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Chaucers social.status
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On Chaucer’s Placement and Description of the Manciple and the Reeve in the General Prologue
In the general prologue of Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, the manciple and the reeve are described one after the other. Given the proximity of characters such as the prioress, the friar and the monk to each other, while the parson is hundred of lines away, Chaucer clearly grouped characters not only by social standing, but by character and attitude as well. This is shown in Chaucer’s placement of the manciple and the reeve, as these two characters have similar occupations, social standing, though these are contrasted through their urban and rural viewpoints. However, each has similar attitudes towards their professions. They are crafty, but ultimately scrupulous. This ultimately accounts for the placement of their descriptions in the general prologue one after the other.
Both the manciple and the reeve fall somewhere within the small, poorly defined middle class of 15th century England. The manciple is described by Chaucer as “ay biforn and in good state (574),” meaning that his was on sound financial footing. The reeve was also well-off, and Chaucer reveals that “ful riche he was astored prively, His lorde wel coulde he plesen subtilly, to yive and lene him of his owene good (612).” In essence, the reeve was so well-off that he was able to give the lord of the manor, whose estate he was in charge of, gifts out of the ...
Suppression and Silence in The Reeve’s Tale. Such comments as, “I pray to God his nekke mote to-breke” quickly reveal that the ver-bal game of “quite” involves much more than a free meal to the Reeve in “The Canterbury Tales” (I 3918). This overreaction, which grabs the attention of the audience and gives it pause, is characteristic of the Reeve’s ostensibly odd behavior, being given to morose speeches followed by violent outbursts, all the while harboring spiteful desires. Anger typifies the Reeve’s dialogue and his tale, which begs the question, why.
A serf who is a steward of a manor; he sees that the estate’s work is done and that everything is accounted for. He inspects everything and imposes fines on the workers if he finds anything wrong. Old, choleris (bad-tempered) and thin, skinny legs. Wears his hair like a priest- cut above his ears and docked on top. Chaucer starts out by saying that the Reeve does his job well, but he ends by implying that he is mean to the serfs and has become rich by embezzling from his master. He is dishonest and uses people. “A carpenter of first-rate skill” In Line 632.. Rides a dappled-gray horse named Scot. “Rode the hindmost of our cavalcade”- the last pilgrim in line on the journey.
...nd Money In The Miller's Tale And The Reeve's Tale." Medieval Perspectives 3.1 (1988): 76-88. Web. 16 May 2013. [ILL]
In his Canterbury Tales, Chaucer fully explicates the cultural standard known as courtesy through satire. In the fourteenth century, courtesy embodied sophistication and an education in English international culture. The legends of chivalric knights, conversing in the language of courtly love, matured during this later medieval period. Chaucer himself matured in the King's Court, as is revealed in his cultural status, but he also retained an anecdotal humor about courtesy. One must only peruse his Tales to discern these sentiments, for Chaucer’s view of courtesy can seem shocking and, all together, obscene at times, it’s the similarity of the differences that make Chaucer’s tales superior. An example of this can be seen through Nicholas’ attempt at “courting” Alison versus Arcita and Palamon’s endeavors at courting Emily. Nicholas' anxious and lewd behavior, in conjunction with his explicit sexual connotation, demonstrates Chaucer’s more farcical side; where as, the manner in which Arcita and Palamon court Emily can seem more satirical. In the Miller's Tale, Chaucer juxtaposes courtly love with animalistic lust, while in the Knight’s tale, the subject of chivalry is held with much higher regard, and used as a florid, glorious attribute. These numerous references provide the reader with a remarkably rich image of the culture and class structure of late fourteenth century England.
The Virtue of Men and Women in The Canterbury Tales People never change. In every town you will always be able to find the "rich guy," the "smart guy," the "thief," and the "chief." It has been that way since the first man was swindled out of his lunch. Throughout his life, Geoffrey Chaucer encountered every kind of person and brought them to life for us in "The Canterbury Tales," a collection of short stories written in the 1300's. There are tales of saints, tales of promiscuity, tales of fraud, and tales of love.
The structure Geoffrey Chaucer chose for his masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales, of utilizing a melange of narrative voices to tell separate tales allows him to explore and comment on subjects in a multitude of ways. Because of this structure of separate tales, the reader must regard as extremely significant when tales structurally overlap, for while the reader may find it difficult to render an accurate interpretation through one tale, comparing tales enables him to lessen the ambiguity of Chaucer’s meaning. The Clerk’s Tale and The Merchant’s Tale both take on the institution of marriage, but comment on it in entirely different manner, but both contain an indictment of patriarchal narcissism and conceit.
