Author Geoffrey Chaucer describes in-depth several characters who intend to embark on a religious pilgrimage in his piece The Canterbury Tales. One of the prominently featured characters is the Friar. The Friar is certainly one of the most unorthodox characters in the piece who is the antithesis of the character qualities expected of a friar. Chaucer’s description and implications reveal that the Friar is an adulterous, cold-hearted individual with a disingenuous personality that is rooted in his self-absorbed nature.
Chaucer’s description of the Friar is quite extensive comparative to that of the other pilgrims he discusses, allowing the reader to develop a complete picture of him. Throughout the description, Chaucer reveals the Friar’s adulterous actions and seductive nature. At the beginning of the section Chaucer describes the Friar’s attempts to rectify the consequences of his promiscuity. He writes, “With him for gallantry; tongue was his wooing. Many a girl was married by his doing, And at his own cost it was often done” (Chaucer 67 lines 205-207). As a member of the clergy, the Friar has taken an oath of chastity and is therefore forbidden to marry or have children. Chaucer insinuates in these lines that the Friar was compelled to procure husbands for the women he had impregnated. Chaucer further wrote, “For pretty women he had no more than shrift. His cape was stuffed with many a little gift, As knives and pins and suchlike. He could sing A merry note, and pluck a tender string, And had no rival at all in balladry” (67 lines 227-231). Here the Friar’s lack of guilt regarding his lust and affairs is revealed as well as his seductive ability to entice women with gifts and captivate them with his talents. Yet although the...
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...s adultery to satisfy his physical desires. He demands compensation for granting absolution to satiate his greed for money. He is characterized by Chaucer as a man who would decisively reject his duty as a friar because doing so would require his time or money. Finally, he is revealed to be a man of duplicity because doing so can allow him to fully exploit his relationships for profit. All these actions the Friar takes to satisfy himself. He is depicted as the antithesis of a member of a clergy who has been entrusted with extending an arm of charity and love to the community. Rather than doing good the Friar chooses to feel good.
Works Cited
Chaucer, Geoffrey. “The Canterbury Tales.” British Literature for Christian Schools. Greenville,
SC: Bob Jones UP, 1995. 59-81. Print.
The Holy Bible, New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984. Print.
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The Friar is responsible for many problems which have a snowball effect after he assists Juliet with her "death" plan. When Romeo and Juliet are at their lowest point of depression, and Juliet is expected to marry Paris, she needs an escape plan.
The Friar is portrayed as an innocent person, who has committed no wrong doings, but this is not the case. The Friars biggest mistake was to marry Romeo and Juliet without their parents consent. Although this is not a crime, it is morally wrong. The friar also committed a crime by trying to make Romeo and Juliet run away, but this plan ultimately leads to doom. He also abandoned Juliet when he heard that the watch were coming, and let her kill herself. Although the reason why he committed these wrong doings was to unite a family and save a couples life, what he did was wrong.
The Friar thought that this marriage will end an ancient grudge of two prominent families, when it will only separate them even more. Friar Laurence was helping Capulet and Lady Capulet mourn over Tybalt’s death. Paris says, "With these times of woe afford no time to woo!" . If everything was thought about clearly and not rushed through then none of this would have happened and Romeo and Juliet would not have died such a tragic death. Another example of the Friar lying is by not telling Montague and Lady Montague of Romeo and Juliet’s elopement. This only made matters worse, and now both Romeo and Juliet are dead. The Friar made this marriage a huge mistake, and he could have stopped the whole thing right there and then by just saying no.
A friar of wisdom and great power is an abuser of the power he holds; a friar the citizenry turn to thinking he is there to be welcoming, but he is vain. Friar Lawrence has good intentions to help others yet his actions show that he is truly impulsive and naive. The Friar shows his, “lies, schemes, misleads, falsely sanctions, and performs funeral obsequies for a being he knows is not permanently dead--and, as we can tell, he has no the slightest twinge of conscience about all of this” (Mackenzie 1). He is also blamed for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. He manipulates the characters to believe his actions are to help the star-crossed lovers be happy, however he has ulterior motives and uses his powers against the lovers. In William Shakespeare’s
The Friar was a member of the clergy. The clergy is a class made up of members of the church, so he was held to a higher standard. His life was supposed to be devoted to God and his works. He selfishly put his greed and plans before the expectations from the church. People expected him to be a humble and a Godly man, but he would make people pay for him to hear their confessions. “Therefore instead of weeping and of prayer one should give silver for a poor Friar’s care,” (page 103 lines 235-235). He could convince the last penny from a woman’s hand into his. He would tell her any lie to get money for “the church” (hims...
“Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household, but he who hates bribes will live” (Proverbs 15:27). The Bible condemns the value of greed and Chaucer is able to incorporate this value into his work through the ironic uses of holy men. Chaucer’s “The Shipman’s Tale” and “The Summoner’s Tale” suggests that the monk and the friar have an overactive id which overpowers their superego- evident from the character’s selfish motives and their rejection of their holy vows.
