Geoffrey Chaucer, considered one of the greatest English poets in the Middle Ages, composed The Canterbury Tales in the late fourteenth century. In the novel twenty-nine men and women representing all aspects of Medieval society embark on a religious pilgrimage to the cathedral at Canterbury in southeast England. On their journey their host engages them in a storytelling contest with a free meal as the prize upon their return. Chaucer wrote the tales in Middle English, the vernacular of the Medieval period, making his work accessible to all classes of people.
In this essay, I am giving three reasons as to why The Canterbury Tales' stories are so engaging. I will be talking about the vitality and humanity of the characters in three parts: how realistic the characters are, the emotion they show and the flaws in all of the characters. This will be in three separate paragraphs. Vitality (realism) The Canterbury Tales shows us lots of small details about everyday life in medieval times and gives us a big insight into what the life of ordinary people was like back then.
Chaucer wrote the book: The Canterbury Tales, in which a group of men going on a journey all tell a tale. Within each tale is a moral lesson as well as each tale consists of a corrupt action committed within the church and is conveyed by those kind of characters within the story. One of the tales that Chaucer tells in his book is called: The pardoner 's tale. Within this tale the pardoner (who is telling the tale) is a preacher who often gives sermons but admits that he does is solely for money and not to condemn people of their sins. (Greed)
Chaucer’s Best Story Essay In Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, there are many entertaining values and moral lessons. In Geoffrey Chaucer's, The Canterbury tales, a group of pilgrims are journeying to the holy site of Canterbury. Due to the long journey, the host plans to start a contest between the pilgrims. Each pilgrim has to tell an entertaining story and the pilgrim with the most entertaining story wins a free dinner.
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer gives the reader a wide spectrum of life in the Middle Ages. In these tales, Chaucer describes many different types of people, usually showcasing the characters good but also corrupted side. The most corrupt character of all, the Summoner, is the most morally, physically, and spiritually disgusting character described by Chaucer. Physically, the Summoner is definitely not a stunner.
Sidney Ison AP English Mrs. Sutton November 24, 2015 Manipulative Mercy In Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, the Pardoner, a corrupt, greedy man, uses his tale to manipulate his audience into repentance for his own profitable benefit. The Pardoner is known for cheating people and stealing their money through his selling of false relics. Through his tale, he manipulates his audience by inspiring repentance through his ability to evoke emotions of shame, guilt, and fear. These emotions are evoked by his being able to read and adjust to his audience, making his tale relatable to his audience by social status and monetary desires, and instilling in the pilgrims a fear of death and damnation.
In Geoffrey Chaucer’s famous set of poems, The Canterbury Tales, one of his most notable characters is the Pardoner. During Chaucer’s time, a Pardoner was a member of the Church who went around various neighborhoods and villages to preach the word of God and collect money or charitable donations in turn for God’s forgiveness of their sins. But in Chaucer’s story, the Pardoner is depicted as a thief and criminal who takes all of the profits from donors and boasts about this theft. As an influential member of the church and symbolically closer to God, a pardoner was automatically placed at the top of the social hierarchy during Chaucer’s time. However, his motives for taking advantage of the Church and religion places him at the bottom of humanity.
There are unlimited ways society can impact people. Society is a preconceived notion that limits our behaviors, in fear of being judged. It causes anxiety and burdens our conscious because we are unable to expose our true characters in public. Both authors of The Scarlet Letter and Canterbury Tales reveal corruption in the church that was prevalent in society. In the Canterbury Tales, pressures from society restricted characters to doing certain jobs in order to meet social expectations of success, status, gender roles, etc.
In the Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer utilizes the immoral character of the Pardoner to tell the utmost moral tale through satirical devices, presenting the true greed and hypocrisy that runs throughout the Church, regardless of it attempt to cover it. Chaucer introduces the hypocrisy within the Church through the characterization of the Pardoner, as he is explained to be a man with, “flattery and equal japes./He made the parson and the rest his apes” (“General Prologue” 607-608). “Japes” are tricks, alluding to the Pardoner’s relics, as they are fake; yet, the Pardoner still sells these relics to the Church members as genuine treasures. This creates dramatic irony, because the character of the Church body is unaware of the situation bestowed
Destruction can come in the form of corruption as can be seen by literary in the medieval period. A good work to look at is Geofrey Chaucer's story, The Canterbury Tales as it relates corruption to people. In the most lively moments, Chaucer's story relays to the reader how many can be different than what they seem. These lies can also end up destroying a kingdom. Many would take deliberate steps to fool anyone who gaze upon them, and in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales it is seen that there were precedents that were set in place to make the situation of the story seem important as it "was soon one with them in fellowship, / Pledged to rise early and to take the way"(Chaucer l.32-33. 115).
Even as he was surrounded by worldly temptations and corrupt individuals, the Parson remained a humble man. When talking about his character, it was best described that, There was, and poor, the Parson to a town, Yet he was rich in holy thought and work. He also was a learned man, a clerk, Who truly knew Christ’s gospel and would preach it Devoutly to parishioners, and teach it.
Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales follows a group of pilgrims as they make their way to pay tribute to Thomas á Becket. They pass the time by telling stories for the chance of winning a free meal. All of these tales, allow Chaucer to convey his thoughts on the estate system of Medieval England. Social mobility was extremely limited during this era and many earned their place in society through birth.
In “The Canterbury Tales” Chaucer illustrates the corruption of the church through the religious characters in both the tales and the prologue and their obsession with money. Illustrating the fact that medieval England, the church had a big impact on the lives of people due to them being able to “read” the bible. In many cases, this was uses to manipulate people into giving their money to church. Throughout the tales, people are shown to stand up to the church and beat them at their own game and this provides the ideal response to church corruption.
During the pilgrimage, the reader starts to realize that, out of all of the pilgrims involved in the church, the Parson is the only one who is honorable. “A holy-minded man of good renown,”
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.