A revealing comparison can be made in the matter of money between the Parson and the Friar as to the monetary motivations of the clergy. The Parson was a poor man. He took out of the tithes given to him by parishoners and his salary to give back to them, as “rather wolde he yeven […] / unto his povre parisshens about/ of his offering, and eek of his substaunce.” (487-489) The Friar on the other hand was wealthy, and would rather take from the poor to increase his income than to give, “for thogh a widwe hadde noght a sho/ […] yet wolde he have a ferthing, er he wente.” (253-255) The actions of the Parson make those of the Friar look even worse. The Parson cares little for his own wealth, but is a great deal concerned about the poverty of his parishoners. The Friar cares very little about poverty, but is terribly concerned about his own income. On the subject of personal wealth, these two men may be seen as complete opposites, one showing the horror and inappropriate actions of the other, and th...
In The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, the stereotypes and roles in society are reexamined and made new through the characters in the book. Chaucer discusses different stereotypes and separates his characters from the social norm by giving them highly ironic and/or unusual characteristics. Specifically, in the stories of The Wife of Bath and The Miller’s Tale, Chaucer examines stereotypes of women and men and attempts to define their basic wants and needs.
In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Chaucer the author and Chaucer the pilgrim are both quick to make distinctions between characters and point out shortcomings. Though Chaucer the pilgrim is meeting the group for the first time, his characterizations go beyond simple physical descriptions. Using just twenty-one lines in the General Prologue, the author presents the character of the Miller and offers descriptions that foreshadow the sardonic tone of his tale and the mischievous nature of his protagonist.
Chaucer-the pilgrim starts out “The General Prologue” with detailed descriptions of each pilgrim as he views them. When Chaucer-the pilgrim arrives at the Pardoner, he becomes very focused on his physical appearance and what is seems to be missing. There is something odd about this Pardoner and Chaucer-the pilgrim can’t seem to grasp just what that is. He describes that the Pardoner is all on fire to do is job, just arriving from Rome (Bretful of pardon, come from Rome al hoot). However, his eagerness to Pardon those for God does not help his physical appearance in any respect. Chaucer-the pilgrim describes his voice as that of a high-pitched goat and points out that he has no facial hair and will presumably never have any, as his face is just as smooth as if he had recently shaved (A vois he hadde as small as hath a goot; / No beerd hadde he, ne nevere sholde have; / As smoothe it was as it were late yshave). Chaucer-the pilgrim is setting up in the reader’s mind that of a prepubescent boy, yet as the reader knows there are no children on the jour...
The first of these devices, his straightforwardness and matter-of-factness regarding the Pardoner’s hypocrisy, is used first to appall his readers, and then to cause them to take a second look at the church in their own society. Chaucer knew that most of his audience lacked the ability to fully understand his views, but he hoped that by using this device he could plant seeds of reason in them that would lead to reform of corruption he saw among church officials like the pardoners.
The Canterbury Tales examines many important qualities of human nature. Chaucer purposely mocks the faults in his characters, and shows the hypocrisy and deceitfulness ...
By giving archetypal characters the freedom to act in opposition to their hierarchical roles, Chaucer calls the nature of authority into question. “The Miller’s Tale” opens with a blunt challenge to authority. When the Miller breaks with the hierarchy and demands to tell his story before the Monk, Chaucer makes the authoritative structure abundantly clear. Though the order of story-telling among acquaintances is seemingly insignificant, far removed from the rigid hierarchy of medieval England, Chaucer is sure to fundamentally connect the two.
Written by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the fourteenth century, The Canterbury Tales and more specifically it’s prologue, shed a great deal of light on the rising middle class in (fourteenth century) England. Despite the fact that some readers may not know a lot about the time period today, Chaucer’s writing in the prologue elaborates on topics such as occupations, wealth, education, and political power. Scholar Barbara Nolan writes of the prologue, “it is more complex than most…It raises expectations in just the areas the handbooks propose, promising to take up important matters of natural and social order, moral character, and religion and outlining the organization the work will follow” (Nolan 154). In other words, while noting the distinct complexity of the writing, Nolan points out that Chaucer’s prologue gives the reader a lot to digest when it comes to both background information and overall form of the following writing. Focusing on the background information supplied in the prologue, readers quickly become educated about middle class England in the fourteenth century despite having been born hundreds of years later.
The Parson is a poor man, he does not live a rich or comfy life (Chaucer, 41). He denies his benefice, or the opportunity to make more money, in order to stay with his parishioners (Chaucer, 43). The Parson displays his true heart by giving up his own money and property in order to compensate for those who could not afford to pay their tithes (Chaucer, 41). His heart is for the people and he puts them above himself for their benefit. Additionally, he makes sure to visit each and every one of his parishioners no matter what the weather, condition, or distance. An even further measure of his commitment and his humble living is that he chooses to travel by foot (Chaucer, 41). This displays his modest living style, as he does not travel by horse or even