Prologue in "The Canterbury Tales"

Paper Summary:

In writing "The Canterbury Tales", Geoffrey Chaucer decided that instead of he being the teller of the tales, he would use various characters to tell their tales. He uses the General Prologue to introduce each of these pilgrims who, on the road to Canterbury, will each tell a tale. The paper shows that the narrator of the General Prologue, himself a pilgrim, relates to us, the readers, what his impression of each character is based on his own observations and on what each character has chosen to tell him. Each description in the General Prologue is, upon first reading, quite complimentary, yet there seems to be many ambiguous comments made that lead us to suspect that each character is being satirised in turn. To understand this more fully, the paper examines the description of the Friar, Huberd.

From the Paper:

"The first description of the Friar that we are given is that he is "a wantowne...man." (l. 208) If we understand "wantowne" as meaning jovial or light hearted (Benson, 808) then there seems to be nothing untoward in Huberd's behaviour. It may even be preferable to have an easy going manner while working so closely with the people. However, "wantowne" can also be understood as being lascivious. (Benson, 808). How is it possible to decide which meaning of this ambiguous term applies to Huberd? We must read further on in his description to decide."

More papers on Prologue in "The Canterbury Tales":

• Analytical Essay # 52820 : "Marriage in "The Canterbury Tales"
• Book Review # 113430 : "Women in "The Canterbury Tales"
• Analytical Essay # 48902 : "Knights in "The Canterbury Tales"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: