The Canterbury Tales is the most famous and critically acclaimed work of Geoffrey

Chaucer, a late-fourteenth-century English poet. Little is known about Chaucers personal

life, and even less about his education, but a number of eisting records document his
professional life. Chaucer was born in London in the early !"#$s, the only son in his family.
Chaucers father, originally a property-owning wine merchant, became tremendously wealthy
when he inherited the property of relatives who had died in the %lack &eath of !"#'. (e was
therefore able to send the young Geoffrey off as a page to the Countess of )lster, which
meant that Geoffrey was not re*uired to follow in his ancestors footsteps and become a
merchant. Eventually, Chaucer began to serve the countesss husband, +rince Lionel, son to
,ing Edward ---. .or most of his life, Chaucer served in the (undred /ears 0ar between
England and .rance, both as a soldier and, since he was fluent in .rench and -talian and
conversant in Latin and other tongues, as a diplomat. (is diplomatic travels brought him
twice to -taly, where he might have met %occaccio, whose writing influenced Chaucers
work, and +etrarch.
Chaucers original plan for The Canterbury Tales was for each character to tell four tales, two
on the way to Canterbury and two on the way back. %ut, instead of !1$ tales, the tet ends
after twenty-four tales, and the party is still on its way to Canterbury. Chaucer either planned
to revise the structure to cap the work at twenty-four tales, or else left it incomplete when he
died on 2ctober 13, !#$$. 2ther writers and printers soon recogni4ed The Canterbury Tales
as a masterful and highly original work. 5hough Chaucer had been influenced by the great
.rench and -talian writers of his age, works like %occaccios Decameron were not accessible
to most English readers, so the format of The Canterbury Tales, and the intense realism of its
characters, were virtually unknown to readers in the fourteenth century before Chaucer.
0illiam Caton, Englands first printer, published The Canterbury Tales in the !#6$s, and it
continued to en7oy a rich printing history that never truly faded. %y the English 8enaissance,
poetry critic George +uttenham had identified Chaucer as the father of the English literary
canon. Chaucers pro7ect to create a literature and poetic language for all classes of society
succeeded, and today Chaucer still stands as one of the great shapers of literary narrative and
character.
The Canterbury Tales is written in 9iddle English, which bears a close visual resemblance to
the English written and spoken today. -n contrast, 2ld English :the language of %eowulf, for
eample; can be read only in modern translation or by students of 2ld English. <tudents often
read The Canterbury Tales in its original language, not only because of the similarity between
Chaucers 9iddle English and our own, but because the beauty and humor of the poetry=all
of its internal and eternal rhymes, and the sounds it produces=would be lost in
translation.5he best way for a beginner to approach 9iddle English is to read it out loud.
0hen the words are pronounced, it is often much easier to recogni4e what they mean in
modern English. 9ost 9iddle English editions of the poem include a short pronunciation
guide, which can help the reader to understand the language better. .or particularly difficult
words or phrases, most editions also include notes in the margin giving the modern versions
of the words, along with a full glossary in the back. <everal online Chaucer glossaries eist, as
well as a number of printed leicons of 9iddle English.
General Prologue
>t the 5abard -nn, a tavern in <outhwark, near London, the narrator 7oins a company of
twenty-nine pilgrims. 5he pilgrims, like the narrator, are traveling to the shrine of the martyr
<aint 5homas %ecket in Canterbury. 5he narrator gives a descriptive account of twenty-seven
of these pilgrims, including a ,night, <*uire, /eoman, +rioress, 9onk, .riar, 9erchant,
Clerk, 9an of Law, .ranklin, (aberdasher, Carpenter, 0eaver, &yer, 5apestry-0eaver,
Cook, <hipman, +hysician, 0ife, +arson, +lowman, 9iller, 9anciple, 8eeve, <ummoner,
+ardoner, and (ost. :(e does not describe the <econd ?un or the ?uns +riest, although both
characters appear later in the book.; 5he (ost, whose name, we find out in the +rologue to the
Cooks 5ale, is (arry %ailey, suggests that the group ride together and entertain one another
with stories. (e decides that each pilgrim will tell two stories on the way to Canterbury and
two on the way back. 0homever he 7udges to be the best storyteller will receive a meal at
%aileys tavern, courtesy of the other pilgrims. 5he pilgrims draw lots and determine that the
,night will tell the first tale.
The Wife of Baths Prologue and Tale
5he 0ife of %ath gives a lengthy account of her feelings about marriage. @uoting from the
%ible, the 0ife argues against those who believe it is wrong to marry more than once, and she
eplains how she dominated and controlled each of her five husbands. <he married her fifth
husband, Aankyn, for love instead of money. >fter the 0ife has rambled on for a while, the
.riar butts in to complain that she is taking too long, and the <ummoner retorts that friars are
like flies, always meddling. 5he .riar promises to tell a tale about a summoner, and the
<ummoner promises to tell a tale about a friar. 5he (ost cries for everyone to *uiet down and
allow the 0ife to commence her tale.-n her tale, a young knight of ,ing >rthurs court rapes
a maidenB to atone for his crime, >rthurs *ueen sends him on a *uest to discover what
women want most. >n ugly old woman promises the knight that she will tell him the secret if
he promises to do whatever she wants for saving his life. (e agrees, and she tells him women
want control of their husbands and their own lives. 5hey go together to >rthurs *ueen, and
the old womans answer turns out to be correct. 5he old woman then tells the knight that he
must marry her. 0hen the knight confesses later that he is repulsed by her appearance, she
gives him a choiceC she can either be ugly and faithful, or beautiful and unfaithful. 5he knight
tells her to make the choice herself, and she rewards him for giving her control of the
marriage by rendering herself both beautiful and faithful.
