Chaucers Most Popular Work Essay Example

'Fragments'. The usual grouping and ordering of the tales is as follows (the commonly accepted abbreviation for each Tale is noted in parentheses):

General Prologue (GP),

Knight (KnT),

Miller (MilT),

Reeve (RvT),

Cook (CkT).

Wife of Bath (WBT),

Friar (FrT),

Summoner (SumT).

Squire (SqT),

Franklin (FranT).

Physician (PhyT),

Pardoner (PardT).

The text provides a list of characters including Shipman (ShipT), Prioress (PrT), Chaucer: Sir Thopas (Thop), Melibee (Mel), Monk (MkT), Nun's Priest (NPT), Second Nun (SNT), and Canon's Yeoman (CYT). It mentions that there is variation in different manuscripts, but some tales appear in a specific order. Manuscripts IV and V often have their tales spread out separately. Most modern editions are based on two manuscripts, the Hengwrt Manuscript and the Ellesmere Manuscript, both written by the same scribe. The Hengwrt Manuscript is the oldest and believed to be copied directly from Chaucer's papers, but it does not include the Canon's Yeoman's Tale and has lost its final pages.

The former is now preserved in California and is more complete. It is beautifully produced with illustrations of the various pilgrims alongside their Tales. However, it has been edited to smooth out some of the roughness in Chaucer's lines. In the Tales, Chaucer presents a wide range of literary forms, including different kinds of narratives and other texts. The pilgrimage framework adds depth to each tale by connecting it to others, but it would be incorrect to closely associate the narrative voice of each tale with the individual pilgrim who is supposed to be telling it. The Tales follow after the General Prologue.

The text below is a summarized explanation of the tales found in the Riverside Chaucer, in

the order they appear. In the beginning, there is a General Prologue where the narrator (possibly Chaucer) arrives at the Tabard Inn in Southwark to start a pilgrimage to the shrine of St Thomas Becket in Canterbury. Here, he meets other pilgrims whom he describes. In the second part of the General Prologue, the inn-keeper suggests that each pilgrim tell stories while traveling to Canterbury - two stories on the way there and two more on the return journey. The pilgrim with the best story will win a free supper. The first tale is The Knight's Tale, which is a condensed version of Boccaccio's Teseida and takes place in ancient Athens. It revolves around the love of two cousins, Palamon and Arcite, for the beautiful Emelye. The climax is a tournament where the winner will win her hand in marriage and both Mars and Venus have promised success to one of them.

Arcite, a servant of Mars, emerges as the victor, but sadly succumbs to his wounds after his horse is terrified by a fury. Consequently, Palamon, a servant of Venus, ultimately marries Emelye. This narrative delves into the themes of determinism and freedom, similar to the exploration of Boethius in Troilus and Criseyde. In contrast, The Miller's Prologue and Tale takes on a more coarse and comedic tone, revolving around the betrayal of John the Carpenter by Nicholas, an Oxford student who resides with him and his wife Alison. Absolon, an aspiring suitor from the local church, also attempts to win Alison's heart but falls prey to Nicholas' trickery, mistakenly planting a kiss on her behind instead of her lips. Meanwhile, Nicholas has deceived John

into believing that Noah's Flood is imminent, prompting John to sleep in a tub suspended high in the roof as a means of escape.

Meanwhile, Alison and Nicholas are in bed together. The climax of the tale is one of the finest comic moments in literature. It involves Absolon burning Nicholas's behind with a hot iron, which leads Nicholas to scream for water. John, hearing the commotion, mistakenly believes that a flood is coming. In his panic, he cuts the rope holding his tub and crashes to the floor, breaking an arm. Surprisingly, only Alison manages to escape unharmed. The narrator does not offer any moral lessons in this story.

The Reeve's Prologue and Tale is a fabliau that revolves around the cuckolding of a miller. The story is told by the Reeve, who is a carpenter and holds a deep anger towards the Miller for his tale. In this particular narrative, two Cambridge students seek revenge against a dishonest miller by having sexual encounters with his wife and daughter while they are all asleep in the same room.

