Analysis on the Prologue of the Canterbury Tales by Geoffery Chaucer

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In his General Prologue, Geoffrey Chaucer introduces all of his characters to the reader. He writes that there was a group of people who met, and were all, coincidentally going to Canterbury. In the General Prologue, it is written, “Some nine and twenty in a company Of sundry folk happening then to fall In fellowship, and they were pilgrims all That towards Canterbury meant to ride.” The Canterbury Tales is a collection of the stories that each of these characters tells on the journey. There is a vast assortment of characters. There are men and women from the Church. There are upper-class people with wealth and power. There are blue collar working-class people. It is interesting that all different types of people are able to have a good time and tell each other their tales. Some of these characters just make me cringe. Some of them seem like someone I could get along with, or even remind me of myself. My three favorite characters from the General Prologue are the Monk, the Skipper, and the Miller.
First, the Monk seems like a pretty cool guy. The first thing that I like about him is that he is a monk. I respect monks. It must be a tough thing for monks and nuns to give up so much to serve God. Unlike some of the other people in the Canterbury Tales who claim to be religious, the monk is actually a good person. The Pardoner makes me sick with his hypocritical stories. The monk, however, seems to be true to his word. Another thing that makes me like this character is that he is a big, loud manly man. Usually, what comes to mind when one thinks the word “monk” is a scrawny, bald, quiet, somber guy in a bathrobe. That isn’t the case with this monk. He likes to hunt. “Hunting was his sport. A manly man,” it is w...

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...ies to tell. The skipper is one of those people. The tale that he tells is probably extremely inappropriate, and may not have a thing to do with the skipper’s journeys, but he seems like I guy that I would enjoy listening to. He has been everywhere. “His beard in many a tempest had its shaking And he knew al the havens as they were From Gottland to the Cape of Finisterre, And every creek in Brittany and Spain.” The Monk is a cool guy because he seems to have a personality totally different than the cliche monk. He is a big tough guy, but is still a good person and doesn’t use his physical capabilities to do evil things. The Miller is one of my favorite because he is a mischievous guy and does whatever he wants. He is huge and strong. He plays the bagpipes. If all of this wasn’t already cool enough, he is a redhead.

Works Cited

Chaucer's General Prologue

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