The Wife of Bath - %ath is an English town on the >von 8iver, not the name of this
womans husband. 5hough she is a seamstress by occupation, she seems to be a professional
wife. <he has been married five times and had many other affairs in her youth, making her
well practiced in the art of love. <he presents herself as someone who loves marriage and se,
but, from what we see of her, she also takes pleasure in rich attire, talking, and arguing. <he is
deaf in one ear and has a gap between her front teeth, which was considered attractive in
Chaucers time. <he has traveled on pilgrimages to Aerusalem three times and elsewhere in
Europe as well.
The Wife of Bath
2ne of two female storytellers :the other is the +rioress;, the 0ife has a lot of eperience
under her belt. <he has traveled all over the world on pilgrimages, so Canterbury is a 7aunt
compared to other perilous 7ourneys she has endured. ?ot only has she seen many lands, she
has lived with five husbands. <he is worldly in both senses of the wordC she has seen the
world and has eperience in the ways of the world, that is, in love and se.
8ich and tasteful, the 0ifes clothes veer a bit toward etravaganceC her face is wreathed in
heavy cloth, her stockings are a fine scarlet color, and the leather on her shoes is soft, fresh,
and brand new=all of which demonstrate how wealthy she has become. <carlet was a
particularly costly dye, since it was made from individual red beetles found only in some parts
of the world. 5he fact that she hails from %ath, a ma7or English cloth-making town in the
9iddle >ges, is reflected in both her talent as a seamstress and her stylish garments. %ath at
this time was fighting for a place among the great European eporters of cloth, which were
mostly in the ?etherlands and %elgium. <o the fact that the 0ifes sewing surpasses that of
the cloth makers of D-pres and of GauntE :/pres and Ghent; speaks well of %aths :and
Englands; attempt to outdo its overseas competitors.
>lthough she is argumentative and en7oys talking, the 0ife is intelligent in a commonsense,
rather than intellectual, way. 5hrough her eperiences with her husbands, she has learned how
to provide for herself in a world where women had little independence or power. 5he chief
manner in which she has gained control over her husbands has been in her control over their
use of her body. 5he 0ife uses her body as a bargaining tool, withholding seual pleasure
until her husbands give her what she demands.
The Pilgrims
The Narrator - The narrator makes it quite clear that he is also a character in his book.
Although he is called Chaucer, we should be wary of accepting his words and opinions as
Chaucers own. In the eneral !rologue, the narrator presents himself as a gregarious and
na"#e character. $ater on, the %ost accuses him of being silent and sullen. &ecause the
narrator writes down his impressions of the pilgrims from memory, whom he does and does
not like, and what he chooses and chooses not to remember about the characters, tells us as
much about the narrators own pre'udices as it does about the characters themsel#es.
The Knight - The first pilgrim Chaucer describes in the eneral !rologue, and the teller of
the first tale. The (night represents the ideal of a medie#al Christian man-at-arms. %e has
participated in no less than fifteen of the great crusades of his era. &ra#e, e)perienced, and
prudent, the narrator greatly admires him.
The Wife of Bath - &ath is an *nglish town on the A#on +i#er, not the name of this
womans husband. Though she is a seamstress by occupation, she seems to be a
professional wife. ,he has been married fi#e times and had many other affairs in her youth,
making her well practiced in the art of lo#e. ,he presents herself as someone who lo#es
marriage and se), but, from what we see of her, she also takes pleasure in rich attire, talking,
and arguing. ,he is deaf in one ear and has a gap between her front teeth, which was
considered attracti#e in Chaucers time. ,he has tra#eled on pilgrimages to -erusalem three
times and elsewhere in *urope as well.
The Pardoner - !ardoners granted papal indulgences.reprie#es from penance in
e)change for charitable donations to the Church. /any pardoners, including this one,
collected profits for themsel#es. In fact, Chaucers !ardoner e)cels in fraud, carrying a bag
full of fake relics.for e)ample, he claims to ha#e the #eil of the 0irgin /ary. The !ardoner
has long, greasy, yellow hair and is beardless. These characteristics were associated with
shiftiness and gender ambiguity in Chaucers time. The !ardoner also has a gift for singing
and preaching whene#er he finds himself inside a church.
The Miller - ,tout and brawny, the /iller has a wart on his nose and a big mouth, both
literally and figurati#ely. %e threatens the %osts notion of propriety when he drunkenly insists
on telling the second tale. Indeed, the /iller seems to en'oy o#erturning all con#entions1 he
ruins the %osts carefully planned storytelling order2 he rips doors off hinges2 and he tells a
tale that is somewhat blasphemous, ridiculing religious clerks, scholarly clerks, carpenters,
and women.
The Prioress - 3escribed as modest and quiet, this !rioress 4a nun who is head of her
con#ent5 aspires to ha#e e)quisite taste. %er table manners are dainty, she knows 6rench
4though not the 6rench of the court5, she dresses well, and she is charitable and
compassionate.
The Monk - /ost monks of the /iddle Ages li#ed in monasteries according to the Rule of
Saint Benedict, which demanded that they de#ote their li#es to 7work and prayer.8 This /onk
cares little for the +ule2 his de#otion is to hunting and eating. %e is large, loud, and well clad
in hunting boots and furs.
The Friar - +oaming priests with no ties to a monastery, friars were a great ob'ect of
criticism in Chaucers time. Always ready to befriend young women or rich men who might
need his ser#ices, the friar acti#ely administers the sacraments in his town, especially those
of marriage and confession. %owe#er, Chaucers worldly 6riar has taken to accepting bribes.
