The General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales

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. Words and Meanings: (line by line) Line 15: Shire - Country Line 85: Chyachie - Cavalry ( घुड़सवार सेना) Line 89: Meade - Beverage of honey and Malt Line 101: Yeoman- Guard/attendant in a noble house Line 117: Forester - Skilled in Planting and managing trees Line 104: Sheaf - Bundle Line 141: Reverence: श्रद्धा Line 151: Wimple Head Scarf of Nuns Line 167: Abbot-Man who heads the abbey of Monks Line 169: Bridle - headgear to control horse Line 190: Greyhounds: Hunting dogs Line 208: Wantowne - Pleasure loving Line 209: Solemn - Sincere Line 240: tavernes - Public house for travelers Line 242: Lazar - A person suffering with a disease especially leprosy Line 255 : Farthing - old currency, coins Line 331: Frankelyn - Land Owners Line 336: Epicurus - Epicurus was a hedonist. [what is pleasurable is morally good and what is painful is morally evil.] Line 349: Partridges - A type of bird Line 361: Haberdasshere - retail dealer in men’s accessories-ties,hat, gloves,socks Line 372 : Alderman - next to the mayor Line 406 : Tempest - Violent windy storm Line 425 : Apothecary - person who prepared and sold medicines and drugs. Line 426: Electuary - Sweet medicine with honey Line 429 : Aesculapius - Roman God of medicine (Coiled snake sign) Line 486: Tithe: 1/10th of annual income to the church Line 508 : Mire - Swampy/boggy ground Line 521 : Obstinate - Stubborn Line 545: Miller - Who works in a mill Line 569: Victuals - Food or Provision Line 544: Manciple - A person who is incharge of buying food or provision Line 587: Reeve - Chief magistrate of a town Line 587: Choleric - Bad tempered Line 643: Jay - A person talking foolish stuff Line 650 concubine - mistress Line 658: Archdeacon’s Hell - Punishment to the purse instead of the soul Line 664: Diocese - District under the care of Bishop Line 685: Vernycle - A herbaceous plant Line 710 : Offertory - Offering at a religious service Characters in the poem : Total Characters in The Canterbury Tales: 29 Pilgrims 1 Narrator (Chaucer) 1 Host (Harry Bailey) 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 Squire'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. Characters in the poem : Total Characters in The Canterbury Tales: 29 Pilgrims 1 Narrator (Chaucer) 1 Host (Harry Bailey) Total - 31 Characters and their Description: KNIGHT - Brave fighter, Blood stained clothes, Warrior, World traveler, Highest rank, Valiant, Chivalrous, Old, Doesn’t Boast(humble), Loyal to the king, Loves religion. SQUIRE - Son of the knight, fashionable, ladies man, lusty, singing songs and poetry, horse rider, contrast to his father, boastful. YEOMAN - Helper of the Knight, skilled, dressed in green, carries a longbow. PRIORESS - Nun, Saint with fashionable clothes, More about manners, food and clothes than praying, Has a Gold Brooch which says- Love Conquers All (in latin), delicate, well bred, mannerly. She is accompanied by another NUN and THREE PRIESTS. MONK - Loves to hunt, Is not religious at all, owns horses and hunting dogs, hypocrite, fat, jolly, bald, foodie, careless. Friar - Hubert - Begs, multiple marriages, sexual, licensed to beg, irreligious, plays with people’s pity. MERCHANT - He is in debt, shrewd, arrogant, boastful, all about profit, involved in illegal activities related to foreign exchange. CLERK OF OXENFORD - Book lover, less in the worldly life, always keen to learn and teach SERGEANT AT LAW - Respected by everyone, takes decision for courts, well traveled, famous, rich, full of excellence and unrestricted possessions, good with drafting legal documents, FRANKLIN - [Land owner] Foodie - Wine and meat, different type of food all the time, bread and wine in breakfast, red face and blood humour [ HABERDASHER - Seller of men’s accessories CARPENTER - WEAVER - DYER - TAPESTRY MAKER - ] All 5 of them are rich and luxury lovers COOK - who has an open sore on his shin. A very good cook SHIPMAN - thief, might also be a pirate, no moral values DOCTOR OF PHYSICS - Sleep lover, kind, intelligent, love for gold, saved income from black deaths, depends on astrology WIFE OF BATH - Alison - married 5 times, refused to be dominated by men, sexually demanding, dressed like a rich whore, wide tooth apart, deaf PARSON - True priest, ideal holy man. PLOWMAN - Parson’s brother, honest, holy man MILLER - Very strong and well built, knows how to buy good ration and always in profit and steal MANCIPLE - Clever than lawyers, bought victuals on cash or credit, had more than 30 masters, had a lot of money to be able to live without working for the rest of his life. REEVE - It is a post where he is supposed to be working for people but became a feared enemy of them. Very lean, Choleric man, always clean shaved, perfect in his work that no one can catch him, knows how to please his lord. Knows woodcraft SUMMONER - Church’s administration worker, Face has some kind of skin disease, will talk only in Latin and rubbish ones he is drunk, Would do anything for wine, Archdeacon's curse PARDONER - Church worker, sells pig bones in a jar, fooling people, goat voice, seller of papal, greedy, hypocrite, might be a eunuch or homosexual, sewed a veronica to his hat, thinks he is very fashionable, doesn’t have a beard and will never have, holds relics like pig bones and pins and sells them to poor people for their two months hard earned money, can read very well

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

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