English 10H, Mathews
The Canterbury Tales
Main Ideas for The Canterbury Tales
Author:
Geoffrey Chaucer, a.k.a. the Father of all English poetry
Form:
It’s poetry, a.k.a. verse, mostly. Two tales are in prose.
Setting:
Springtime, Tabard Inn… then a pilgrimage onto Canterbury, to visit Thomas a’ Becket’s shrine – a
place believed to have healing or restorative powers. (FYI: Archbishop Becket was martyred after
his assassination – in his own church no less and by the king’s knights – in 1170; because of
ensuing backlash against this same monarchy, sainthood was granted to appease the public.)
Frame Story:
The premise is that each pilgrim will tell a tale on the way to Canterbury because the trip is
LONG. It is the Inn keeper who proposes a story-telling contest. ** Chaucer’s plan though is to
make none of the storytellers superior to the others; it is an EQUAL COMPANY.
Genres:
 Narrative collection of poems – they tell a story.
 Character portraits – essentially the Prologue; it introduces every pilgrim; by their title we know what the
character should be like & we contrast that to how she/he is.
 Parody – makes fun by imitating
 Estates Satire – shows the 3 estates/ classes of the Middle Ages and satirizes (most of) them:
* those who fight, *those who labor, and *those who pray.
Language:
Middle English, 1386-95
Narrator:
Primary narrator is anonymous, a naïve member of the pilgrimage. Pilgrims narrate their own
tales after the Prologue.
* He’s the 1st POV “I” you see in the Prologue.
* Do not accept the naive narrator’s view as Chaucer’s.
Conflict:
Mostly this involves clashes among different classes, tastes, and competing professions. There
are also clashes between the sexes.
Motifs:
 Romance – high adventure romance and the other romance as well
 Fabliau/ fabliaux – tale marked by comic or ribald treatment of worldly themes, e.g. The Miller’s Tale
Themes:
 Courtly love
 Importance of Company
 The Corruption of the Church
Symbols:
 Springtime
 Clothing
 Physiognomy