Abstract
This paper discusses five different aspects of Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales.' It includes views on marriage and Chaucer's approach to humor. The 'Tales' referred to are the 'Prologue', 'The Friar's Tale', 'Parliament of Foules', 'Wife of Bath' and the 'Knight's Tale.'

From the Paper
" 'The Miller's Tale' shows marriage as a comedy of errors, credulous older husband, beautiful and sneaky and unworthy wife and plenty of others to complicate the relationship. His tale takes the form of a dirty joke but instead of the farmer's daughter it is the carpenter's wife ,Alison, who is the object of the affections of Nicholas, a yeoman and Absalom a parish clerk. For his..."

Tags:canterbury tales, plot, Chaucer, parliament of foules, narrative, troilus & creyside

Abstract
This paper compares the character of the Parson in Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" to other ecclesiastical figures relating Chaucer's views on the Church. The author discusses Chaucer's portrait of the Parson as the ideal priest. The paper stresses the social commentary in the 'Prologue' to the "The Parson's Tale".

From the Paper
"Although the tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer were for entertainment, he also used them as subtle social commentary on the world he lived in. The prologue to "The Parson's Tale" is considered to be one of ..."

Tags:Parson, Monk, Pardoner, Friar, Canterbury Tales

Abstract
This paper discusses the theme of idealism as reflected in the works of Chaucer and Shakespeare. In particular, the paper examines Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" and Shakespeare's Sonnets 18, 116 and 130. The discussion and analysis demonstrates how both authors' works illustrate the prevalence of their ideals: for Chaucer, his ideals on what religion and expression of faith should be, and for Shakespeare, how love is and should be.

From the Paper
"Influenced by the ideology of idealism during his time, Chaucer reflected his ideals of Christianity and its followers through The Pardoner's Tale of "The Canterbury Tales." Like the other tales in "Canterbury," the Pardoner's tale is a satire meant to criticize the society that Chaucer lived in during his period. While in some of the tales, Chaucer did not explicitly expressed his disagreement with and criticism of the rampant corruption and hypocrisy within the Church and among its elements (the clergy and the lay), in the Pardoner's tale, these issues were addressed and made explicit through the persona of the Pardoner."

Tags:William, Shakespeare, love, sonnets, Geoffrey, Chaucer, The, Canterbury, Tales

Abstract
This paper studies the following thesis that Chaucer used sex only for comedy despite the suggestions that he was a voyeur in his book "The Canterbury Tales." It studies Chaucer's personality, diction and medieval customs that do not support the idea that he was a voyeur and because of that included sex in his stories. Finally, it concludes that Chaucer was not a voyeur.

From the Paper
"Sex is a word that easily gains attention in today's society. Today, marketing strategists will tell you that sex sells. Movies, sitcoms, commercials all employ sex to gain the attention of an audience. How much of a role, though did sex play in selling or gaining attention in the late 1300s when The Canterbury Tales were written? Did Chaucer use sex within The Canterbury Tales to add humor and intrigue his audience, or was he just a lonely man expressing his sexual desires within his work? The idea that sex was so proliferate within the Tales because Chaucer was a voyeur has long been debated. There seems to have been no conclusion over the years as to whether Chaucer really was a voyeur or whether or not he included sex within the tales for comedic purposes. Two of Chaucer's pilgrims, the Miller and the Reeve, both tell stories that center around sex. According to Root, "the point of strongest resemblance between the tales of the Miller and the Reeve is their extreme indecency?" (175). When one examines Chaucer's personality, his diction within these two tales, and how sex was viewed in Chaucer's time, it is clear that Chaucer's indecency was only for comedic purposes."

Tags:Canterbury, Chaucer, comedy, literature, Medieval, sex, tales, voyeurism

Abstract
This paper discusses "The Canterbury Tales" and the character of the Parson, who is a perfect example and holds every quality a devout church leader is expected to have. His life is contrasted with that of Monk and Friar who are the exact opposites of the Parson as their lives consist of greed, gluttony and lustfulness. The current church leadership, and Mother Teresa are used as modern day examples of goodness and greed.

From the Paper
"The First way the Canterbury Tales is relevant to a modern audience is through the powerful characterization of the Parson. He is a perfect example and holds every quality a devout church leader is expected to have. The purpose for his journey to Canterbury is to enhance his own spirituality, the ideal reason for going on this pilgrimage. The Parson is an educated man and, unlike many of the others, he is very honorable. He practices what he preaches and knows that he is an example for others to follow."

Tags:canterbury, chaucer, tales, today, church, corrupt, sprirtuality

Abstract
This paper analyzes Chaucer's use of humor in "The Canterbury Tales" and considers the way in which the comedy serves to provide social commentary. It also examines Chaucer's use of humorous characters to highlight the beauty and ugliness of human nature.

