The tales are by turns satirical, elevated, pious, earthy, bawdy, and comical. The reader should not accept the naïve narrator’s point of view as Chaucer’s. Protagonists Each individual tale has protagonists, but Chaucer’s plan is to make none of his storytellers superior to others; it is an equal company.
What are the main features of Chaucer’s characterization?
His art of characterization is specially marked by three things namely realism, types and individuals and wit and humour. He is very realistic in the portrayal of his age as well as his characters. His realism is particularly evident in his The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales and The Canterbury Tales.
What is the main point of The Canterbury Tales?
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.
What are 3 reasons The Canterbury Tales are important?
The Canterbury Tales is considered Chaucer’s masterpiece and is among the most important works of medieval literature for many reasons besides its poetic power and entertainment value, notably its depiction of the different social classes of the 14th century CE as well as clothing worn, pastimes enjoyed, and language/
What are 3 themes found in The Canterbury Tales?
The Canterbury Tales Themes
- Social Satire. Medieval society was divided into three estates: the Church (those who prayed), the Nobility (those who fought), and the Peasantry (those who worked).
- Competition.
- Courtly Love and Sexual Desire.
- Friendship and Company.
- Church Corruption.
- Writing and Authorship.
What are the literary features of the Age of Chaucer?
BLACK DEATH, FAMINE AND SOCIAL UNREST: The age of Chaucer faced natural calamities and social unrest. Plagues and pestilences, constitutional conflicts and unorthodoxy came to the forefront. In 1348-49 came the terrible Black Death. It shook the social fabric violently.
What are the 5 types of characterization that Chaucer uses?
Geoffrey Chaucer, the author of The Canterbury Tales, used five methods of characterizations to portray characters in the tale. The methods focused on a central characteristic, touchstone line, use of physiognomy, use of hyperbole, and use of incongruous or inappropriate details.
What is the summary of Canterbury Tales?
In The Canterbury Tales, a group of pilgrims traveling to Canterbury Cathedral compete in a storytelling contest. This overarching plot, or frame, provides a reason for the pilgrims to tell their stories, which reflect the concerns sparked by the social upheavals of late medieval England.
Why is it called Canterbury Tales?
The Canterbury Tales, frame story by Geoffrey Chaucer, written in Middle English in 1387–1400. The framing device for the collection of stories is a pilgrimage to the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury, Kent.
What is Canterbury Tales all about short summary?
The Canterbury Tales tells the story of a group of pilgrims traveling from London to Canterbury to visit the holy shrine of St. Thomas Becket. This is a story made of stories: Each of the pilgrims takes a turn as a storyteller, with a banquet promised to the person who tells the best tale.
What is the moral theme of Canterbury Tales?
One of the main lessons throughout all of the tales and main story is that honor and honesty is valued. In stories like the Physician’s Tale, we see that the lying Appius who lusts after a young girl, is eventually caught for his lies and thrown in jail where he kills himself.
What is the impact of Canterbury Tales in the society?
Not only does Canterbury Tales reflect how society’s roles were changing within the elite, but also the ideas regarding religion during the fourteenth century. Canterbury Tales is about a pilgrimage, which in and of itself addresses the importance of religion to England’s society during this time.
What is the significance of Canterbury in Canterbury Tales?
Canterbury’s cathedral became a popular pilgrimage site following the martyrdom of Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury who was murdered in 1170 by supporters of King Henry II. The English particularly loved Becket as a saint due to his English heritage and they believed he could cure illness.
What are 2 types of literature used in Canterbury Tales?
In Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, the author tells a humorous set of stories through prose and poetry.
The five groups were Royalty, Nobility, Church, Merchants, and Peasantry.
What are the salient features of Chaucer’s poetry?
The most important thing that Chaucer did for English poetry was to bring a healthy realism to it. He brought poetry closer to nature, and or reality. He began as his contemporaries did, with dream visions and allegorical works. But gradually he reached the conclusion that nothing could be as nature herself.
What type of literature are The Canterbury Tales?
Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales is a frame narrative, a tale in which a larger story contains, or frames, many other stories. In frame narratives, the frame story functions primarily to create a reason for someone to tell the other stories; the frame story doesn’t usually have much plot of its own.
What is Chaucer’s basic style?
Moreover, like much of Shakespeare’s work, Chaucer’s frame narrative is written in iambic pentameter, an unpretentious, conversational meter with alternate stresses.
What techniques are used in Canterbury Tales?
Examples of imagery, allegory, alliteration, satire, hyperbole, allusion, personification and irony. Similes and metaphors in The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer’s indirect and direct characterization.
What are the 4 main methods of characterization?
An acronym, PAIRS, can help you recall the five methods of characterization: physical description, action, inner thoughts, reactions, and speech.
Who is the most interesting character in The Canterbury Tales?
The Wife of Bath is the most believable and the most vibrant of all the Canterbury Tales characters.