The text discusses several stories from "The Canterbury Tales". The Miller's Tale involves violence as the miller discovers what has happened and gets hit on the head by his wife because she can only see his bald head in the dark. The Cook's Prologue and Tale is only a short fragment. The Man of Law's Introduction, Prologue, Tale, and Epilogue tell a religious romance about Constance, the daughter of a Roman emperor who becomes a Christian. Constance travels to Syria, floats to England, and eventually returns to Rome after many adventures. The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale

include the Wife of Bath telling the story of her five marriages and challenging the anti-feminist ideas found in books she quotes. Indirectly, she becomes proof that those books are true.

The text describes different tales from Chaucer's collection. The first tale, known as "Her Tale," is a Breton Lay about a knight's disturbing act of rape. As punishment, he is required to discover what women desire most. After learning from an old woman that it is "mastery over their husbands," he is forced to marry her. Although initially described as a "loathly lady," she transforms into a beautiful woman upon receiving the power of mastery over him. This tale relates to the ideas expressed by the Wife of Bath in the Prologue and serves as wish-fulfillment for older women.
(For a similar version of this story by Gower, see below)

The Friar's Prologue and Tale present a comic story centered around a summoner, who is a church lawyer, going to hell after being cursed by an old woman. In the Summoner's Prologue and Tale, a revengeful joke is told involving a friar who must find a way to evenly distribute a fart he receives among his fellow-friars.

Lastly, the Clerk's Prologue and Tale recount a pathetic story with popular roots. Chaucer adapted it from a French version of Petrarch's Latin translation of a tale found in Boccaccio's Decameron.

The text tells the story of Griselda, a woman who endures great suffering and humiliation at the hands of her husband Walter. Despite her humble origins, Walter chooses her like God chooses Israel. However, he suddenly turns against her, taking away her children and sending her back home. Years later, he

demands that she help welcome his new bride. Griselda obediently complies without resistance. Finally, Walter restores her rights and returns her children, claiming that he was simply testing her. The narrator is unsure if Griselda is a role model for anti-feminists or a representation of humanity's fate controlled by an arbitrary force.

The text below is a unified andversion incorporating the and their contents:

The Merchant's Prologue, Tale, and Epilogue is a bitter fabliau-style tale about an elderly husband named Januarius and his young wife named May. At the end of the story, Januarius, who is blind, is depicted embracing a pear-tree. Unknown to him, May is engaged in sexual activity with a young man in the branches of the tree. Suddenly, the gods restore Januarius' sight, allowing him to witness the scene. However, May manipulates Januarius into believing that her efforts are responsible for his regained vision, convincing him that it is a form of prayer.

The Squire's Introduction and Tale consists of a fantasy romance. It revolves around King Cambuscan of Tartary who receives gifts on his birthday from the king of Arabia. These gifts include a brass horse that possesses the ability to fly. For Cambuscan's daughter, Canace, he is gifted a mirror that can predict future dangers and King Solomon's ring that allows her to understand bird language. Additionally, a magical sword is also part of the gifts. However, the tale abruptly ends when Canace listens to a falcon narrating a sorrowful love story.

The Franklin's Prologue and Tale revolve around a Breton lay. In this lay, a squire woos Lady Dorigen and she responds by saying she will only accept him when

all the rocks in the sea disappear. With the assistance of a magician, this seemingly impossible task is accomplished. When Dorigen's husband learns of her promise, he insists that she must honor it. However, moved by the squire's sincerity, he ultimately releases her from her commitment.

The text discusses three different tales: The Physician's Tale, The Pardoner's Introduction, Prologue, and Tale, and The Shipman's Tale. In The Physician's Tale, a moral story is told about Virginia, who is killed by her father in order to protect her from a corrupt judge. The Pardoner's Introduction, Prologue, and Tale reveal the nature of the Pardoner as a deceitful person who is driven by greed. In the Tale, he presents a sermon showcasing his skill but ultimately angers the pilgrims by asking for money. The Tale tells the story of three young men who seek to kill Death but instead find gold under a tree. One of them is poisoned upon returning with wine, leading to the death of all three. Lastly, The Shipman's Tale is a fabliau where a merchant's wife offers to sleep with a monk in exchange for money. The monk borrows money from the merchant, sleeps with his wife, and then falsely claims to have already repaid the loan to her when the merchant asks for his money back after returning from a journey.

