The Canterbury Tales Prologue PDF

 THREE PICS ONE WORD __ __ L __ R __ __ A __ __ __ A T __ __ D__ A __ __ __ E __ S __ R __ __ __ __ U __ N E __ __ __ R__ __ P __ I __ N __ A __ __ P __ __ A __ __ O __ Prologue of the Canterbury Tales The Pardoner’s Tale by: Geoffrey Chaucer The Canterbury Tales is still i...

 THREE PICS ONE WORD __ __ L __ R __ __ A __ __ __ A T __ __ D__ A __ __ __ E __ S __ R __ __ __ __ U __ N E __ __ __ R__ __ P __ I __ N __ A __ __ P __ __ A __ __ O __ Prologue of the Canterbury Tales The Pardoner’s Tale by: Geoffrey Chaucer The Canterbury Tales is still incomplete. The Canterbury Tales is a collection of 24 stories, but Chaucer had planned more than 100. He started writing in 1387 and continued working on it until his death in 1400. Though the epic poem has more than 17,000 lines, it was meant to be longer. Summary and Analysis The Prologue Summary One spring day, the Narrator of The Canterbury Tales rents a room at the Tabard Inn before he recommences his journey to Canterbury. That evening, a group of people arrive at the inn, all of whom are also going to Canterbury to receive the blessings of "the holy blissful martyr," St. Thomas à Becket. Calling themselves "pilgrims" because of their destination, they accept the Narrator into their company. The Narrator describes his newfound traveling companions. The Host at the inn, Harry Bailey, suggests that, to make the trip to Canterbury pass more pleasantly, each member of the party tell two tales on the journey to Canterbury and two more tales on the journey back. The person who tells the best story will be rewarded with a sumptuous dinner paid for by the other members of the party. The Host decides to accompany the pilgrims to Canterbury and serve as the judge of the tales. Highest in the social rank are representatives of the aristocracy or those with pretensions toward nobility. First in this group are the Knight and his household, including the Squire. The second group within those of the highest social standing includes the Prioress, the Monk, and the Friar, who ought to be of the lower class, but who, as a pious beggar, has begged so well that his prosperity ironically slips him into the company of the nobles. A middle-class group of pilgrims comprises the next lower position of social rank. First presented in this group is the Cook, whom we might consider out of place — ranked too high — but who, as a master of his trade, is greatly respected by his fellow travelers. A Also included in this social class are the Shipman, because of his immense knowledge of and travels throughout the world, and the Physician, a doctor of medicine (a career that was less revered in the Middle Ages than it is now). The Wife of Bath, who is the last of this group to be presented, is included in this group because of her knowledge and deportment and her many other pilgrimages. The last group of pilgrims include those of the immoral lower class. Among this group of pilgrims are the Manciple, who profits from buying food for the lawyers in the Inns of Court, and the vulgar Miller, who steals from his customers. The Reeve tells dirty stories and cheats his trusting young master, and the corrupt Summoner takes bribes. Last, and most corrupt in this litany of undesirables is the Pardoner, who sells false pardons and fake relics. The Parson Wife of Bath The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales acts as an explanation and an introduction to the Tales, and it allows Geoffrey Chaucer to arrange and establish the hierarchy of the pilgrims. "The General Prologue" to The Canterbury Tales serves two main functions: to offer context for the text to follow and to introduce all of the pilgrims. In fulfilling both of these purposes, Chaucer also inserts subtle criticism of certain characters and satirizes aspects of life in the Middle Ages. The prologue to The Canterbury Tales is most important because it established the class structure of society in Medieval England. Chaucer uses the genre of estates satire. He introduces the nobility first, followed by the clergy, the merchants, tradesmen, and finally the peasants. In The Canterbury Tales, we see Chaucer explore moral values and lessons. He provides moral lessons not only in the main story, but also in the tales recounted by the pilgrims. Some of the lessons are love conquers all, lust only gets you in trouble, religion and morality is virtuous, and honor and honesty is valued. The tales could be described both as social realism and as estates satire. At the same time that Chaucer takes care to honestly show the perspective of each of his characters, he also aims to critique the hypocrisy of the church and the social problems posed by Medieval politics and social custom. THEMES Christianity When The Canterbury Tales were written Christianity was the dominant social force throughout western Europe, including England. Its influence stretched across the social spectrum from nobles to poor beggars. In 1388, while Chaucer was working on the tales, a change occurred in the way that Christianity