Geoffrey Chaucer & The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales is a collection of 24 stories that runs 17,000 lines and over 90 copies were in existence from the 1400s. It is written by Geoffrey Chaucer in Medieval England between 1987 and 1400.
It was popular because The Canterbury Tales were written in Middle English. It is a language that was developed after the Norman Invasion. The Canterbury Tales continues its publication since Chaucer’s death. His death inspired other artists and writers to add a little sense of humor to their creations. The characters and the stories are very appealing to readers.
What is The Canterbury Tales about?
Chaucer was a genius at understanding simple human nature and this made him the greatest poet of his time. He knows the world in detail and loves most of the characters that he made. The Canterbury Tales started when Chaucer follows a group of pilgrims from the Tabard Inn in Southwark to St. Thomas a Becket’s shrine which is located at Canterbury Cathedral. The host at the inn asks each pilgrim to tell two tales on the way out and on two on the way home to entertain their selves while on the road. The winner of the best storyteller will be rewarded when they return.
Chaucer’s characters are clear word portraits of a cross-section society. It can be from a knight and prioress, a much-married wife of Bath, to a carpenter and cook and bawdy miller. Chaucer writes his tales of how he sees the world and he shares one quality with other great writers: He is a delight to read.
The Canterbury Tales contains the General Prologue, The Knight’s Tale, The Miller’s Tale, The Reeve’s Tale, The Cook’s Tale, The Man of Law’s Tale, The Wife of Bath’s Tale, The Friar’s Tale, The Summoner’s Tale, The Clerk’s Tale, The Merchant’s Tale, The Squire’s Tale, The Franklin’s Tale, The Second Nun’s Tale, The Canon’s Yeoman’s Tale, The Physician’s Tale, The Pardoner’s Tale, The Shipman’s Tale, The Prioress’s Tale, The Tale of Sir Thopas, The Tale of Melibius, The Monk’s Tale, The Nun’s Priest’s Tale, The Manciple’s Tale and The Parson’s Tale. It ends in Chaucer’s Retraction but not all tales are complete; some tales contain their own prologue or epilogues.
