he General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales:
Topics covered-
About the poem
Order of the Tales
Words and meanings
The characters in the poem
Links to the videos
IGNOU MEG-1 Block-1 Unit-5
Chaucer decided to Write 120 tales but he was able to finish only 24 out of which only 20 were complete.
22 tales in verse form
2 tales in prose form [Parson’s and Melibee]
Total 17000 lines in the poem.
Written in Middle English
13 Years to finish [ 1387 to 1400]
Order of the tales:
The plan of the tales was probably adopted soon after 1386, and Chaucer's Poetry The Medieval Poet Chaucer. the General Prologue composed in 1387. Chaucer may have himself taken part in a pilgrimage in April of that year because of the illness of his wife, Philippe, who probably died soon after.
Instead of the original plan of 120,tales, only 24 are told, of which two are interrupted before the end and two broken off soon after they begin. The group of pilgrims includes a wide cross-section of English society: a knight and a squire (his son), professional men like the doctor and the lawyer, a merchant, a shipman, various representatives of the religious orders like the prioress, the monk, the friar, the parson, a substantial farmer, a miller, a reeve, a cook, several craftsmen, and so on.
The General Prologue does not have a real source. Individual portraits of priests or peasants or knights abound in medieval literature and personified abstractions in religious and secular allegories are quite common. We also come across descriptions of the different orders of society and the use of physical and temperamental characteristics to classify men and women. But they are so vividly imagined and individualised that scholars have searched for real life parallels or sources. Small but closely observed details and peculiarities of dress, physiognomy, speech and so on make the portraits come alive. But Chaucer's pilgrims are equally representative of social groups and professions-these figures are generalised through typical features of character and conduct: the gentle knight, the corrupt Friar, the hypocritical Pardoner. Even their dress, appearance and physiognomy have a typical quality. In a large number of cases, the pilgrim described in the General Prologue relates a tale in keeping with his character and calling.
When the pilgrims have gone a short distance out of London, Harry Bailey asks them to draw lots. Whether by sheer luck or manipulation,
1 The lot falls to the knight, [socially the noblest in the group] [brave lovers and their story]
2 The Monk
3 the drunken Miller [breaks in and tells an indecent tale about a carpenter.]
4 Reeve, being a carpenter himself, takes revenge by relating an equally scurrilous story about a miller.
[Thus, in the first three tales we are introduced to a basic technique of Chaucer's mature poetry and perhaps Gothic art in general: the courtly and the bourgeois, romance and realism, the serious and the light are juxtaposed.]
5 After a quarrel between the Friar and
6 the Summoner, [they tell stories defaming each other's calling.]
[The comic device of cutting short a boring story is particularly useful when the 'tragedies' of the Monk's tale become tedious.]
7 the Clerk's tale
8 the Merchant's fabliau [about an old man who marries a young wife and is shamefully deceived by her.]
9 The Clerk's Tale
10 the Franklin's Tale
Gender and class are subtly related in the entire group and indeed in the Tales, defiant energy and appetite being associated with the rising middle -classes.
11 Squire's Tale.
12 The Physician's Tale
13 The Wife of Bath 's Tale is a folk -tale,
14 The Pardoner's Tale
15 The Parson 's Tale and
16 Chaucer's own Melibeus in prose.
17 The Nun's Priest's Tale [is a memorable example of the *beast -fable, the story of Chauntecleer and Pertelote.]
[ Chaucer's idea of the pilgrimage as a narrative framework enables him to bring together the widest possible cross -section of medieval society. What binds this 'sundry folk,' this motley crowd is what gives unity to heterogeneous variety: the pilgrimage easily relates the material with the spiritual, the mundane with the religious. It also gives the Tales a dramatic power, especially ii.1 the comments, exchanges and jibes that enact ongoing social relationships in a microcosm. Of course, the secular and clerical aristocracy is left out as they would not have mingled with Chaucer's company; similarly, the real poor are excluded as they would not be able to go on such a pilgrimage. Fragment VIII contains:
18 The Second Nun 's Tale
19 The Canon's Yeoman [canon is a member of clergy in church] [tells a contemporary anecdote of an alchemist trickster (possibly the Canon himself). l'he Yeoman and his master had overtaken the pilgrims after a mad gallop, but as soon as the Canon feared exposure in the tale, he ran away.] In Fragment IX:
