The Canterbury Tales – Literary Analysis Essay
Geoffrey Chaucer’s medieval work has enchanted and interested students, scholars, and
historians alike. One of the great achievements of the work is its imagery, an
accomplishment that akin to looking at a picture, in words, of
14th century England. Chaucer tells us in his prologue exactly
what he is going to do:
It seems a reasonable thing to say
What their condition was, the full array
Of each of them, as it appeared to me
According to profession and degree,
And what apparel they were riding in;
And at a knight I therefore will begin.
The word condition seems to indicate personality, looks, and lifestyle; the word
profession their jobs; the word degree their social status; and the word apparel their
clothes. So as the reader goes through the pageant that is the prologue, he gets a great
look at all that was during Chaucer’s England. And from the character portraits we also
get a sense of not only the people, but the society that they are from and represent.
Writing Task – your writing task is a simple one. Show how the prologue of The
Canterbury Tales is a window into the 14th century.
Things to consider:
 Social group and class
o Feudal, Ecclesiastical, Urban
o Nobility, Ecclesiastical, Middle, Trade,
Peasant
 Social Behavior and Expectations
o Church group
o Feudal group
 Social changes right then and on the horizon
o Old school vs. new school
o Change in spirituality
o Change in social structure
The essay itself is going to be
 four or more paragraphs long & one and a half pages
 MLA Format
o typed, double spaced, 1” margins
The essay will have a(n)
 Introduction (hook and thesis)
 Body (topic sentences, commentary and concrete details)
 Conclusion (on of several formats)
So how do we write it? The first thing we do is take the writing task (prompt) and use it
to form our thesis statement. A simple way to start is to write “The Canterbury Tales is a
window into the 14th century because ….” You need to fill in the rest based on what you
read and know. Here are some other ways to start:
The Canterbury Tales shows us the…
Chaucer criticizes the ….
The (character, group) gives us insight into …
After we have given ourselves direction through a thesis statement, we now need to
prove it through evidence and explanation. Evidence is worthless without proper
explanation and linking to our topic sentence and thesis statement. So where do we get
the evidence? We get it from the text. How do we link it to our thesis statement? We
explain our analysis. How do analyze? We make inferences base on words, symbols,
metaphors, similes, and any other clues that help us read “between the lines.”
Prewriting and organizational techniques will help you get started and organized.
Outlines, bubble clusters, and other types of organizers give your paper the push and
structure that it needs.