To What Extent Is The Canterbury Tales Still Relevant Today

615 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The canterbury tales in middle english

The Canterbury Tales Essay

The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories told by pilgrims on their way to Canterbury to see the shrine of the martyr Saint Thomas Beckett. All of the pilgrims met at the Tabard Inn and decided to make the trip together. Along the journey, the proprietor of the inn, Harry Bailly, prompts the tale-tellers with questions and interjections that reveal important details about their character and motivations. Despite its age, The Canterbury Tales is still very relevant today; Chaucer’s observations about human nature and imperfection are applicable to people in modern society.
The merchant makes an effort to carry himself in a manner that makes people think that he is well off when in fact, he is in debt. Chaucer wrote, “This worthy man ful wel his wit bisette; Ther wiste no wight that he was in dette,” (279-280) in regard to how the merchant hid his debt. This type of behavior can be seen in society today on social media. People try very hard to display perfection on their online profiles. They scrutinize every photo and status update to make sure that nothing undesirable is present and that their life appears to …show more content…

He gives penance to people if they pay him. People come to him to feel better about their sins and he takes advantage of their need for absolution by giving it to them in exchange for payment, which could never actually forgive their actions. Chaucer writes of the friar’s transactions, “instead of weeping and [of] prayers Men may give silver to the poorè freres.” (Chaucer 231-232.) These characteristics of corruption and greed are present in certain institutions today. People in positions of power use their influence to their advantage, disregarding moral standards. A therapist, for example, might feed their patient the information that they want to hear just because they are being paid. There is no obligation to actually help, only a desire for personal

Show More
Related

  • Foreshadowing "The Miller's Tale"

    559 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Chaucer the author and Chaucer the pilgrim are both quick to make distinctions between characters and point out shortcomings. Though Chaucer the pilgrim is meeting the group for the first time, his characterizations go beyond simple physical descriptions. Using just twenty-one lines in the General Prologue, the author presents the character of the Miller and offers descriptions that foreshadow the sardonic tone of his tale and the mischievous nature of his protagonist.

    Read More

  • Greed In The Shipman's Tale

    733 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household, but he who hates bribes will live” (Proverbs 15:27). The Bible condemns the value of greed and Chaucer is able to incorporate this value into his work through the ironic uses of holy men. Chaucer’s “The Shipman’s Tale” and “The Summoner’s Tale” suggests that the monk and the friar have an overactive id which overpowers their superego- evident from the character’s selfish motives and their rejection of their holy vows.

    Read More

  • Critity In Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

    923 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer is set up with a frame tale with 29 pilgrims, and these pilgrims are going on a journey to Canterbury to worship at the shrine of Thomas Becket. These pilgrims represented different parts of society during the time of Chaucer, and Chaucer used the pilgrims to draw critism of the different classes of his time. Chaucer used how society viewed the appearance of people and how it related it to their characteristics to make his critiques of certain aspects of society.

    Read More

  • The Canterbury Tales

    842 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, the stereotypes and roles in society are reexamined and made new through the characters in the book. Chaucer discusses different stereotypes and separates his characters from the social norm by giving them highly ironic and/or unusual characteristics. Specifically, in the stories of The Wife of Bath and The Miller’s Tale, Chaucer examines stereotypes of women and men and attempts to define their basic wants and needs.

    Read More

  • Power and Corruption in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

    1558 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Canterbury Tales is a very popular and well known set of stories, written by Geoffrey Chaucer. This collection of stories is great entertainment and some even provide very good moral lessons; most of these stories show the contempt Chaucer had for the Church of England which had control at the time over most of England. Chaucer’s bias towards the corruption of the Church is best demonstrated in the Pardoner’s Prologue, in contradiction with the Parson’s Tale, and the level of power within the Church structure. These are two of the stories of the many that are in The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer uses the Pardoner as a high level leader who is corrupt and yet enables him to convert the sinners even if he does it for personal gain. While the Parson is of lower standing in the Church, he is not corrupt, and gives the message to the pilgrims so that they might be forgiven.

    Read More

  • Canterbury Tales Essay - Sexuality in The Wife of Bath and the Pardoner

    1709 Words  | 4 Pages

    (2) Geoffrey Chaucer. The Canterbury Tales edited by M.H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2001). All future references will come from this text.

    Read More

  • Version I of the Canterbury Tales

    732 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, has gone through many adaptations. Some authors decided to translate the story into verse, while others chose to write the as a narrative in prose. Although all adaptations are based off the same story, they are vastly different and can be the result of opposing interpretations of the original work. After reading a text translated by Nevill Coghill (referred to as Version I) and a text translated into a narrative by a different author (referred to as Version II), it is obvious that for each similarity they share, there are many more differences in language, syntax, and imagery as well.