The Summoner - The ,ummoner brings persons accused of #iolating Church law to
ecclesiastical court. This ,ummoner is a lecherous man whose face is scarred by leprosy.
%e gets drunk frequently, is irritable, and is not particularly qualified for his position. %e
spouts the few words of $atin he knows in an attempt to sound educated.
The Host - The leader of the group, the %ost is large, loud, and merry, although he
possesses a quick temper. %e mediates among the pilgrims and facilitates the flow of the
tales. %is title of 7host8 may be a pun, suggesting both an innkeeper and the *ucharist, or
%oly %ost.
The Parson - The only de#out churchman in the company, the !arson li#es in po#erty, but
is rich in holy thoughts and deeds. The pastor of a si9able town, he preaches the ospel and
makes sure to practice what he preaches. %e is e#erything that the /onk, the 6riar, and the
!ardoner are not.
The Squire - The (nights son and apprentice. The ,quire is curly-haired, youthfully
handsome, and lo#es dancing and courting.
The Clerk - The Clerk is a poor student of philosophy. %a#ing spent his money on books
and learning rather than on fine clothes, he is threadbare and wan. %e speaks little, but when
he does, his words are wise and full of moral #irtue.
The Man of Law - A successful lawyer commissioned by the king. %e upholds 'ustice in
matters large and small and knows e#ery statute of *nglands law by heart.
The Mani!le - A manciple was in charge of getting pro#isions for a college or court.
3espite his lack of education, this /anciple is smarter than the thirty lawyers he feeds.
The Merhant - The /erchant trades in furs and other cloths, mostly from 6landers. %e is
part of a powerful and wealthy class in Chaucers society.
The Shi!man - &rown-skinned from years of sailing, the ,hipman has seen e#ery bay and
ri#er in *ngland, and e)otic ports in ,pain and Carthage as well. %e is a bit of a rascal,
known for stealing wine while the ships captain sleeps.
The Ph"siian - The !hysician is one of the best in his profession, for he knows the cause
of e#ery malady and can cure most of them. Though the !hysician keeps himself in perfect
physical health, the narrator calls into question the !hysicians spiritual health1 he rarely
consults the &ible and has an unhealthy lo#e of financial gain.
The Franklin - The word 7franklin8 means 7free man.8 In Chaucers society, a franklin was
neither a #assal ser#ing a lord nor a member of the nobility. This particular franklin is a
connoisseur of food and wine, so much so that his table remains laid and ready for food all
day.
The #ee$e - A ree#e was similar to a steward of a manor, and this ree#e performs his 'ob
shrewdly.his lord ne#er loses so much as a ram to the other employees, and the #assals
under his command are kept in line. %owe#er, he steals from his master.
The Plowman - The !lowman is the !arsons brother and is equally good-hearted. A
member of the peasant class, he pays his tithes to the Church and leads a good Christian
life.
The %uildsmen - $isted together, the fi#e uildsmen appear as a unit. *nglish guilds were
a combination of labor unions and social fraternities1 craftsmen of similar occupations 'oined
together to increase their bargaining power and li#e communally. All fi#e uildsmen are clad
in the li#ery of their brotherhood.
The Cook - The Cook works for the uildsmen. Chaucer gi#es little detail about him,
although he mentions a crusty sore on the Cooks leg.
The &eoman - The ser#ant who accompanies the (night and the ,quire. The narrator
mentions that his dress and weapons suggest he may be a forester.
The Seond Nun - The ,econd :un is not described in the eneral !rologue, but she tells
a saints life for her tale.
The Nun's Priest - $ike the ,econd :un, the :uns !riest is not described in the eneral
!rologue. %is story of Chanticleer, howe#er, is well crafted and suggests that he is a witty,
self-effacing preacher.
Characters from the Five Tales Analyzed in This Sar!"ote
The Knights Tale
Theseus - A great conqueror and the duke of Athens in the (nights Tale. The most
powerful ruler in the story, he is often called upon to make the final 'udgment, but he listens
to others pleas for help.
Palamon - !alamon is one of the two imprisoned Theban soldier heroes in the (nights
Tale. &ra#e, strong, and sworn to e#erlasting friendship with his cousin Arcite, !alamon falls
in lo#e with the fair maiden *melye, which brings him into conflict with Arcite. Though he
loses the tournament against Arcite, he gets *melye in the end.
(rite - The sworn brother to !alamon, Arcite, imprisoned with !alamon in the tower in the
(nights Tale, falls equally head o#er heels in lo#e with *melye. %e gets released from the
tower early and wins *melyes hand in a tournament, but then dies when a di#inely fated
earthquake causes his horse to throw him.
)mel"e - *melye is the sister to %ippolyta, Theseuss domesticated Ama9on queen in the
(nights Tale. 6air-haired and glowing, we first see *melye as !alamon does, through a
window. Although she is the ob'ect of both !alamons and Arcites desire, she would rather
spend her life unmarried and childless. :e#ertheless, when Arcite wins the tournament, she
readily pledges herself to him.
)geus - Theseuss father. *geus gi#es Theseus the ad#ice that helps him con#ince
!alamon and *melye to end their mourning of Arcite and get married.
The Millers Tale
Niholas - In the /illers Tale, :icholas is a poor astronomy student who boards with an
elderly carpenter, -ohn, and the carpenters too-young wife, Alisoun. :icholas dupes -ohn
and sleeps with Alisoun right under -ohns nose, but Absolon, the foppish parish clerk, gets
:icholas in the end.
(lisoun - Alisoun is the se)y young woman married to the carpenter in the /illers Tale.