was perceived and practiced when John Wycliffe, an English reformer, released a version of the Bible translated into English. For the first time, people from the lower classes, who had not been educated in Latin, could read the Bible themselves instead of having its word interpreted to them by members of the clergy. Deception Many of the stories in this book deal with deception—the potential to mislead people with words and the consequences that result. In some cases, decent people are compelled to employ deception, such as when Arcite from “The Knight’s Tale” disguises himself to enter the court of Emily, whom he loves, or when Aurelius from “The Franklin’s Tale” is driven by love to trick Dorigene so that she will leave her husband for him. Rivalry The theme of rivalry is introduced by the storytelling competition, but this game is just one example of many rivalries in The Canterbury Tales. There are rivals in love, fighting for the same woman; storytellers who try to get back at or outdo one another in insults; and rivals in trickery who try to outsmart one another with their tricks. Although Harry Bailey intends the storytelling game to be friendly, many of the rivalries seem to bring out the worst in people. Love, Romance, and Fellowship Throughout the frame story, character prologues, and tales, Chaucer explores human relationships. The tales discuss brotherly love and the betrayal of it, as well as the partnerships among thieves and rogues. The camaraderie and fellowship of the pilgrim company set the tone of the frame story. Most pilgrims complete their tales by directly addressing the listening company; in more than one case, a story creates friction between pilgrims. Social Class The diverse social classes of the pilgrims are an important part of the Prologue. As Chaucer describes the pilgrims, he gives their occupations, and many are never known beyond these designations. At the time Chaucer wrote the tales, society was moving from the estate system to a system that included a growing middle class. Social Satire Social satire is the major theme of The Canterbury Tales. The medieval society was set on three foundations: the nobility, the church, and the peasantry. Chaucer’s satire targets all segments of the medieval social issues, human immorality, and depraved heart. For example, he exposes each social layers of his pilgrims and beautifully illustrates how they fail to fulfill their actual duties. Corruption in Church The idea of corruption also upholds thematic significance in The Canterbury Tales, because most of the characters associated with the church are not religious, pious or dutiful as they must be. The Pardoner’s Tale is the best example of corruption. He is a medieval preacher assigned with the duty to collect money for holy purposes. He performs this duty and walks in the town with holy relics, preaches about the dangers of greed and raises money. Christianity The thematic significance of Christianity can be marked by the fact that the tales take place in a religious setting where everyone is going on a religious pilgrimage. Most of the notable figures of the church; the Monk, the Nun, the Parson, and the Friar are detailed in the general prologue, representing distinct areas of the church of that time. THE PARDONER’S TALE The Pardoner’s mincing, vain, feminine appearance have led many commentators to speculate that Chaucer is painting a picture of him as a homosexual. The Pardoner gleefully exploits the poor, gullible people in his parish, showing them cheap trinkets and bones from Rome and pretending that they are valuable relics. The Pardoner, coming straight from the court of Rome, rides with the Summoner. He has thin yellow hair that he loops over his shoulders in long, elaborate strands, and to show it off, he rides bareheaded. His voice is as high as a goat’s. The Pardoner has a wallet stuffed full of pardons from Rome as well as many religious trinkets, such as veils, goblets, and decorated crucifixes. The Pardoner then explains to the pilgrims the methods he uses in preaching. His text is always "Radix malorum est cupidatis" ("Love of money is the root of all evil"). Always employing an array of documents and objects, he constantly announces that he can do nothing for the really bad sinners and invites the good people forward to buy his relics and, thus, absolve themselves from sins. Then he stands in the pulpit and preaches very rapidly about the sin of avarice so as to intimidate the members into donating money. The story… In Flanders, there were three rioters who did nothing but commit various sins all day, including drunkenness, which the Pardoner preaches against at length. One night while getting drunk and playing dice in a tavern, the three men glance outside to see a group of men carrying a corpse to its burial. They learn that the corpse was an old man whose heart was broken in two by a secret thief called Death. The three rioters make a vow amongst themselves to find Death and kill him. Not far into their quest, the three men meet an old man at a