Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

The Knight, Squire, Prioress, The Monk and the Friar are defined by their settings in Geoffrey Chaucer’s "Prologue" to The Canterbury Tales. 1. Portnoy says in his article in the Chaucer Review that "The General Prologue is like a mirror reflecting the individuals appearance which then defines the character of that person."(281) 2. Scanlon backs up Portnoy in his article from Speculum by saying "…Characters descriptions somehow emerge inevitably from the original intentions of Chaucer’s text or reflect its lasting value." (128) 3. Russell remarks in his book Chaucer & the Trivium: The Mindsong of the Canterbury Tales: There is something that seems natural and almost unavoidable in the structure of the individual portraits in the General Prologue: How else could you describe the characters without passing judgment on them? (62) KNIGHT The Knight is defined by his settings. 1. Andrew says in The Canterbury Tales: The General Prologue: The Knight is described as having no name, no family seat, no manor house, and no lands. Furthermore, his obsession with foreign service indicates a lack of feudal ties and bears all the marks of a career of a landless knight, without family or possessions in England. (80) 2. Andrew says "The Knight is described as an aged veteran warrior, with whom the stern realities of life have sobered down much of his early romance." (43) 3.

The Knight fought in his sovereign’s wars in both Christian and heathen places, which shows he is a holy and honorable man by he followed his king’s commands, and he fought for religious purposes. 4. Roggiers reiterates that statement in his book The Art of the Canterbury Tales by saying "The Knights Tale is Chaucer’s own e...

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...er, Geoffrey. ""Prologue" to The Canterbury Tales." England in Literature. Eds. John Pfordrester, et.al. Inglewood Cliffs: Foresman, 1972.

Fredell, Joel. "Late Gothic Portraiture: The Prioress and Philippa." Chaucer Review, 23(May 10, 1989):181-191. Hussey, Maurice. An Introduction to Chaucer. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1972.

Portnoy, Phyllis. "Beyond the Gothic Cathederal: Post Modern Reflections in the "Canterbury Tales"." Chaucer Review, 28(May 31, 1994):279-292.

Roggiers, Paul G. The Art of the Canterbury Tales. Milwaukee: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1965.

Russell, J. Stephen. Chaucer & the Trivium: The Mindsong of the Canterbury Tales. Miami: University Press of Florida, 1998.

Scanlon, Larry. "A Variorum Edition of the Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, 2: The Canterbury Tales: The General Prologue" Speculum, 72(January 1997):127-129