20 The Manciple's Prologue and Tale.
21 The Parson 's 'Prologue and Tale and
22 Chaucer's Retraction. [The Parson delivers a long prose discourse on the Seven Deadly Sins. This is followed by Chaucer's repudiation of all his writings on the vanity of romantic love, sparing only his religious and philosophical work.]
General Prologue to Canterbury Tales
The General Prologue begins with a memorable description of Spring. The immediate reason for this is that only with the return of mild weather after winter could people go on a pilgrimage. People in Chaucer's time passed winter inside dark, draughty, badly heated, smoky huts living on salted beef, smoked bacon, dried peas, beans, last year's wheat or rye and so on. The shortage of fish food resulted in diseases like scurvy in winter. Thus when the April showers made the grass grow again, both cattle and men were delighted at the prospect of fresh food and recovery of health. The sweet showers revive Nature and by implication human nature; the underlying motif is of resurrection or spiritual renewal.
The pilgrims come from all corners of England to visit the shrine of St. Thomas ii Becket who was martyred in the Canterbury cathedral in 1170. Block-1 Orientation For the Study of Poetry & The Medieval Poet Chaucer
the portraits of the prioress, the monk, the Friar, and the wife of Bath. - the Prioress (Madame Eglantine) is a worldly nun focused on courtly manners, dogs, and status, contrasting with the Monk, a hunter who ignores cloister rules for pleasure, and the Friar, a smooth-talking beggar who exploits the poor, while the Wife of Bath is a bold, experienced woman of five marriages, who uses her tales to advocate for female authority and marital harmony, challenging male dominance with her lively, complex personality.
The Prioress (Madame Eglantine)
· Appearance & Mannerisms: Dressed elegantly, speaks French (badly), has delicate manners, and wears a brooch saying "Amor vincit omnia" (Love conquers all).
· Worldliness: More concerned with aristocratic airs and secular life (like her lap dogs) than true piety, suggesting religious life as social climbing.
· Key Trait: A contradiction between her gentle appearance and the harsh, anti-Semitic tale she tells.
The Monk
· Appearance & Hobbies: A handsome, robust man with fine horses, hunting gear, and a passion for hunting (venery).
· Worldliness: Ignores monastic rules (like St. Benedict's) that keep monks cloistered and working, preferring the "new world" of pleasure and sport.
· Key Trait: Rejects the text that says monks should stay in their cloisters, seeing study as pointless compared to hunting.
The Friar
· Appearance & Mannerisms: A smooth-talker, charming, and well-dressed, but uses his charisma for personal gain.
· Worldliness: A beggar who excels at manipulating people for money, especially the poor, rather than helping them; avoids the sick.
· Key Trait: A hypocrite who uses his religious role to live a luxurious, worldly life.
The Wife of Bath (Alisoun)
· Appearance & Personality: A bold, experienced, somewhat deaf woman (or pretends to be) who loves sex, marriage, and power.
· Worldliness: Has had five husbands, uses sex and cunning to control them, and is a master of marital dynamics.
· Key Trait: Her extensive experience and strong voice make her a powerful figure who argues for female autonomy and marital equality in her famous Prologue and Tale.
-nuns priest tale - https://www.sparknotes.com/
You can check out my YouTube videos on the same topic where I have explained everything in Hindi in detail. Links are below-
Block-1 Orientation For the Study of Poetry & The Medieval Poet Chaucer
Age of Chaucer
Canterbury Tales - General Prologue
The General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales part 1
The General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales part 2
The General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales part 3
More related and helpful links in the description box of my YouTube channel.
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