The text suggests that the story was likely intended for a female narrator, possibly the Wife of Bath. It is the Prioress's Prologue and Tale, which is a religious story that stands in stark contrast to the Shipman's tale. In this tale, a young boy is killed by evil Jews because he

sings a hymn to Mary while passing through their street. Even after his death, the boy's body continues to sing the hymn, revealing the truth of his murder. Additionally, Chaucer's Prologue and Tale of Sir Thopas is mentioned, which is an English romantic story that references legendary heroes like Horn, Bevis, and Guy. The tale itself appears to be a humorous imitation of popular English romances, utilizing rhythmic tail-rhyme stanzas with varying line lengths and rhymes.

The knight in the story is called Sir Thopas. He is eager to find love with an elf-queen, but when he arrives in the land of fairies, he encounters a giant whom he manages to avoid. The inn-keeper, Harry Bailey, interrupts the tale and asks for it to be stopped, saying “no more of this, for God’s sake!” Chaucer, the pilgrim, then explains that he cannot continue the tale in rhyme and instead offers to tell a shorter story in prose. This story is called "The Tale of Melibee," which is a translation from French and spans twenty pages. It is more like a treatise than a story, featuring a vague narrative and focused mainly on moral debates and advice about problem-solving and taking advice. The Monk then proceeds to share his own prologue and tale, consisting of seventeen tragedies of varying lengths, following the tradition of Fall of Princes. The stories are derived from different sources such as the Bible and Boccaccio, and they portray the unfortunate fates of famous individuals, including some who were contemporaries at the time.

The Knight concludes the series, which aims to exemplify the influence of Fortune, but instead becomes a compilation of pitiful case

studies. The Nun's Priest's Prologue, Tale, and Epilogue consist of an animal story delivered in various styles, primarily parodistic and didactic. Rather than adhering to the concise nature of typical fables (like Aesop's), this narrative is characterized by frequent digressions and endless speeches. The principal characters are Chauntecleer and Pertelote, a rooster and hen in a farmyard. Chauntecleer experiences a dream about a fox (an unfamiliar animal to him), prompting a discussion on the interpretation of dreams. Subsequently, a fox materializes, compliments Chauntecleer, seizes him, but then the rooster proposes that he taunt the pursuers, enabling him to escape when the fox opens his mouth to respond.

The main message for the reader is uncertain. The Second Nun's Prologue and Tale recounts a religious narrative revolving around the miracles and sacrifice of St Cecilia and her spouse Valerian. She continues to impart wisdom, despite her almost decapitated state. In contrast, The Canon's Yeoman's Prologue and Tale introduces two unfamiliar characters who unite with the pilgrims - a potentially dubious alchemist Canon and his companion, who boasts of his master's knowledge and deceit. Later on, he proceeds to recount a bitter tale where a canon deceives a priest, manipulating him into losing a considerable sum of money through false teachings on metal transmutation.

The Prologue and Tale provide a unique depiction, unlike any other story in the Tales. They showcase the Yeoman's conflicting emotions towards his master, ranging from admiration to hatred due to his involvement in devilish arts. Similarly, the Manciple's Prologue and Tale narrate a story from Ovid that explains why crows turned black. Initially, they were white and possessed the ability to speak until one

of them revealed Phoebus' wife's infidelity. As a consequence, Phoebus killed her and later regretted his actions by punishing the bird. The tone of this tale is perplexing as it does not fall into the categories of either pathos or comedy. Lastly, the Parson's Prologue and Tale were deliberately created to conclude the collection. However, this "tale" is more a lengthy moral treatise translated from two Latin works that discuss themes of Penitence and the Seven Deadly Sins.

At the end of the Parson's Tale, in the Retraccion, the "maker of this book" seeks forgiveness from Christ for his translations and writings of worldly vanities. These include the book of Troilus, the book of Fame, the book of the xxv ladies, the book of the Duchess, the book of St Valentine's Day of the Parliament of Birds, and the tales of Canterbury, all of which he revokes in his retractions as they sow into sin. However, despite this Retraction, Chaucer's works continued to be published and distributed widely. The Canterbury Tales has always been extremely popular in English literature. The introduction of printing into England by Caxton in 1478 marked the first major secular work he printed, with a second corrected edition in 1484. It was then reprinted three times before William Thynne published Chaucer's Collected Works in 1532. During the Reformation period, Chaucer's reputation as a precursor to the Reform movement was strengthened by the inclusion of a pro-Reformation Plowman's Tale in a 1542 edition.

