Summary. In April, with the beginning of spring, people of varying social classes come from all over England to gather at the Tabard Inn in preparation for a pilgrimage to Canterbury to receive the blessings of St. Thomas à Becket, the English martyr. Chaucer himself is one of the pilgrims.
What does April bring about Canterbury Tales?
April Sweet Showers
The rebirth of nature, here corresponds with the rebirth of spirit. The pilgrims begin the pilgrimage to Canterbury from the Tabard Inn at Southwark and the narrator describes them in turn, beginning with a Knight.
Why do the pilgrims begin their journey in April?
The pilgrimage takes place in April (the spring), just as the weather begins to get sunnier and warmer. Chaucer explains that while the plants begin to sprout, grow and recover from the droughts of March, the people are preparing to go on their pilgrimage to Canterbury and are recovering from the frigid winter.
What is the significance of spring in The Canterbury Tales?
The springtime symbolizes rebirth and fresh beginnings, and is thus appropriate for the beginning of Chaucer’s text. Springtime also evokes erotic love, as evidenced by the moment when Palamon first sees Emelye gathering fresh flowers to make garlands in honor of May.
What does the season symbolize in The Canterbury Tales?
In The Canterbury Tales, the pilgrims travel in spring because it symbolizes spiritual rebirth, fertility, and sexual desire.
When April with its showers sweet meaning?
renewal and rebirth
The imagery in this opening passage is of spring’s renewal and rebirth. April’s sweet showers have penetrated the dry earth of March, hydrating the roots, which in turn coax flowers out of the ground.
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 does spring symbolize in the prologue?
The Prologue begins with an elaborate and famous description of springtime, symbolic of increased sexual desire, fertility, and spiritual rebirth.
What month is The Canterbury Tales set in?
April
The Canterbury Tales begins with a Prologue (which means “a few words to begin”). In the prologue Chaucer describes the time of year, which is April, when the weather begins to get warmer after winter. He says that it is at this time that people begin to go on pilgrimage.
What month did the pilgrims go to Canterbury?
Summary. In April, with the beginning of spring, people of varying social classes come from all over England to gather at the Tabard Inn in preparation for a pilgrimage to Canterbury to receive the blessings of St. Thomas à Becket, the English martyr. Chaucer himself is one of the pilgrims.
What does spring symbolize in literature?
Birth and fertility – In spring we see the growth of new plants and the birth of many animals. The topic of new families and new life is often introduced in literature during the spring period. A book could also open with a spring setting to represent the birth of a new story and new characters for the reader.
What are the implications of spring time in the General Prologue to Canterbury Tales?
Springtime appears as a symbol of both courtly and erotic love throughout many of the Tales. Both the Knight’s Tale and the Nun’s Priest’s Tale are set in May, the time of courtly love and wooing.
What does spring often symbolize in literature?
Spring has traditionally been the symbol of love, joy, spirituality, youth and melancholy and most importantly beginning of a new life for a person after suffering at the hands of the ‘cold world of autumn’.
What do the 4 seasons symbolize in literature?
There is a close corrrespondence between the seasons and the stages of life from birth to death. In this sense, Spring represents birth while summer represents youth, autumn adulthood and winter old age and death.
What is the main theme of Canterbury Tales?
Social Class. One present theme throughout The Canterbury Tales is the importance of social status during Chaucer’s time. For example, the Prioress and the Parson are opposite characters in their regard for social status. The Parson is more concerned with his religious devotion than his class.
What are the symbols of Canterbury Tales?
The Canterbury Tales Symbols
- Springtime. The pilgrimage begins in April, when all of nature is starting to flower and people are experiencing reawakening of both religious and sexual zeal.
- Clothing and Appearance. What the pilgrims wear is often a very important sign of their characters.
- Literary Allusions.
Who said April is the sweetest month?
‘April is the cruellest month’ is the opening line to T. S. Eliot’s 1922 poem The Waste Land.
When the sweet showers of April have pierced the drought of March?
“When April with its sweet showers has pierced the drought of March to the root, and bathed every vein of earth with that liquid by whose power the flowers are engendered; when the zephyr, too, with its dulcet breath, has breathed life into the tender new shoots in every copse and on every hearth, and the young sun has
What is the message of The Canterbury Tales prologue?
The General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales is an estates satire. In the Host’s portraits of the pilgrims, he sets out the functions of each estate and satirizes how members of the estates – particularly those of the Church – fail to meet their duties.
What is the most important part of Canterbury Tales?
Perhaps the most famous – and best-loved – of all of the tales in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, ‘The Miller’s Tale‘ is told as a comic corrective following the sonorous seriousness of the Knight’s tale.
Who are the 31 pilgrims in Canterbury Tales?
The Pilgrims
- The Narrator. The narrator makes it quite clear that he is also a character in his book.
- The Knight. The first pilgrim Chaucer describes in the General Prologue, and the teller of the first tale.
- The Wife of Bath.
- The Pardoner.
- The Miller.
- The Prioress.
- The Monk.
- The Friar.