and Petrach (1304-74), who he is
Examine the Literary and Linguistic Techniques used by Chaucer to bring to life his characters and their Dilemmas.
Examine the Literary and Linguistic Techniques used by Chaucer to bring to life his characters and their Dilemmas. I am going to examine the literary and linguistic techniques used by Chaucer to bring to life his characters and their dilemmas. To begin with January builds a beautiful garden with a high stonewall for May, 'He made a gardyn, walled al with stoon'. The garden symbolises secrecy, the growth of women and fertility and beauty. A very important garden is mentioned in the poem, The Garden of Eden. 'This noble Januarie, with al his might, / In honest wise, as longeth to a knight' is ironic because he is not noble because of the sins that he committed in his life, line 37, 'his bodily delit'. This is a personal animosity. The Merchant directs the reader to a classical reference in line 820. It is a book called 'The Romance of the Rose'. This book is an allegory referring to beauty of the garden that January has built for May and him, 'Swich deyntee hath in it to walk and play'. There is another classical reference about the garden; about Pluto who is the God of underworld wealth and his young wife Proserpina were they would roam and dance, 'Aboute that welle, and daunced, as men tolde'. Priapus who is the God of orgiastic pleasure and God of gardens. This seems rather crude but it applies to what January desires to do in his new garden. These characters are political
Of Vice and Virtue: Chaucer's Clergy
Of Vice and Virtue: Chaucer's Clergy The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer, depicts the class system and religion of the medieval period in which Chaucer lived in. The General population along with the ruling elites believed both religion and class was established by God, and thus it was largely gone unchallenged. This idea of God, establishing the class system gave way to high ranking members of society to be corrupt and dishonest. High members of the church like the Pardoner took advantage of naivety of the people to profit from the system of class and religion. The general population would give donations to Pardoners regardless of knowing if the money would be stolen, and not put to good use because they wanted to eventually go to heaven or be forgiven of their past committed sins. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, portrays two pilgrims divided by the class system: The Pardoner being a high ranking official, while the Parson was ranked a low level religious figure. In the beginning of the General Prologue five pilgrims are mentioned who are all connected to the Church one way or another, and in a way corrupt or not dedicated to their faith as they should be: The Monk, the Prioress, Nun, the summoner, the pardoner, the friar. The Parson who is the poorest of them all stands out as the only individual who is the most devout figure out of all the Church member pilgrims. In
Geoffrey Chaucer's The Wife of Bath - review
Geoffrey Chaucer's The Wife of Bath Geoffrey Chaucer was an English poet, born in London between 1340 and 1345 died there, 25 October 1400. In the year after the succession of Henry IV and the death of Richard II, whose reign, starting in 1377, thus falls entirely in the poet's life (Moore). In " The Wife of Bath," Geoffrey Chaucer paints a very delicate and graceful picture on mortality and pleasure: the wife in this story does not even realize she is dissatisfied with her marriage until she finds her fifth husband. The Wife of Bath is a strong, smart and dominant woman who experience is the authority she hold against others with opposite views under the aspect of example, since she has been married five times, and she was able to be the "master" in each of her marriage. According to today's culture, specifically through the use of such magazines as Elle and Cosmopolitan, the woman of the millennium can still be defined by her sexual uniqueness, although perhaps in different terms than were used when Chaucer first wrote the Canterbury Tales. "Today's woman" is one who is powerful and equal in all ways to her sexual partner, which is "today's man." She works outside the home, pursuing an emotionally and financially profitable career, and she is no longer a virgin by the time she gets marry, and usually she has several sexual experiences before ever meeting the man she will