STUDY GUIDE FOR THE CANTERBURY TALES
The Author and his Times: Geoffrey Chaucer , 1340 (?) – 1400
Geoffrey Chaucer was born around 1340 in what one historian has called the
“calamitous 14th century”
The series of calamities in this century was great indeed:
 Hundred Years War was fought (England vs. France); Crusades were undertaken
 Black Death (1348) raged, killing thousands
 King Richard II was the subject of a peasant revolt
 King Richard III was deposed and executed by his own cousin, who became Henry
IV (Shakespeare wrote plays about all of these kings)
A Man of Many Talents. However, Chaucer was a successful man who spent his life in
public service to the Crown. He was a diplomat, a judge, a member of parliament, and
an advisor to kings and powerful nobles of England. He seems to have had 2 great
interests in life: literature and people.
A Talented Amateur. Chaucer was not a professional author. He was an “amateur,”
meaning that he wrote for the love of it. Before writing his original works, he translated
popular works from French to English, including a famous French “best-seller” called
The Romance of the Rose, which influenced his own Canterbury Tales, and several
other long poems.
The Father of English Literature. His most famous work, The Canterbury Tales, was
begun in l387. He never lived to complete it. However, Chaucer is known as “the father
of English literature” because he wrote his most ambitious work in English, the
vernacular of his country, not in the French that was spoken at court or the Latin that
was the language of the Church.
The Uniqueness of The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales is a work unique in medieval literature. In an age when most
authors concentrated on works of fantasy, allegory, and legends, Chaucer wrote about
the real life of his times.
A Microcosm of Medieval Society – 3 Estates. The Canterbury Tales is a realistic
microcosm (little world) of Chaucer’s society. Although each pilgrim is an individual,
each one also represents one of the 3 levels of medieval society called “estates.” One’s
estate included social standing (high, medium or low), legal standing (free or bound),
and role or function.
 Feudal Estate: “Those Who Fight.”
Pilgrims who were part of the feudal system were aristocrats, knights, or landed officials.
Their function was to make sure that the other 2 estates carried out their functions
peacefully and justly. Pilgrims of this estate included the Knight, the Squire, and the
Franklin.
 Church Estate: “Those Who Pray”
The function of those in this estate was to make sure that the souls of others were
saved. “Regular” clergy were those people who lived apart from the world in an order or
special church organization and took vows (special promises) to obey a “rule” or set of
laws. Examples include the Monk, the Nun, and the Friar. “Secular” clergy were those
who lived in the world and were subject to a bishop. The Parson is an example of a
secular clergyman.
 Professional and Merchant Estate: “Those Who Work”
The members of this estate were to make sure that the physical needs of others were
met. They included urban and middle class people like the Wife of Bath, the Guildsmen,
the Lawyer, and the Doctor.
Realistic Portraits. Chaucer’s realism comes from his treatment of his characters.
Each of his 29 pilgrims is a character whose individuality is expressed by his social
class, manner of dress, dialogue, faults, and virtues. Chaucer even includes himself as
one of the pilgrims in a humorously unflattering portrait.
Cultural aspects of Medieval Society. One can learn much about medieval society
from The Canterbury Tales, including what it believed about such subjects as astrology,
the 4 humours, physiognomy, and even table manners. The world view of the Church
dominates the work, but much about the corruption in the church is reflected in the
characters.
Structure and Influences
A Frame Story. The Canterbury Tales is a frame story, or a collection of stories
organized around a common situation. Chaucer seems to have been inspired by a book
entitled The Decameron by the Italian author Boccaccio in which a group of people
quarantined by the plague tell stories to pass the time.
Outer Frame. Chaucer’s framework for the stories is a pilgrimage or pious journey from
London to the shrine of St. Thomas a Becket in Canterbury. All of the pilgrims are
staying at the Tabard Inn. Harry Bailey, the shrewd innkeeper, suggests that each
pilgrim tell 4 tales: 2 on the way to Canterbury, 2 on the trip home. The group will treat
the teller of the best tale to a free dinner—at the Tabard! Most of the pilgrims are
described in the beginning of the work entitled “The General Prologue.”
Inner Frame. The tales that the pilgrims tell comprise the inner frame. In actuality, only
24 tales are told because Chaucer never finished his ambitious project.
Links between tales. The stories are linked by narrative portions in which the pilgrims
alternately converse with, joke with, and insult one another.
The Tales as Literary Types
The Canterbury Tales is not only a microcosm of medieval society, it represents the
major kinds of medieval literature. The kind of story that a pilgrim tells often reflects his
place in medieval society:
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Courtly Romance: Tales of knights, their ladies and their adventures. Both the
Knight and the Wife of Bath tell courtly romances.
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Exemplum: An exemplum is a moral tale, often used as a sermon illustration. “The
Pardoner’s Tale” is such a story.
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Beast Fable: A story in which the characters are animals. “The Nun’s Priest’s
Tale” is a story about a rooster almost killed by a fox.
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Fabliaux: Humorous, often “off color” stories. “The Miler’s Tale” is a spicy story of
adultery and revenge.
Poetic Form
Chaucer uses a variety of styles in The Canterbury Tales, but his primary verse form is
the heroic couplet, a from that he introduced into English literature.
The heroic couplet consists of 2 lines of rhymed iambic pentameter.
Characterization and Irony
Chaucer uses direct and indirect characterization to bring his characters to life.
However, the reader must be careful to interpret Chaucer’s tone or attitude very
carefully.
Some pilgrims receive his wholehearted admiration; others are satirized in subtle ways.
Chaucer will sometimes make what seems to be a statement of praise, but the details in
the portrait will suggest that he is being ironic.
As you read, keep in mind the following:
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Does the pilgrim uphold the ideal standards of conduct for his position?
Can we infer anything either positive or negative from the details of dress or
behavior?
Can Chaucer’s direct statements be taken at face value, or is he being ironic?
Look for a “summing up” statement that expresses the pilgrim’s character “in a
nutshell”
As you read The Canterbury Tales, you’ll find that people haven’t changed much in 600
years; styles of dress and world views change, but human nature remains the same. To
help you keep the details straight, you might want to keep the following chart on each
pilgrim:
Pilgrim’s Name or Title
Estate
Details of Appearance (face, figure, clothing)
Details of Behavior (negative and positive)
Tone (admiring, critical, neutral)
Summing Up Statement