The Canterbury Tales are a group of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer. The tales are told by various people, who recount them to each other on the way to the shrine of St. Thomas Becket in Canterbury. The main characters in The Canterbury Tales are both historical and fictional. Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories. The tales are written in Middle English and are narrated by various people who journey to Canterbury on the way to visit the shrine of St. Thomas Becket. The pilgrims meet one another at The Tabard Inn, where they all set out to sleep for the night.
The next morning, prior to setting off, they agree that each member of their party will tell two tales; The Knight will tell the first tale, The Squire will tell the second, The Franklin will tell the third tale, The Second Nun will tell a fourth story [The Canon’s Yeoman’s Tale], The Physician [General Prologue] or Pardoner [The General Prologue] or Miller [The General Prologue] will tell a fifth tale, The Wife of Bath will tell a sixth tale, The Parson [The General Prologue] will tell a seventh tale, The Lawyer [The General Prologue] or Merchant [The General Prologue] will tell an eighth tale, The Reeve will tell the ninth tale, The Cook will tell the tenth tale, The Summoner tells an eleventh story.
The Miller’s name is almost always given as Harry Bailey. The narrator doesn’t know who told the second two tales that he heard on his journey to Canterbury so they are named Anonymous I and Anonymous II. Chaucer uses the characters in his stories to portray different attributes of society during medieval times. For example: He contrasts idealism with reality through contrasting characters such as the Knight and the Squire.
The Knight is an idealistic character who conveys many noble qualities, whereas The Squire is young and reckless with no real knowledge of the world. The characters are based on social classes which also fit into Chaucer’s portrayal of society during medieval times. The higher class characters are better educated, have good manners, know how to be polite, understand etiquette, have more refined speech and have a greater understanding of literature. The lower class characters are ignorant of high culture and tend to speak in dialects rather than standard English. They are not aware of etiquette or good manners because they do not need them to survive socially.
The work consists of various tales told by a group of pilgrims on their journey to Canterbury. The main characters are some of the most well-known in literature, Chaucer included. The reader is meant to relate with each character on some level. The main theme is forgiveness, which one can only have if they’re willing to offer it themselves. The protagonist is The Knight, who represents all things honorable and virtuous. The knight does not tell any stories throughout the work but he plays an important role nonetheless because he sets the tone for the book.
The way readers perceive him will reflect how they view each character that follows after him even though Chaucer probably did not intend for this effect to happen (Jackson). A significant character in The Canterbury Tales is The Wife of Bath, who represents women in Chaucer’s time. The Wife of Baths tale was the first to be told and it’s among the best-known tales today. The narrator describes The Wife as a “harpy”, which means that she is not good-looking but her love for sex drives her much more than looks (Jackson). The wife spends most of The Canterbury Tales arguing with other pilgrims over their views on marriage.
She believes that women should be able to have control over their own bodies and marriages instead of being controlled by men. She doesn’t believe it’s fair how all marriages are made out to be sacred when there are so many bad ones. The wife even admits to having been married five times herself, although there is some speculation about the truthfulness of this claim (Jackson). The Wife is determined to win her argument, and she’s never afraid to speak her mind. The reader may not always agree with what The Wife says but they can still appreciate her personality.
The Knight was basically Chaucer himself. He represents being honorable, kind, brave, etc. The knight does not tell any stories during The Canterbury Tales but he plays an important role nonetheless because he sets the tone for the book. The way readers perceive him will reflect how they view each character that follows after him even though Chaucer probably did not intend for this effect to happen (Jackson). Chaucer’s greatest work came after everything else. Canterbury tales was the last of his literary works. It followed such stories as Troilus and Creseyde.
The work is considered as one of the greatest works of literature during the English Middle Age. The ironic thing is that it wasn’t even finished the way Chaucer had intended it to. The story is a unique one, especially during the time in which it was written. The work consists of various tales told by a group of pilgrims on their journey to Canterbury. The main characters are some of the most well-known in literature, Chaucer included. The reader is meant to relate with each character on some level. The main theme is forgiveness, which one can only have if they’re willing to offer it themselves.