He tries to warn Romeo of the temporary state of infatuation and persuades him out of his rage upon hearing his verdict of banishment. The Friar was a leaning stone for Juliet to turn to while her parents forced her to marry Paris, while the nurse betrayed her by compelling her to marry Paris. His words and believe, that the couple’s marriage would solve the family feud was also astonishing and showed a sense of believe but also doltishness which he held. But his words have no weight, there were like water in a shattered bucket, because although he speaks in magnifying and brilliant wisdom, his action undermines them. The Friar displayed his lack of sense and morality when he decided to wed Romeo and Juliet together, he said “Oh, she knew well Thy love did read by rote, that could not spell. But come, young waverer, come, go with me, In one respect I’ll thy assistant be, For this alliance may so happy prove, To turn your households' rancor to pure love.”(2.3.87-92) The Friar has single-handedly decided without thoughts, that he would marry two people in secret, who have continually demonstrated to him a blatant disregard of reason and just met each other and also from families who harbor deepened and engulfing hatred towards each other. {Does the Friar realize that if one of the families realizes the couple’s risks getting killed? Has he disregarded the morality of marriage and listened to an obstinate
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Chaucer first begins his sly jab at the Church’s motives through the description of the Pardoner’s physical appearance and attitude in his “Canterbury Tales.” Chaucer uses the Pardoner as a representation of the Church as a whole, and by describing the Pardoner and his defects, is able to show what he thinks of the Roman Catholic Church. All people present in the “Canterbury Tales” must tell a tale as a part of story-telling contest, and the pilgrim Chaucer, the character in the story Chaucer uses to portray himself, writes down the tales as they are told, as well as the story teller. The description of the Pardoner hints at the relationship and similarity between the Pardoner and the Church as a whole, as well as marks the beginning of the irony to be observed throughout the “Pardoner’s Prologue and Tale.” The narrator describes the Pardoner as an extremely over confident, arrogant, and unattractive man, noting that his hair is “as yellow as wex,” lying thin and fl...
An interesting aspect of the famous literary work, "The Canterbury Tales," is the contrast of realistic and exaggerated qualities that Chaucer entitles to each of his characters. When viewed more closely, one can determine whether each of the characters is convincing or questionable based on their personalities. This essay will analyze the characteristics and personalities of the Knight, Squire, Monk, Plowman, Miller, and Parson of Chaucer's tale.
The monk receives some scathing sarcasm in Chaucer’s judgment of his new world ways and the garments he wears “With fur of grey, the finest in the land; Also, to fasten hood beneath his chin, He had of good wrought gold a curious pin: A love-knot in the larger end there was.” (194-197, Chaucer). The Friar is described as being full of gossip and willing to accept money to absolve sins, quite the opposite of what a servant of God should be like. Chaucer further describes the friar as being a frequenter of bars and intimate in his knowledge of bar maids and nobles alike. The friar seems to be the character that Chaucer dislikes the most, he describes him as everything he should not be based on his profession. The Pardoner as well seems to draw special attention from Chaucer who describes him as a man selling falsities in the hopes of turning a profit “But with these relics, when he came upon Some simple parson, then this paragon In that one day more money stood to gain Than the poor dupe in two months could attain.” (703-706, Chaucer). Chaucer’s description of the pardoner paints the image of a somewhat “sleazy” individual “This pardoner had hair as yellow as wax, But lank it hung as does a strike of flax; In wisps hung down such locks as he 'd on head, And with them he his shoulders overspread; But thin they dropped, and stringy, one by one.” (677-681,
The characters introduced in the General Prologue of The Canterbury Tales each represent a stereotype of a kind of person that Chaucer would have been familiar with in 14th Century England. Each character is unique, yet embodies many physical and behavioral traits that would have been common for someone in their profession. In preparing the reader for the tales, Chaucer first sets the mood by providing an overall idea of the type of character who is telling the tale, then allows that character to introduce themselves through a personal prologue and finally, the pilgrim tells their tale. Through providing the reader with insight about the physical and personal traits of the pilgrim and then allowing that person to come to life and tell an animated story, the reader is more prepared for the story as well as able to relate the physical description to the telling of the story. The physical and personal descriptions of the Miller, the Wife of Bath and the Merchant all aid in the telling of their tales. Chaucer was able to create tales that were perfectly suited for the characters that are presenting them. In having each tale told by someone who has a personal reason or motivation for telling that specific tale, Chaucer creates more of a reaction from the reader as well as provides the entire work with structure.
As the reader goes through the Canterbury Tales, it is seen that Chaucer shows the complex attitude of dishonesty and appreciation towards not just the Friar, Monk and the Prioress, but towards all the other characters displayed. Chaucer showed a sense of appreciation through each the Monk, Prioress, and the Friar when he talked about the importance of elegance and having the nicest things. Each one of these members of clergy had to have everything from the nicest clothes down to the best gold buckle on their shoe. While analyzing that, Chaucer also seemed to portray the sense of dishonesty that these members of clergy had. Each one broke the rules of their lifestyle in a way that Chaucer seemed to describe as corrupt.
The Parson is an extremely humble, generous, and overall astounding person. He is not greedy in the slightest and gives to the poor as much as possible. Also, his conduct is impeccable and he is a role model for all parishioners. This description of the Parson is the complete opposite of the Friar’s true disposition and moral character. The Friar believes “Nothing good can come of commerce with such slum-and-gutter dwellers,/But only with the rich and victual-sellers” (250). The Friar only worked with the upper-class and believed “it was not fitting with the dignity of his position/[to deal] with a scum of wretched leper.” (248). One can assume from this statement that he must not be a man of God if he is so degrading of others. The Friar continually displays a particularly greedy and judgmental persona throughout the poem. As mentioned before, the Friar taking money from the poor also says a lot about his character. If he was sincerely a man of the church, he would not take from people who already live in poverty. He certainly does not follow God’s devout way of life. While the Parson gives to the poor, the Friar takes from them. Though the Friar’s behavior is looked down upon in the eyes of the church, the Parson “truly knew Christ’s gospel and would preach it/Devoutly to parishioners, and teach it,” which verifies that he truly is a religious and righteous man (491). This validates the theory that the Parson has a fine grasp on his morality while the Friar does not due to his dishonorable