The Canterbury
Tales
The Canterbury Tales What are “The Canterbury Tales”? The Canterbury Tales are twenty four tales created by Geoffrey Chaucer written in the form of a poem and told by a lot of different characters. Some of this stories aren’t finished but no one knows the specific reason, some of the main topics are love, magic, comedy and betrayal and also it’s recommended to be read this poems out loud because of the rhythm that every tale has. One little detail that it’s really interesting about Chaucer is that he used to be a creator of clothes and that it’s why he describes with a lot of detail the clothes that the characters are wearing.
What are “The Canterbury Tales” about? The main story of the book starts when a lot of pilgrims are walking towards Canterbury, a place where they can visit a sanctuary and they go every year. The narrator of the story joins the pilgrims and along the story, he starts to describe them. When they are walking to Canterbury The Host, that it’s one of the characters, says that all of them should tell a story and the story that it’s the most interesting will win a free meal paid by the other pilgrims, and they accept.
Description of the Characters THE KNIGHT >Modest. > Disciplined. > He loves chivalry.
THE COOK >Good at what he does. >Has a bad leg. >Works for people.
THE MILLER >Crude. > Broad. >Big.
THE REEVE > Old. > Suspicious. >Choleric.
THE MAN OF LAW >He uses a medley coat. >Smart. > Successful.
THE WIFE OF BATH > She has been married 5 times. >Big hips. >Loves to talk.
Description of the Characters THE FRIAR >Charming. >Good voice. >He is good at getting money.
THE SUMMONER > Red face. > Black eyebrows and bear. > He’s a liar.
THE CLERK >Devoted to God. > He likes to study. >Honorable.
THE MERCHANT >Arrogant. >Wealthy. >He uses very fancy clothes.
THE SQUIRE >Young. >He plays the flute. > Humble and happy.
THE FRANKLIN >Prosperous. >Generous. >He’s an extrovert.
Pictures by Agnus MacDonall.
Description of the Characters THE FRIAR >Charming. >Good voice. >He is good at getting money.
THE SUMMONER > Red face. > Black eyebrows and bear. > He’s a liar.
THE CLERK >Devoted to God. > He likes to study. >Honorable.
THE MERCHANT >Arrogant. >Wealthy. >He uses very fancy clothes.
THE SQUIRE >Young. >He plays the flute. > Humble and happy.
THE FRANKLIN >Prosperous. >Generous. >He’s an extrovert.
Pictures by Agnus MacDonall.
Description of the Characters THE PHYSICIAN >He makes a good living. >Patient. >Very good at what he does.
THE PARDONER >Corrupt. >Gentle. >Yellow hair.
THE SHIPMAN >He’s very tan. >Has a lot of skill. >Good fellow.
THE PRIORESS >Charming. >She has a pretty face. >She cares about animal rights.
THE MONK >He loves good hunting >He’s a rebel >He’s not a good monk
THE MANCIPLE >Gentle >Wise >Good with money
What can we learn from the Canterbury Tales? I think that the most important part of this stories is that every tale that Chaucer wrote has a lesson or a moral at the end. In every tale, even if it ends on a happy or sad way, we get to learn a lesson from every one of them, for example in the clerk's prologue we found out that sometimes love and jealousy can drive you crazy, in the merchant’s tale we learn that sometimes we only see what we want to see and in the knight's tale we learn that even though we have everything to win, life is unpredictable and we can’t control our destiny.
Pictures from: Agnus MacDonall. Sparknotes