THE CANTERBURY
TALES
An Introduction
WHAT ARE THE CANTERBURY TALES?
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Written by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1381 and 1386
Historically, what was going at this time in England?
CT is an example of:
 Frame story: a story within a story
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Satire: a literary technique of writing or art which
principally ridicules its subject often as an intended
means of provoking or preventing change
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Allegory: an expressive style that uses fictional
characters and events to describe some subject by
suggestive resemblances
THE BASIC PLOT
A group of English people from various
backgrounds go on a pilgrimage to Canterbury,
England, to visit the shrine of St. Thomas a
Becket.
 What is a pilgrimage, and why do people go on
them?
 They meet at the Tabard Inn in Southwark.
 The host, Harry Bailey, decides to create a storytelling contest.
 On the way to the shrine, they tell one another
stories.
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THE PILGRIMS – A RECAP
 The
pilgrims are divided into three social
classes for the most part: nobility, clergy,
and everyone else (back in the Middle
Ages, these are the only classes that
existed).
NOBILITY
 Nobility
was the second highest class in
the Middle Ages, coming only after
royalty. This included knights, lords and
courtiers.
 Noble pilgrims: The Knight, The Squire,
and The Yeoman (although technically a
servant, he works for the Knight and so is
included).
CLERGY
 In
the Middle Ages, the Orthodox Catholic
Church received much criticism.
Throughout the tales, Chaucer pokes fun
at these people involved with the church.
 The pilgrims: The Prioress (the nun), The
Nun’s Priests, The Friar, The Monk, The
Parson, The Pardoner, The Summoner,
and The Clerk (the Oxford Cleric).
THE REST
 Upper,
middle, and lower classes were not
defined in the Middle Ages. Of course, there
were those with more money than others, so
the rest can be divided into two subgroups.
 The “upper” class: The Wife of Bath, The
Merchant, The Franklin, The Skipper, The
Manciple, The Reeve, The Miller, The
Physician, The Lawyer, The Host.
 The “working” class: The Weaver, The Dyer,
The Carpenter, The Tapestry Maker, The
Cook, The Haberdasher (The Guildsmen).
THE GOOD…
Notice how Chaucer’s tone changes when he
describes the different pilgrims. There are some
with whom we can find nothing wrong; these are
known as the “ideal characters,” or those whom
Chaucer created to be morally good.
 The five ideal characters are The Knight, The
Squire, The Clerk, The Parson and The
Plowman.
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THE BAD…
 Chaucer
disagreed with MANY of the
things the church was doing in the Middle
Ages. His clergy characters are almost all
shady, greedy, and hypocritical; only The
Parson is spared Chaucer’s ridicule and
mocking.
 The pilgrims whom Chaucer offends are
The Monk, The Friar, The Pardoner, The
Summoner, and The Reeve.
AND THE UGLY.
In the Middle Ages, people believed that a
person’s physical traits signified his or her moral
character. The study of how looks affected
personality was considered a “pseudo-science”
called physiognomy.
 The Wife of Bath’s gap tooth signifies sexual
knowledge and promiscuity; The Cook’s ulcer
(moral disease); The Miller’s wart (lechery/sexual
misconduct); The Pardoner’s blond hair (sexual
ambiguity).
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