Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales in order to tell the story of a group of travelers on a pilgrimage. The each traveler shares a tale with the host and creates an interesting tone for the reader. Because The Canterbury Tales is a collection of intriguing stories of adventure and culture from medieval society, the reader learns much about each traveler’s words and deeds. In this essay, the purpose is to describe the purpose, social status, and language of four pilgrims—the Prioress, the Monk, the Friar, and the Pardoner. First of all, the Prioress is one of Chaucer’s first characters in The Canterbury Tales to have a name of her own: Madame Eglertyne. Unlike the main characters created by Chaucer, the Prioress is highly individualized (Hallissy). The Prioress is …show more content…
These characters have selfish purposes for going on the pilgrimage, and they do not follow the duties of their religious positions. Because they are wealthy and, in most cases, learned, these four pilgrims believe that they can take advantage of laymen. They use their language skills to manipulate others and to usurp monetary possessions. They show no reverence for their religious orders, and they mislead their brethren for the sake of ill-gotten gain. Thus, Chaucer utilizes the Prioress, the Monk, the Friar, and the Pardoner to show how the wealthy and learned clergy is corrupted by the avarice of its members. Above all, Chaucer shows how people in high positions are not always what they appear to be to the public. Knowing this, the reader can better understand the quality of life during the Medieval Age, when men and women from all levels of society came together for pilgrimages. Thus, Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales is a classic because it focuses on all the aspects of society from rich to poor and good to