The Skipper In The Canterbury Tales

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The Canterbury Tales The Prologue: The Skipper The Skipper, known sometimes as the Shipman, is introduced at the beginning of The Canterbury Tales along with the other pilgrims. Chaucer paints a clear picture of the Skipper through descriptions of his clothing, horse, and skin. ‘He rode upon a bouncy (hack), as he caught, All in, he was great that his work became useful and he was a chef once and now he’s a horseman. Now, since this is Chaucer, and he is writing in Middle English, it might take a moment to realize that he is trying to get across the idea that the Skipper is a working class man of limited means. His horse is described as a ''hack'' (not an impressive ride), and he is wearing ''course cloth.'' The fact that Chaucer has him as