From the Paper
"When analyzing The Canterbury Tales, many critics take issue with Geoffrey Chaucer's use of humor and his failure to seriously address the major ills of his day. Chaucer's references to the Black Death, the Peasant's revolt and the labor disputes of the ..."

Tags:Chaucer, humor, Canterbury, fabliaux, summoner, miller

Abstract
In this article, the writer introduces, discusses and analyzes two essays on "The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer. Specifically, the writer summarizes and compares the two essays "The Knight's Tale and Trecento Italian Historiography" by James H. McGregor and "Desire, Violence and the Passion in Fragment VII of the Canterbury Tales: A Girardian Reading," by Curtis Gruenler. The writer notes that these two essays discuss different aspects of Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales," from what inspired "The Knight's Tale" to his use of violence and history in the work, and what that means for readers. The writer concludes that these essays open up new worlds and ways to explore "The Canterbury Tales," and they make the epic poem more interesting and compelling to the reader.

From the Paper
"Both of these essays bring up aspects of "The Canterbury Tales" that casual readers might not recognize or understand. They show how the history of the day influenced Chaucer, and how he used other, older works as inspiration for his own tales. They show how events at the time also inspired Chaucer, and that he was writing largely against violence in most of the tales, and that shows in many of them, including the "Knight's Tale." Each of the tales is humorous or satirical in some way, and one essay discusses new fragments of the manuscript that contained differences in the accepted version of some of the stories. All of this information helps enlighten the reader and gives them another layer of understanding the work, and it makes reading it more enjoyable, too, because there is background and foundation for some of the tales and their meaning."

Tags:Knight's, Tale, Chaucer, beliefs, critics

Abstract
This paper uses various examples from the text of "The Canterbury Tales" to illustrate Chaucer's implied opinions regarding men as the cause of their own destruction. The paper also compares this view of men, as masters of their own demise, with female characters in the text, who are often misjudged as being poor examples of literary feminism. The three tales on which this paper focuses are "The Miller's Tale", "The Pardoner's Tale" and "The Nun's Priest's Tale".

From the Paper
"Women are generally depicted in Medieval art and literature as the root of all evil and the source of all man's weakness. Chaucer, being the revolutionary writer that he is, sheds a slightly different light on this commonly-held notion of female wickedness. In his collection of stories, The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer suggests, as opposed to the idea that women tempt men to sin and, ultimately, to self-destruction, that man's own stupidity and moral flaws are the result of his various failures and misfortunes. This radically new approach to writing about the downfalls of male characters is best illustrated in The Nun's Priest's Tale, The Miller's Tale, and The Pardoner's Tale. Each tale demonstrates a different male personality flaw that leads one or more of the main characters to his own demise. The Nun's Priest's Tale illustrates the stupidity associated with the vanity of both Chauntecleer and Randall the Fox (who, although animals, are still male), whereas, The Miller's Tale plays on the jealousy and gullibility of the carpenter. Finally, The Pardoner's Tale focuses primarily on the arrogance and avarice of three, young men."

Tags:ages, medieval, middle, miller, nun, pardoner, priest, tale

Abstract
This paper looks at how, in Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales", many of the stories seem to use the idea of marriage as a symbol of greater moral, as well as religious, themes. In particular, the individual stories of "The Miller's Tale", "The Wife of Bath's Prologue", and the "Franklin's Tale" give a fascinating glimpse into the world of marriage in Chaucer's day; an institution, the reader notes, that is not so different from today in many respects. It also shows that, in addition to the nature of marriage, which, admittedly ,is turned up to the point of parody, the reader also catches a glimpse into the social and religious world and its flaws.

From the Paper
"In his essay, "Concepts of Marriage and Pilgrimage," Morton Andrew notes that the idea of marriage during the time of Chaucer closely mirrored the theological symbolism of the unbreakable "marriage" bond cemented between the Church and Christ (Andrew, 88). Not only was marriage considered holy, and closely tied to the teachings of English Christianity and moral society, but the varied transgressions possible within the institution were still regarded as spiritually, morally, and symbolically immoral. Although The Canterbury Tales often uses satire to make its point, the harsh immorality of adultery the ultimate dishonor of the symbol of Christ-centered union, is on full display."

Tags:social, religious, partnership, couple, intimicy, franklin, bath, wife, miller, tale

Abstract
This paper explores the satirical tone of the Miller's Prologue in "Canterbury Tales" and how it represents class conflict. The paper also explains how the Miller's Tale "quites" the Knight's tale.

From the Paper
"The Miller's story of the foolish carpenter and his wife illustrate the Miller's personal views on jealousy and infidelity. According to the Miller, whether or not a man's wife is cheating is of no business to him. Furthermore, the Miller claims that men should never question God's will in matters of love."

Tags:knight, tale-telling, chaucer, monk, drunk, courtly, love