,he is bright and sweet like a small bird, and dresses in a tantali9ing style.her clothes are
embroidered inside and outside, and she laces her boots high. ,he willingly goes to bed with
:icholas, but she has only harsh words and obscenities for Absolon.
(*solon - The local parish clerk in the /illers Tale, Absolon is a little bit foolish and more
than a little bit #ain. %e wears red stockings underneath his floor-length church gown, and his
leather shoes are decorated like the fanciful stained-glass windows in a cathedral. %e curls
his hair, uses breath fresheners, and fancies Alisoun.
+ohn - The dim-witted carpenter to whom Alisoun is married and with whom :icholas
boards. -ohn is 'ealous and possessi#e of his wife. %e constantly berates :icholas for
looking into ods 7pry#etee,8 but when :icholas offers -ohn the chance to share his
knowledge, -ohn quickly accepts. %e gullibly belie#es :icholass pronouncement that a
second flood is coming, which allows :icholas to sleep with -ohns wife.
The Wife of Baths Prologue and Tale
The First Three Hus*ands - The ;ife of &ath says that her first three husbands were
7good8 because they were rich and old. ,he could order them around, use se) to get what
she wanted, and trick them into belie#ing lies.
The Fourth Hus*and - The ;ife of &ath says comparati#ely little about her fourth husband.
,he lo#ed him, but he was a re#eler who had a mistress. ,he had fun singing and dancing
with him, but tried her best to make him 'ealous. ,he fell in lo#e with her fifth husband,
-ankyn, while she was still married to her fourth.
+ank"n - The ;ife of &aths fifth husband, -ankyn, was a twenty-year-old former student,
with whom the ;ife was madly in lo#e. %is stories of wicked wi#es frustrated her so much
that one night she ripped a page out of his book, only to recei#e a deafening smack on her
ear in return.
The Knight - Arthurs young knight rapes a maiden, and, to a#oid the punishment of death,
he is sent by the queen on a quest to learn about submission to women. <nce he does so,
and shows that he has learned his lesson by letting his old ugly wife make a decision, she
rewards him by becoming beautiful and submissi#e.
The ,ld Woman - The old woman supplies the young knight with the answer to his
question, in e)change for his promise to do whate#er she wants. ;hen she tells him he must
marry her, the knight begrudgingly agrees, and when he allows her to choose whether she
would like to be beautiful and unfaithful or ugly and faithful, she rewards him by becoming
both beautiful and faithful.
(rthur's -ueen - Arthurs queen, presumably uine#ere, is interesting because she wields
most of the power. ;hen Arthurs knight rapes a maiden, he turns the knight o#er to his
queen allows her to decide what to do with him.
The Pardoners Tale
The Three #ioters - These are the three protagonists of the !ardoners Tale. All three
indulge in and represent the #ices against which the !ardoner has railed in his !rologue1
luttony, 3runkeness, ambling, and ,wearing. These traits define the three and e#entually
lead to their downfall. The +ioters at first appear like personified #ices, but it is their belief
that a personified concept.in this case, 3eath.is a real person that becomes the root
cause of their undoing.
The ,ld Man - In the !ardoners Tale, the three +ioters encounter a #ery old man whose
body is completely co#ered e)cept for his face. &efore the old man tells the +ioters where
they can find 73eath,8 one of the +ioters rashly demands why the old man is still ali#e. The
old man answers that he is doomed to walk the earth for eternity. %e has been interpreted as
3eath itself, or as Cain, punished for fratricide by walking the earth fore#er2 or as the
;andering -ew, a man who refused to let Christ rest at his house when Christ proceeded to
his crucifi)ion, and who was therefore doomed to roam the world, through the ages, ne#er
finding rest.
The Nuns Priests Tale
Chantileer - The heroic rooster of the :uns !riests Tale, Chanticleer has se#en hen-
wi#es and is the most handsome cock in the barnyard. <ne day, he has a prophetic dream of
a fo) that will carry him away. Chanticleer is also a bit #ain about his clear and accurate
crowing #oice, and he unwittingly allows a fo) to flatter him out of his liberty.
Pertelote - Chanticleers fa#orite wife in the :uns !riests Tale. ,he is his equal in looks,
manners, and talent. ;hen Chanticleer dreams of the fo), he awakens her in the middle of
the night, begging for an interpretation, but !ertelote will ha#e none of it, calling him foolish.
;hen the fo) takes him away, she mourns him in classical reek fashion, burning herself
and wailing.
The Fo. - The orange fo), interpreted by some as an allegorical figure for the de#il, catches
Chanticleer the rooster through flattery. *#entually, Chanticleer outwits the fo) by
encouraging him to boast of his deceit to his pursuers. ;hen the fo) opens his mouth,
Chanticleer escapes.
Summary
0han that >prill with his shoures soote
5he droghte of 9arch hath perced to the roote . . .
5he narrator opens the General +rologue with a description of the return of spring. (e
describes the >pril rains, the burgeoning flowers and leaves, and the chirping birds. >round
this time of year, the narrator says, people begin to feel the desire to go on a pilgrimage. 9any
devout English pilgrims set off to visit shrines in distant holy lands, but even more choose to
travel to Canterbury to visit the relics of <aint 5homas %ecket in Canterbury Cathedral, where
they thank the martyr for having helped them when they were in need. 5he narrator tells us
that as he prepared to go on such a pilgrimage, staying at a tavern in <outhwark called the
5abard -nn, a great company of twenty-nine travelers entered. 5he travelers were a diverse
group who, like the narrator, were on their way to Canterbury. 5hey happily agreed to let him
7oin them. 5hat night, the group slept at the 5abard, and woke up early the net morning to set
off on their 7ourney. %efore continuing the tale, the narrator declares his intent to list and
describe each of the members of the group.