    Read More

  • Attitudes And Attrivants In Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

    704 Words  | 2 Pages

    The monk receives some scathing sarcasm in Chaucer’s judgment of his new world ways and the garments he wears “With fur of grey, the finest in the land; Also, to fasten hood beneath his chin, He had of good wrought gold a curious pin: A love-knot in the larger end there was.” (194-197, Chaucer). The Friar is described as being full of gossip and willing to accept money to absolve sins, quite the opposite of what a servant of God should be like. Chaucer further describes the friar as being a frequenter of bars and intimate in his knowledge of bar maids and nobles alike. The friar seems to be the character that Chaucer dislikes the most, he describes him as everything he should not be based on his profession. The Pardoner as well seems to draw special attention from Chaucer who describes him as a man selling falsities in the hopes of turning a profit “But with these relics, when he came upon Some simple parson, then this paragon In that one day more money stood to gain Than the poor dupe in two months could attain.” (703-706, Chaucer). Chaucer’s description of the pardoner paints the image of a somewhat “sleazy” individual “This pardoner had hair as yellow as wax, But lank it hung as does a strike of flax; In wisps hung down such locks as he 'd on head, And with them he his shoulders overspread; But thin they dropped, and stringy, one by one.” (677-681,

    Read More

  • The Canterbury Tales: Two Character Exegesis Of The Canterbury Tales

    947 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer are a collection of Middle English short stories written about a group of pilgrims telling tales as they journey to the shrine of St Thomas Becket. In this collection of tales, Chaucer introduces a slew of interesting characters representing all walks of life who present intriguing stories of their lives. The character of Chaucer serves as our guide throughout this story. Chaucer’s narration is unique in that we see him both as someone who could be there in the tavern with the group but at other times, Chaucer is a narrator who seems to know far more than he should. With this type of narration, we gain different perspectives on the pilgrims and

    Read More

  • Paradise Lost and The Canterbury Tales

    633 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the 14th century, war, and violence were prevalent. The Canterbury Tales were written during the Hundred Years War, when the Catholic Church was dealing with the Western schism, and “Against the darkest period of his life…” (Bloom 14). The story is centered on a group of thirty pilgrims who are traveling to the shrine of St. Thomas at Canterbury (Bloom 14). The pilgrims are all focused on a theme which is backed by the story’s underlying tone of religion.

    Read More

  • Middle Vs. Modern English in the Canterbury Tales

    858 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...an see, when reading a work such as The Canterbury Tales, there are many advantages and disadvantages to the work being in both middle and modern English. Before reading such a work, one must realize his or her own purpose for reading the work and then decide on which version to read. It is the opinion of many that it is beneficial to read both versions in order to educate one self about both languages as well as to experience the evolution of the English language. The English language has changed greatly over the many centuries since the time this work was written. However, this work helps create a bridge between the languages of the middle and modern English worlds. This was a work that transcended any work previously written and one that will continue to have an important place in the history of English literature and the English language as a whole.

    Read More

  • An Analysis of the Characters of The Canterbury Tales

    2545 Words  | 6 Pages

    An interesting aspect of the famous literary work, "The Canterbury Tales," is the contrast of realistic and exaggerated qualities that Chaucer entitles to each of his characters. When viewed more closely, one can determine whether each of the characters is convincing or questionable based on their personalities. This essay will analyze the characteristics and personalities of the Knight, Squire, Monk, Plowman, Miller, and Parson of Chaucer's tale.

    Read More

  • The Prioress Tale And The Knights Tale Essay

    560 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer is a piece of work that resembles both a historical and sociological introduction the late middle ages. Chaucer’s ability to interpret basic human nature from different viewpoints is exemplified in the characters he created. I have selected two stories, The Prioress Tale and The Knights Tale, within the Canterbury Tales that manifest the strengths and weaknesses of human character. Than I will compare Chaucer’s pilgrims to figures portrayed by Dante in the Divine Comedy.

    Read More

  • Bad Medicine

    765 Words  | 2 Pages

    Before the age of television shows, movies, and the Internet people entertained one another with vibrant and exaggerated tales. Geoffrey Chaucer’s, The Canterbury Tales, is a good example of this form of entertainment. The novel details the journey of a band of pilgrims, who engaged in a storytelling competition, as they travel toward the shrine of Thomas à Becket. These Middle Age storytellers varied as much as the stories, and consisted of a knight, physician, monk, and many more. In “the Prologue” the Physician is revealed as a con artist who cares more about himself than his patients.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Pilgrimage In Canterbury Tales

    1879 Words  | 4 Pages

    Geoffrey Chaucer, in The Canterbury Tales, uses both a frame narrative and satire to describe the pilgrimage of thirty pilgrims. The purpose of Chaucer’s use of the frame narrative is to display to the reader the stories within. These pilgrims, as described in the outer frame of the work, embark on a great journey to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury, England. Chaucer created a character from most of the classes to ensure that his work has the characteristics of verisimilitude, yet excluded from the motley crew pilgrims of the highest and the lowest of the social ranks, royalty and serfs, respectively. The twenty-nine pilgrims, including Chaucer the Pilgrim, enter the journey, with Harry Bailly, their Host at the Tabard

    Read More

More about To What Extent Is The Canterbury Tales Still Relevant Today

Open Document