turnstile and ask him why he is still alive. The old man says he is still alive because he has not found any young men who will trade places with him, and that although he has knocked on the earth to let him in, it won’t. One of the rioters asks, even more rudely, where Death is, and the old man tells them they can find Death up the crooked way and underneath an oak tree. The three men go to the tree and find eight bushels of gold coins under it. The worst of the three argues that the money is theirs because Fortune gave it to them, but that they can’t carry it back to town without being branded as thieves. Therefore, he suggests they draw lots to see who runs back to town for bread and wine while the other two guard the treasure. They draw lots, and the youngest of them is sent to town. No sooner does he leave than the other two plot to kill the youngest on his return and split his share of the gold between them. Meanwhile, the youngest reaches town, realizes he needs to protect himself against the other two rioters, and buys some poison. He also buys three wine bottles. He poisons two of the wine bottles and keeps the third for himself to drink from. When the youngest returns, however, the other two drunkards set on him and kill him. They then sit down to drink the wine, drink from the poisoned bottles, and die. The tale ends with a short sermon asking God to forgive the sins of good men. Just then, the Pardoner “remembers” that he can issue pardons to the other pilgrims if they pay him, and he asks them to kiss a “relic” he is carrying. The Host tells him it’s not a relic, but a dried turd painted to look like one, which angers the Pardoner. The Knight steps in to make peace between the two men. THEMES Manipulation For reasons no one has ever been quite able to decipher, the Pardoner responds to the Host's request for a tale with a detailed exposé of the techniques he uses to sell his fake relics and expensive pardons to the unlearned masses of Christians who gather to hear him preach. These techniques range from a display of learning meant perhaps to intimidate more than inspire; to a play on the emotions of shame, guilt, and fear; to the implication that those who fail to give him money are harboring unspeakable hideous sins. He's got the gift. Hypocrisy The Pardoner is the epitome of hypocrisy. We don't get a better definition of a hypocrite than his characterization of himself as "preaching against what I practice." The Pardoner attacks greed in his sermons to make his audience give up their gold to him to repent from their greed. Even so, he argues that despite his own questionable morals, he can still preach a good sermon that inspires repentance. Mortality To expand on the theme "greed is the root of all evil," the Pardoner preaches a fable about three drunk young degenerates who set out to kill Death and end up meeting their own demise as a result of—you guessed it—greed. But the Tale doesn't paint death as completely evil. In the character of the Old Man who longs for death to put an end to his suffering, it reminds us that death is sometimes even desirable.  Wealth The Pardoner demonstrates his theme that "greed is the root of all evil" not only in his tale, but also in his "confession" of the methods he uses to make money. His greed leads him to preach a sermon whose main purpose is to get the listeners to buy his relics and pardons. The Pardoner sells salvation for people's hard-earned money, making it look like a real bargain for them.  Sin The message about sin that emerges from the Pardoner's Prologue and Tale is how interconnected it is—sin leads only to more sin. The Pardoner's gluttony and lechery, for example, lead to his greed because of the need to finance his luxurious lifestyle. The same for the rioters, who plan to use their new wealth to finance their gambling, drinking, and whoring.  Church Corruption By the late fourteenth century, people had begun to become deeply suspicious of the Church’s ostentatious wealth. After the Black Death, which wiped out at least a third of the population, many people no longer trusted the Church’s authority. Church official were often seen as corrupt, bribing and coercing people to obtain money for the church under false pretences. Since members of the church were not allowed to work for a living, they had to gain money by other means.  Lies and Deception Lies and deception are also one of the major themes in the prologue as well as individual tales. Most characters lie about their social status to maintain their respect. For instance, the Merchant appears to be a wealthy man at first, but as the tale progresses, he reveals that he is in debt. The Pardoner deceives people by selling fake relics, and the Miller also deceives others by selling his flour again and again. It happens that when people try to maintain their false standards, they often carefully plan before lying and cheating. Radix malorum est cupiditas or Radix omnium malorum est cupiditas is a Biblical quotation in Latin that literally means "root of evil is greed". THANK YOU