Analysis
5he invocation of spring with which the General +rologue begins is lengthy and formal
compared to the language of the rest of the +rologue. 5he first lines situate the story in a
particular time and place, but the speaker does this in cosmic and cyclical terms, celebrating
the vitality and richness of spring. 5his approach gives the opening lines a dreamy, timeless,
unfocused *uality, and it is therefore surprising when the narrator reveals that hes going to
describe a pilgrimage that he himself took rather than telling a love story. > pilgrimage is a
religious 7ourney undertaken for penance and grace. >s pilgrimages went, Canterbury was not
a very difficult destination for an English person to reach. -t was, therefore, very popular in
fourteenth-century England, as the narrator mentions. +ilgrims traveled to visit the remains of
<aint 5homas %ecket, archbishop of Canterbury, who was murdered in !!6$ by knights of
,ing (enry --. <oon after his death, he became the most popular saint in England. 5he
pilgrimage in The Canterbury Tales should not be thought of as an entirely solemn occasion,
because it also offered the pilgrims an opportunity to abandon work and take a vacation.
-n line 1$, the narrator abandons his unfocused, all-knowing point of view, identifying
himself as an actual person for the first time by inserting the first person=D-E=as he relates
how he met the group of pilgrims while staying at the 5abard -nn. (e emphasi4es that this
group, which he encountered by accident, was itself formed *uite by chance :13F1G;. (e then
shifts into the first-person plural, referring to the pilgrims as DweE beginning in line 1',
asserting his status as a member of the group.
5he narrator ends the introductory portion of his prologue by noting that he has Dtyme and
spaceE to tell his narrative. (is comments underscore the fact that he is writing some time
after the events of his story, and that he is describing the characters from memory. (e has
spoken and met with these people, but he has waited a certain length of time before sitting
down and describing them. (is intention to describe each pilgrim as he or she seemed to him
is also important, for it emphasi4es that his descriptions are not only sub7ect to his memory
but are also shaped by his individual perceptions and opinions regarding each of the
characters. (e positions himself as a mediator between two groupsC the group of pilgrims, of
which he was a member, and us, the audience, whom the narrator eplicitly addresses as
DyouE in lines "# and "H.
2n the other hand, the narrators declaration that he will tell us about the Dcondicioun,E
Ddegree,E and DarrayE :dress; of each of the pilgrims suggests that his portraits will be based
on ob7ective facts as well as his own opinions. (e spends considerable time characteri4ing the
group members according to their social positions. 5he pilgrims represent a diverse cross
section of fourteenth-century English society. 9edieval social theory divided society into
three broad classes, called DestatesEC the military, the clergy, and the laity. :5he nobility, not
represented in the General +rologue, traditionally derives its title and privileges from military
duties and service, so it is considered part of the military estate.; -n the portraits that we will
see in the rest of the General +rologue, the ,night and <*uire represent the military estate.
5he clergy is represented by the +rioress :and her nun and three priests;, the 9onk, the .riar,
and the +arson. 5he other characters, from the wealthy .ranklin to the poor +lowman, are the
members of the laity. 5hese lay characters can be further subdivided into landowners :the
.ranklin;, professionals :the Clerk, the 9an of Law, the Guildsmen, the +hysician, and the
<hipman;, laborers :the Cook and the +lowman;, stewards :the 9iller, the 9anciple, and the
8eeve;, and church officers :the <ummoner and the +ardoner;. >s we will see, Chaucers
descriptions of the various characters and their social roles reveal the influence of the
medieval genre of estates satire.
0han that >prill with his shoures soote
5he droghte of 9arch hath perced to the roote,
>nd bathed every veyne in swich licour
2f which vertu engendred is the flourB
0han Iephirus eek with his sweete breeth
-nspired hath in every holt and heeth
5he tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
(ath in the 8am his halve cours yronne,
>nd smale fowles maken melodye,
5hat slepen al the nyght with open ye
:<o priketh hem nature in hir corages;,
5hanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages.
(General Prologue, 112)
5hese are the opening lines with which the narrator begins the General +rologue of The
Canterbury Tales. 5he imagery in this opening passage is of springs renewal and rebirth.
>prils sweet showers have penetrated the dry earth of 9arch, hydrating the roots, which in
turn coa flowers out of the ground. 5he constellation 5aurus is in the skyB Iephyr, the warm,
gentle west wind, has breathed life into the fieldsB and the birds chirp merrily. 5he verbs used
to describe ?atures actions=piercing :1;, engendering :#;, inspiring :3;, and pricking :!!;=
con7ure up images of conception.
5he natural worlds reawakening aligns with the narrators similarly DinspiredE poetic
sensibility. 5he classical :Latin and >ncient Greek; authors that Chaucer emulated and
wanted to surpass would always begin their epic narrative poems by invoking a muse, or
female goddess, to inspire them, *uite literally to talk or breathe a story into them. 9ost of
them begin D<ing in me, 2 muse,E about a particular sub7ect. Chaucer too begins with a
moment of inspiration, but in this case it is the natural inspiration of the earth readying itself
for spring rather than a supernatural being filling the poets body with her voice.
>fter the long sleep of winter, people begin to stir, feeling the need to Dgoon on pilgrimages,E
or to travel to a site where one worships a saints relics as a means of spiritual cleansing and
renewal. <ince winter ice and snow made traveling long distances almost impossible :this was
an age not only before automobiles but also before ade*uately developed horse-drawn
carriages;, the need to get up, stretch ones legs, and see the world outside the window must
have been great. +ilgrimages combined spring vacations with religious purification.