The Siege of Thebes by Lydgate was included in 1561. In 1598, Thomas Speght's edition became the first to include a glossary. Speght's text was revised in 1602 and reprinted multiple

times over the next century. However, Chaucer's work was not widely appreciated by readers of the Augustan period. Thomas Tyrwhitt published the first scholarly edition of the Canterbury Tales in 1775. In his last year of life, John Dryden wrote a valuable critique of Chaucer, drawing mainly from his familiarity with the General Prologue and select tales which he had adapted to suit contemporary taste. Dryden held Chaucer in high regard, comparing him to the revered Greek poet Homer and Roman poet Virgil as the father of English poetry.

He is a perpetual fountain of wisdom, knowledgeable in all sciences, and therefore speaks authoritatively on all subjects. He not only knows what to say, but also when to stop - a restraint that is rare among writers, and scarcely found in the works of the ancients, except for Virgil and Horace. Chaucer faithfully adhered to nature in his writing, never daring to exceed its boundaries. He must have possessed an extraordinary breadth of character, as it has been rightly noted that he encompassed in his Canterbury Tales the diverse manners and moods (as we would now call them) of the entire English nation during his time.

Not a single character has escaped him.... there is such a variety of game springing up before me that I am distracted in my choice, and know not which to follow. 'Tis sufficient to say, according to the proverb, that here is God's plenty.

Each Tale is presented as a separate 'work' which can be read and appreciated in its own right. There are many different classes of 'Tale' ranging from the saint's life (SNT) and the theological treatise (ParsT) through

romance (KT) to the fabliau (MilT, RvT).

Chaucer enhances each Tale in the Pilgrimage framework by attributing it to a distinct pilgrim. The relationship between the Tale and its fictional pilgrim-teller is a topic of much debate. Typically, once a Tale begins, there is no further mention of the pilgrimage framework. However, there are notable exceptions such as the interruption of Chaucer's Tale about Sir Thopas and the Monk's Tale about falls of princes by weary pilgrims, and the interruption of the Pardoner's final salesman's speech by an angry Host. Each Tale has its own unique style that is determined by its genre, rather than being a 'dramatic' style reflecting the narrator's individuality.

The Miller, despite being drunk, does not have a drunken narratorial voice in the Miller's Tale. However, the Miller is described as a 'churl' and tells a story that lacks morality and respectability, although it is portrayed brilliantly. On the other hand, the Knight is noble and his Tale is a romance typically associated with royal courts. Generally, there is a fitting connection between the Tale and its teller. It should be acknowledged though that Chaucer left some Tales without any introductory pilgrimage link-passage, with editors in the 15th century sometimes providing them, making it uncertain if the attribution to a specific pilgrim is Chaucer's.

The Shipman's Tale features lines where the pilgrim-narrator refers to himself as a woman, suggesting that this tale initially belonged to the Wife of Bath. It seems that Chaucer never had the opportunity to remove these lines after assigning her a different story. Following the General Prologue, the pilgrims have their own brief link-passages, often filled with tension as rowdier

pilgrims nearly engage in physical altercations. However, someone always steps in to restore order and introduce the next tale. The Wife of Bath and the Pardoner receive greater attention and further development compared to other pilgrims.

Each pilgrim in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales has a lengthy Prologue that serves as a self-narration. These Prologues draw upon satirical traditions but also go beyond them to create a comprehensive depiction of a dynamic individual through dramatic monologue. However, the main purpose of the pilgrimage framework is to raise the question of which Tale is the best. The Host's suggestion of a contest prompts the reader to evaluate all the Tales while considering the criteria for judgment. What is the ultimate goal of storytelling and discourse? Is it edification or amusement? The value of a tale becomes increasingly intertwined with the value of life, and the Parson, in rejecting fables, offers a sermon on sin and salvation instead.

Chaucer challenges the belief that fictional tales can fully convey truth, although not to the extreme extent desired by the Parson. The Parson is, after all, a fictional character within one of the Tales. Throughout the reading experience, the reader is encouraged to embrace all dimensions of the Tales. Bibliography: