РефератыИностранный языкCaCanterbury Tales Essay Research Paper Though the

Canterbury Tales Essay Research Paper Though the

Canterbury Tales Essay, Research Paper


Though the characters in the Canterbury Tales are described vividly and often


comically, it is not necessarily true that these characters are therefore


stereotypes of The Middle ages. The intricate visual descriptions and the tales


the characters tell help to direct the reader in finding a more accurate and


realistic picture of the pilgrims, bringing into question the theory that


Chaucer was just collating stereotypes from his time. The fact that there is one


representative for each of the chief classes (under the higher nobility) would


suggest that this work is an attempt to provide a catalogue of characters from


the middle ages, and it can be assumed from this that this denotes a collection


of stereotypes, although this is not necessarily true. The format of The


Canterbury Tales suggests a simplistic approach, a prologue and epilogue and in


between a collection of tales, The Miler’s Tale, The Clerk’s Tale and so on[1].


This simplicity in structure may also suggest a simplicity in content and thus,


convincing and challenging characters are unlikely to be expected in a work of


seemingly simple design. But, when looked at in more detail, the tales are found


to hold many details that contradict the bland stereotype expected, and when the


structure of the work is looked at in its context of 14th century literature,


the Canterbury Tales is found to be a work pioneering the form of the epic poem.


The style in which Chaucer writes may also initially seem to suggest that his


characters are under-developed stereotypes, he uses the language of his time


vividly, although this does not therefore mean that his characters are two


dimensional, almost ‘cartoon’ characters. J.R. Hulbert in his essay Chaucer’s


Pilgrims explains, "In many instances there are exuberant lines which


sharpen the effect desired." The Canterbury Tales may, at first seem to be


obtuse and unfocused through the use of lucid imagery and language, although


this language, when studied gives a more detailed and more deeply layered


portrayal of the pilgrims as well as giving them colourful characteristics.


Chaucer’s description of the knight is a good example of his subversion of the


classic Arthurian image that existed in popular literature of the time[2]. In


the General Prologue, Chaucer relays his description of the knight: " A


Knight ther was, and that a worthy man, That fro the time that he first bigan To


riden out, he loved chivalrye, Trouthe, and honour, freedom and curteisye."


This excerpt, the beginning of the description of the knight holds true to the


classic representation of the knight of valour and honour, but Chaucer goes on


to pervert and pollute the fairytale image that he has created: " And of


his port as meeke as is a maide" and, " His hors were goode, but he


was nat gay. Of fustian he wered a gopoun, Al bismothered with his haubergeoun."


In these few lines, Chaucer has destroyed the traditional stereotype of the


knight and created a new and almost comical figure. Our knight is not one ‘in


shining armour’, but rather a ‘knight in a rusted chain-mail’. The knight does


not even have a hyper-masculine representation here either. Chaucer feminises


the knight comparing him to a maid. At the end of the description of the knight


in the general prologue the only part of the knight that lives up to the readers


expectations is his horse, which apparently was in good condition. Although we


have only been given a visual representation of the knight, the reader can


gather many things from this description, perhaps the knight is effeminate or


weak, and he shys away from battle, getting so little battlefield ‘action’ that


his chainmail has begun to rust. It is a device used by Chaucer to convey the


character of his pilgrims using their appearance. Thus when the Wife of Bath is


described as being "gat-toothed", the reader can assume that she is


lusty as it was believed in the Middle ages that this particular physical


attribute denoted that characteristic. In medieval times, certain elements of a


person’s appearance intrinsically suggested something, if not everything of


their character. Indeed, this practice of identifying outward appearance with


inward attitudes and traits became an area of study known as ‘physiognomy’ and


manuals on this subject were produced[3]. In more recent times, critics have


tried to unravel and understand the many tiny clues hidden in the character


descriptions to gain a sharper picture of these characters. In 1919 Water Clyde


Curry claimed to have discovered the pardoner’s "secret" [that he was


a eunuchus ex nativitate] using these manuals, and this discovery, after it’s


initial acceptance has been questioned for it’s reliance on the physiognomy


texts that are vague and overlapping anyway. Although we may not be able to


assess the details of the characters in as much detail as Walter Clyde Curry


attempted, we can still glean further insight into the pilgrims characters from


their appearance. Chaucer describes the miller in a similar way to the knight,


in that he creates a picture of the archetypal stereotype and then obliterates


it with a parody of the traditional model. The miller is described as "braun",


"brood", "short-shuldred" and "eek of bones", this


is a regular picture of a stocky, well-built, practical man. Chaucer then


describes how this man who seems fit and strong and therefore, presumably young,


is actually old and is not as worldly wise as his age and his profession as a


carpenter would suggest. The carpenter who is physically strong is,


unfortunately for him, mentally weak. He is not suspecting of his young wife’s


plot to have sex with Nicholas and he is completely taken in by the clerk’s


claims of a flood on the scale of that of Noah’s time. Although the reader might


presume the miller to be worldly wise, having a hard labour-intensive job


bringing him into contact with other people and forcing him to travel far and


wide, his worldly wisdom is mocked by the cunning and shrewd clerk and his own


young wife, just as the hairy wart on his nose mocks his face and muscular


complexion. In the prologue to the miler’s tale the narrator warns, "An


housbonde shal nought

been inquisitif Of Goddes privetee, nor of his wif."


(55-56) and the miller pays heed to this warning, suppressing curiosity of


"Goddes privetee" as regards the flood and trusting his wife so much


as to leave her alone and independent while he travels on his business. This


blind acceptance of ‘Goddes’ mysteries and his wife’s deceit leads to his


metaphoric and literal downfall when the tale comes to it’s climax, as the


miller falls from the roof, and again, literally and metaphorically waking up to


find his wife having had sex with another man. The miller’s wife Alison is


another character that is represented using this same process of creating a


stereotypical figure and then adding flaws and perversions. Alison is presented


as a pure, innocent, virginal youth in the tale, "Fair was this yonge wif


and therwithal As any wesele hir body gent and smal…. Ful smale ypulled were


hir browes two,….. Hir mouth was sweete as bragot or the meeth," (115-52)


Other youthful descriptions are given of Alison in the passage that runs from


line 115 to 162. This description seems like the stereotypical virginal


newly-wed until the plot thickens and Alison becomes less and less innocent. One


instance when Alison’s loyalty and morality are tested is when Nicholas accosts


her, grabbing her "by the queinte"(168). Alison’s initial reaction is


that of any loving wife, to protest and try and escape, but she does not take


much persuading to go to bed with the clerk. Chaucer explains this by saying


that he made such vigorous advances that she could not resist, but this scene


seems more like rape than a lover wooing his true love. Alison is instantly


exposed to have the same base and uncurbed desires as Nicholas, parodying the


facade of the virginal young bride. One character who openly reveals the facade


which he hides behind is the pardoner. His description in the general prologue


tells of his trickery in using false relics and his use of his position as


absolver to make money. The pardoner himself, also openly admits his


hypocritical practices to the other pilgrims. He tells them that he is only


concerned with money, and reveals the falsehood of his relics (and even after


this tries to trick them into giving him money for absolution). The pardoner is


not represented as a pious, humble and holy man as you would expect of a


pardoner, but as a conniving, money-grabbing hypocrite. This character itself is


almost a stereotype, though Chaucer’s description of the pardoner holds many


quirky traits that take the pardoner from being a stereotype to being a


believable individual. The pardoner’s sexuality is a complex issue that has had


critics such as Donald Howard, G. L. Kiterridge and Paul Ruggiers debating. The


pardoner is clearly not an open and shut stereotype. What is unique about the


pardoner is that he recognises his own hypocrisy. He admits that he is guilty of


the "avarice" that he preaches against but separates himself from


those who he condemns, "Thus can I preche that same vice Which that I use,


and that is avarice. But though myself be gilty in that sine, Yit can I make


other folk to twinne"(139-142) This recognition of his own hypocrisy takes


the pardoner one stage further than a purely hypocritical clergyman and makes


his character more complex and interesting. The pardoner recognises his own sins


and fails to see this as a problem, creating a psychological profile that is


much too intricate to be brushed aside as a stereotype. This use of the typical


‘types’ of people encountered in Chaucer’s era helps to give a vividness that


the reader can relate to and, quoting a stereotype initially (and then


subsequently deconstructing it) as he does with a number of the pilgrims such as


Alison and the Knight, allows a lot of information to be passed from the author


to the reader with minimum communication. Quoting a stereotype saves Chaucer


having to explain what the character is like. Chaucer takes advantage of this


fact, but does not allow this to confine the scope his work has for realism. His


genius in describing the pilgrims is that he will use a stereotype and then add


individual features (that more often than not contradict the initial image),


making the characters more intricate and interesting and above all ,more


believable. The eye for detail that Chaucer obviously possesses is put to good


use here, these characters are not broad, generalising stereotypes, rather he


gives a detailed insight into the psyche of the pilgrims we encounter. I believe


that the pilgrims are believable and fully developed characters, that Chaucer


has created using typical stereotypes from the time and the people he saw around


himself. He has combined this with individual quirks and details that give


further insight into the characters. Chaucer has not created stereotypes, but


has used stereotypes (and manipulated them) in order to create intricate and


realistic characters. This twinning of the typical and the atypical gives The


Canterbury Tales a definite sense of realism that reaches far beyond


stereotypes.


1. J.R. Hulbert, Chaucer’s Pilgrims p23 (from Essays in Modern Criticism-see


bibliography) 2. The Black book of Carmarthen (c. latter 14th century, author


unknown) Preidaeu Annun from The Book of Taliesin, poem 30 (c. 14th century


author unknown) 3. C. D. Benson, "Chaucer’s Pardoner: His sexuality and


modern critics" (from Luminarium medieval literature website at


www.luminarium.org) Bibliography Chaucer (modern essays in criticism), edited by


E. Wagenknecht, OUP 1974 The Canterbury Tales, D. Pearsall, Unwin Critical


Library 1985 Who’s Who in Chaucer, A.F. Scott, Elm Tree1974 The Canterbury Tales


(casebook series), edited by J.J. Anderson, Anchor Press 1974 Chaucer’s Women,


P. Martin, Macmillan 1990 Chaucer, a critical appreciation, P.F. Baum, Duke


University Press 1958 Chaucer Langland and the Creative Imagination, D. Aers


Critical Essays on Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, edited by M. Andrew Open


University Press 1991 Chaucer, D. Aers, Harvester 1986 Geoffrey Chaucer, edited


by J.A. Burrow, Penguin 1969 Editions of Canterbury Tales used: Penguin Classics


1960 edition Excerpts contained in Norton Anthology of English Literature, Sixth


edition, Volume 1 Norton 1993

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