5he landscape in this passage also clearly situates the tet in England. 5his is not a classical
landscape like the 5roy of (omers Iliad, nor is it an entirely fictionali4ed space like the cool
groves and rocky cliffs of imaginary >rcadia from pastoral poetry and romances. Chaucers
landscape is also accessible to all types of people, but especially those who inhabit the
countryside, since Chaucer speaks of budding flowers, growing crops, and singing birds.
1.
5he .irste 9oevere of the cause above,
0han he first made the faire cheyne of love,
Greet was theffect, and heigh was his entente.
. . .
.or with that faire cheyne of love he bond
5he fyr, the eyr, the water, and the lond
-n certeyn boundes, that they may nat flee.
(The Knights Tale, 2!"#2!!$)
5his passage is from the conclusion of the ,nights 5ale, as &uke 5heseus eplains why
Emelye must marry the knight +alamon. 5heseus bases his argument on concepts drawn from
the fifth-century a.d. 8oman philosopher %oethius, whose ideas appealed to medieval
Christians because he combined +latos theory of an ideal world with Christian teachings of a
moral universe. Chaucer took it upon himself to translate and provide a commentary for
%oethiuss Consolation o% Philoso&hy' Chaucers translation, a long prose tet, is informally
known as his (oece'
5he D.irste 9oevereE :first mover; is the >ristotelian notion of God. 5he story the ,night
tells takes place long before Christ. >lthough medieval Christians could not condemn
classical writers and philosophers, since much of Jirgils poetry and +latos philosophy
formed the basis for Christian literature, they had difficulty imagining a time before people
believed in Christ. Chaucer :or the ,night; has carefully given 5heseus a pagan notion of God
that nevertheless resonates with Christianity. (aving a supreme ancient Greek or 8oman god
would be idolatrous and therefore immoral :although the gods appear as lesser entities in the
second half of the tale;, because, according to medieval Christians, there was only one god
and that god was the 5rinity.
5he Dfaire cheyne of loveE is a medieval view of cosmology, or the natural order of things. -t
is the idea that every thing has its place in the hierarchy of the world, from the smallest flea to
the hand of God. 5he fifty lines or so that follow this passage contain ideas that are taken
almost word for word from Chaucers (oece' 5heseus argues that Emelyes overly long
mourning threatens to disrupt the great chain of love, and that the only way to maintain the
chains balance is for her to marry +alamon and be happy.
".
5hus swyved was this carpenteris wyf,
.or al his kepyng and his 7alousyeB
>nd >bsolon hath kist hir nether yeB
>nd ?icholas is scalded in the towte.
5his tale is doon, and God save al the rowteK
(The )illers Tale, $"*+$"*,)
5his passage, the rhyming conclusion to the 9illers 5ale, neatly resolves the story by
offering a reckoning of accounts. Everyone in the story has learned his or her lesson and
gotten the physical punishment he or she deserves. 5he carpenters wife, >lisoun, was
Dswyved,E or possessed in bed by another man, in this case, ?icholas. Aohn, the ignorant and
7ealous carpenter, has been made a cuckold, despite his watchful and possessive eye. >bsolon,
the foolish and foppish parish clerk, has kissed >lisouns behind, fair punishment for evading
his clerical duties. ?icholas, the smart-alecky student who cheated on the carpenter with
>lisoun, has been burned on his bottom with a red-hot poker as payback for farting in
>bsolons face. <till, the distribution of punishments is not entirely e*ual. Aohn is dealt the
worst lot=he ends up with a broken arm and the whole town believing he has gone insane.
>lisouns DswyvingE is a double punishment for Aohn, while >lisoun herself escapes
unscathed.
Summary
>fter introducing all of the pilgrims, the narrator apologi4es for any possible offense the
reader may take from his tales, eplaining that he feels that he must be faithful in reproducing
the characters words, even if they are rude or disgusting. (e cites Christ and +lato as support
for his argument that it is best to speak plainly and tell the truth rather than to lie. (e then
returns to his story of the first night he spent with the group of pilgrims.
>fter serving the pilgrims a ban*uet and settling the bill with them, the (ost of the tavern
speaks to the group. (e welcomes and compliments the company, telling them they are the
merriest group of pilgrims to pass through his inn all year. (e adds that he would like to
contribute to their happiness, free of charge. (e says that he is sure they will be telling stories
as they travel, since it would be boring to travel in silence. 5herefore, he proposes to invent
some entertainment for them if they will unanimously agree to do as he says. (e orders the
group to vote, and the narrator comments that the group didnt think it would be worthwhile
to argue or deliberate over the (osts proposition and agreed immediately.
5he (ost congratulates the group on its good decision. (e lays out his planC each of the
pilgrims will tell two tales on the way to Canterbury and two more on the way back.
0homever the (ost decides has told the most meaningful and comforting stories will receive
a meal paid for by the rest of the pilgrims upon their return. 5he (ost also declares that he
will ride with the pilgrims and serve as their guide at his own cost. -f anyone disputes his
7udgment, he says, that person must pay for the epenses of the pilgrimage.
5he company agrees and makes the (ost its governor, 7udge, and record keeper. 5hey settle
on a price for the supper pri4e and return to drinking wine. 5he net morning, the (ost wakes
everyone up and gathers the pilgrims together. >fter they have set off, he reminds the group
of the agreement they made. (e also reminds them that whoever disagrees with him must pay
for everything spent along the way. (e tells the group members to draw straws to decide who
tells the first tale. 5he ,night wins and prepares to begin his tale.
Analysis
5he (ost shows himself to be a shrewd businessman. 2nce he has taken the pilgrims money
for their dinners, he takes their minds away from what they have 7ust spent by flattering them,
complimenting them for their mirth. E*ually *uickly, he changes the focus of the pilgrimage.
-n the opening lines of the General +rologue, the narrator says that people go on pilgrimages
to thank the martyr, who has helped them when they were in need :!6F!H;. %ut %ailey :as the
(ost is later called; tells the group, D/e goon to Caunterbury=God yow speede, L 5he
blissful martir *uite yow youre meedeKE :6G'F66$;. (e sees the pilgrimage as an economic
transactionC the pilgrims travel to the martyr, and in return the martyr rewards them. 5he word
D*uiteE means Drepay,E and it will become a ma7or motif throughout the tales, as each
character is put in a sort of debt by the previous characters tale, and must repay him or her
with a new tale. -nstead of traveling to reach a destination :the shrine of <aint 5homas
%ecket;, the traveling becomes a contest, and the pilgrimage becomes about the 7ourney itself
rather than the destination. %ailey also stands to profit from the contestC the winner of the
contest wins a free meal at his tavern, to be paid for by the rest of the contestants, all of whom
will presumably eat with the winner and thus buy more meals from %ailey.
>fter creating the storytelling contest, %ailey *uickly appoints himself its 7udge. 2nce the
pilgrims have voted to participate in the contest, %ailey inserts himself as their ruler, and
anyone who disagrees with him faces a strict financial penalty. <ome have interpreted
%aileys speedy takeover of the pilgrimage as an allegory for the beginnings of absolute
monarchy. 5he narrator refers to the (ost as the groups Dgovernour,E D7uge,E and Dreportour
Mrecord-keeperNE=all very legalistic terms :H!"FH!#;.
Summary
5he 0ife of %ath begins the +rologue to her tale by establishing herself as an authority on
marriage, due to her etensive personal eperience with the institution. <ince her first
marriage at the tender age of twelve, she has had five husbands. <he says that many people
have critici4ed her for her numerous marriages, most of them on the basis that Christ went
only once to a wedding, at Cana in Galilee. 5he 0ife of %ath has her own views of <cripture
and Gods plan. <he says that men can only guess and interpret what Aesus meant when he
told a <amaritan woman that her fifth husband was not her husband. 0ith or without this bit
of <cripture, no man has ever been able to give her an eact reply when she asks to know how
many husbands a woman may have in her lifetime. God bade us to wa fruitful and multiply,
she says, and that is the tet that she wholeheartedly endorses. >fter all, great 2ld 5estament
figures, like >braham, Aacob, and <olomon, en7oyed multiple wives at once. <he admits that
many great .athers of the Church have proclaimed the importance of virginity, such as the
>postle +aul. %ut, she reasons, even if virginity is important, someone must be procreating so
that virgins can be created. Leave virginity to the perfect, she says, and let the rest of us use
our gifts as best we may=and her gift, doubtless, is her seual power. <he uses this power as
an DinstrumentE to control her husbands.
>t this point, the +ardoner interrupts. (e is planning to marry soon and worries that his wife
will control his body, as the 0ife of %ath describes. 5he 0ife of %ath tells him to have
patience and to listen to the whole tale to see if it reveals the truth about marriage. 2f her five
husbands, three have been DgoodE and two have been Dbad.E 5he first three were good, she
admits, mostly because they were rich, old, and submissive. <he laughs to recall the torments
that she put these men through and recounts a typical conversation that she had with her older
husbands. <he would accuse her -husband of having an affair, launching into a tirade in which
she would charge him with a bewildering array of accusations. -f one of her husbands got
drunk, she would claim he said that every wife is out to destroy her husband. (e would then
feel guilty and give her what she wanted. >ll of this, the 0ife of %ath tells the rest of the
pilgrims, was a pack of lies=her husbands never held these opinions, but she made these
claims to give them grief. 0orse, she would tease her husbands in bed, refusing to give them
full satisfaction until they promised her money. <he admits proudly to using her verbal and
seual power to bring her husbands to total submission.
Analysis
-n her lengthy +rologue, the 0ife of %ath recites her autobiography, announcing in her very
first word that DeperienceE will be her guide. /et, despite her claim that eperience is her
sole authority, the 0ife of %ath apparently feels the need to establish her authority in a more
scholarly way. <he imitates the ways of churchmen and scholars by backing up her claims
with *uotations from <cripture and works of anti*uity. 5he 0ife carelessly flings around
references as tetual evidence to buttress her argument, most of which dont really correspond
to her points. (er reference to +tolemys -lmageste, for instance, is completely erroneous=
the phrase she attributes to that book appears nowhere in the work. >lthough her many errors
display her lack of real scholarship, they also convey Chaucers mockery of the churchmen
present, who often misused <cripture to 7ustify their devious actions.
5he tet of the 0ife of %aths +rologue is based in the medieval genre of allegorical
Dconfession.E -n a morality play, a personified vice such as Gluttony or Lust DconfessesE his
or her sins to the audience in a life story. 5he 0ife is eactly what the medieval Church saw
as a Dwicked woman,E and she is proud of it=from the very beginning, her speech has
undertones of conflict with her patriarchal society. %ecause the statements that the 0ife of
%ath attributes to her husbands were taken from a number of satires published in Chaucers
time, which half-comically portrayed women as unfaithful, superficial, evil creatures, always
out to undermine their husbands, feminist critics have often tried to portray the 0ife as one of
the first feminist characters in literature.
5his interpretation is weakened by the fact that the 0ife of %ath herself conforms to a number
of these misogynist and misogamist :antimarriage; stereotypes. .or eample, she describes
herself as seually voracious but at the same time as someone who only has se to get money,
thereby combining two contradictory stereotypes. <he also describes how she dominated her
husband, playing on a fear that was common to men, as the +ardoners nervous inter7ection
reveals. &espite their contradictions, all of these ideas about women were used by men to
support a hierarchy in which men dominated women.
Summary
5he 0ife of %ath begins her description of her two DbadE husbands. (er fourth husband,
whom she married when still young, was a reveler, and he had a Dparamour,E or mistress
:#3#;. 8emembering her wild youth, she becomes wistful as she describes the dancing and
singing in which she and her fourth husband used to indulge. (er nostalgia reminds her of
how old she has become, but she says that she pays her loss of beauty no mind. <he will try to
be merry, for, though she has lost her Dflour,E she will try to sell the DbranE that remains.
8eali4ing that she has digressed, she returns to the story of her fourth husband. <he confesses
that she was his purgatory on Earth, always trying to make him 7ealous. (e died while she
was on a pilgrimage to Aerusalem.
2f her fifth husband, she has much more to say. <he loved him, even though he treated her
horribly and beat her. (e was coy and flattering in bed, and always won her back. 0omen,
the 0ife says, always desire what is forbidden them, and run away from whatever pursues or
is forced upon them. 5his husband was also different from the other four because she married
him for love, not money. (e was a poor e-student who boarded with the 0ifes friend and
confidante.
0hen she first met this fifth husband, Aankyn, she was still married to her fourth. 0hile
walking with him one day, she told him that she would marry him if she were widowed. <he
lied to him and told him he had enchanted her, and that she had dreamed that he would kill
her as she slept, filling her bed with blood, which signifies gold. %ut, she confides to her
listeners, all of this was falseC she never had such a dream. <he loses her place in the story
momentarily, then resumes with her fourth husbands funeral. <he made a big show of crying,
although, she admits, she actually cried very little since she already had a new husband lined
up.
>s she watched Aankyn carry her husbands casket, she fell in love with him. (e was only
twenty and she forty, but she was always a lusty woman and thought she could handle his
youth. %ut, she says, she came to regret the age difference, because he would not suffer her
abuse like her past husbands and gave some of his own abuse in return. (e had a Dbook of
wicked wivesE she recalls, called .alerie and Theo%raste' 5his book contained the stories of
the most deceitful wives in history. -t began with Eve, who brought all mankind into sin by
first taking the apple in the Garden of EdenB from there, it chronicled &elilahs betrayal of
<amson, Clytemnestras murder of >gamemnon, and other famous stories. Aankyn would
torment the 0ife of %ath :whom we learn in line H$# is named >lisoun; by reading out of this
book at night.
2ne evening, out of frustration, the 0ife tears three pages out of the book and punches
Aankyn in the face. Aankyn repays her by striking her on the head, which is the reason, she
eplains in line G"G, that she is now deaf in one ear. <he cries out that she wants to kiss him
before she dies, but when he comes over, she hits him again. 5hey finally manage a truce, in
which he hands over all of his meager estate to her, and she acts kindly and loving.
(er tale of her marriages finished, the 0ife announces that she will tell her story, eliciting
laughter from the .riar, who eclaims, D5his is a long preamble of a taleKE :H"!;. 5he
<ummoner tells him to shut up, and they echange some angry words. 5he (ost *uiets
everybody down and allows the 0ife of %ath to begin her story.
Analysis
-n her discussion of her fourth and fifth husbands, the 0ife of %ath begins to let her true
feelings show through her argumentative rhetoric. (er language becomes even less controlled,
and she loses her place several times :at line 3H3, for instance;, as she begins to react to her
own story, allowing her words to affect her own train of thought. (er sensitivity about her age
begins to show through, and, as she reveals psychological depth, she becomes a more
realistic, sympathetic, and compelling character.
0hen the 0ife of %ath describes how she fell in love with her fifth husband, despite her
pragmatism, she reveals her softer side. <he recogni4es that he used the same tactics against
her as she used against other men, but she cannot stop herself from desiring him. Aankyn even
uses one of the satires against women to aggravate her, the kind of satire that the 0ife
mocked earlier in her +rologue. &espite all this, we can see that Aankyn, though the most
aggravating of her husbands, is the only one that she admits she truly loved. Even as she brags
about her shameless manipulation of her husbands and claims that her seual powers can
con*uer anyone, she retains a deep fondness for the one man she could not control.
5he 0ife seems to en7oy the act of arguing more than the end of deriving an answer by logic.
5o eplain why clerks :meaning church writers; treat wives so badly, for eample, she
employs three different arguments. .irst, she blames the entire religious establishment,
claiming that church writings breed hostility toward wives because they were written by men
:G'$FG'G;. 5hen, she gives an astrological eplanation, asserting that the children of 9ercury
:scholars; and of Jenus :lovers; always contradict one another. > third reason she gives is
that when clerks grow old, their impotence and decreased virility makes them hostile and
slanderous toward wives :6$3F6!$;.
5wice in her +rologue, the 0ife calls attention to her habit of lying=Dand al was fals,E she
states :"H1, 3H1;. 5hese statements certainly highlight our awareness of the fact that shes
giving a performance, and they also put her entire life story in *uestion. 0e are left
wondering to what etent we should even believe the DeperienceE of the 0ife of %ath, and
whether she is not, in fact, a mean-spirited satire on Chaucers part, meant to represent the
fickleness of women.