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The canterbury tales explanatory essay
The canterbury tales explanatory essay
The canterbury tales explanatory essay
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The Monk and the Parson of The Canterbury Tales
In the prologue, The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer is about
the pilgrimage of many different characters to Canterbury. Chaucer writes
about the characters' personalities and their place on the social ladder.
The Monk and the Parson are examples of how Chaucer covered the spectrum of
personalities. The Monk is self-centered, while the Parson cares for the
sick and poor.
In The Canterbury Tales, the Monk acts like he is part of the upper
class of society. He is very tan, he likes to hunt, and he has horses.
All of these traits are symbols of wealth and prestige. "His palfrey was
as brown as is a berry." (P 120 line 211) This shows that the Monk spends
a lot of time outside, only men who are wealthy can afford to relax or hunt
outside. Hunters are not considered holy men because they kill for
entertainment and pleasure. The common man spends his day working for what
little wages he can earn. The Monk also had horses, which is another sign
of wealth. "This Monk was therefore a good man to horse;" (p 120 line 193)
Very few men in that period had enough time to learn and ride horses. All
of these extravagancies are against the oath the Monk took for the Church.
The Monk was also lazy and disliked working. Monks, in general,
are hard working and are willing to help the less fortunate. The Monk also
ignored the monastic rules set up by St. Benedict.
The Rule of good St. Benet or St. Maur
As old and strict he tended to ignore;
P 120, lines 177-178
This shows that the Monk is interested in the pleasures of life, and not
his duty as a monk. He is worthless in the eyes of Chaucer and he dislikes
the Monk very much.
The Parson was a poor man who gave what little he could to the
other poor people of his town. He knew the teachings of the Bible and
Christ, and preached to whoever was willing to listen. He followed the
Bible in life and he believed that a priest must be trustworthy.
uses his high social status as a priest as an excuse to obtain that of which he
meant much more. It included a love of G-d and doing the will of G-d as well as
However, after hearing his tale it is quite shocking about his frankness about his own hypocrisy. We know that he bluntly accuses himself of fraud, avarice, and gluttony, all things that he preaches against throughout this tale. It is in lines, 432-433 that the Pardoner states, “But that is not my principal intent; I preach nothing but for convenience.” It is here that we truly begin to learn that The Pardoner’s Tale is merely an example of a story that is often used by preachers to emphasize a moral point to their audience. That is why, this tale in particular helps to comprehend Chaucer’s own opinions, and how he used satire to display them.
How can a man exact vengeance on God if there is nothing a mortal can do to hurt Him? The Pardoner was born sterile, which resulted in abnormal physical development. He blames God for his deformities and attempts to attack God by attacking the link between God and mankind – the Church.
When the tale of Melibee ended, the Host said that he'd give up a barrel of ale to have his wife hear the tale of Prudence and her patience, for she is an ill-tempered woman. The Host asks the narrator his name, and attempts to guess his profession perhaps a sexton or other such officer, or a wily governor. The Monk will tell the next tale, a series of tragedies.
...traight from the tavern world – survival is more important to him, unlike those of the court world who live by honour, and care not if it leads to their death, but only that they one day may come to be ‘honourable’, whether dead or alive. He closes with the comment that what he has told us is his ‘catechism’. This suggests an idea that his religion is to avoid honour, and ever to question its value.
Chaucer aptly creates a picture that exposes how materialistic the clergy is. They all should be concerned with spiritual matters, yet they focus their attention on acquiring more mundane goods. The Monk makes no pretense of being poor and without luxuries. "I saw his sleeves were garnished at the hand with fine gray fur, the finest in the land, and on his hood, to fasten it at his chin he had a wrought-gold, cunningly fashioned pin. . ." (197-200, 110). Not only is this monk fat, and thus quite well fed, he has the money to afford details such as fur on his cloak. He is looking for attention by having such fine things. His station as a monk, however, requires him not only to work with the poor, but to be poor himself. Obviously, he is not following this requirement, much like the Prioress. Madam Eglantyne, appears at first glance to be proper for her station in life. However, a closer examination reveals "she wore a coral trinket on her arm, a set of beads, the gaudies tricked in green, whence hung a golden brooch of brightest sheen" (162-64, 109). A golden brooch serves no other purpose than being decorative. The Prioress has no...
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.
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.
Howard Shultz and the senior management at Starbucks have to decide how to react to the opportunities that are being made available because of their rapid growth. The decision for a strategic growth plan has to be made in the near future. This will prove to be key for Starbucks reaching their long-term goal of becoming the most recognized and respected brand of coffee in the world.
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,
Tales written in Canterbury Tales divulge the characteristics of 31 characters, each one particularly refined in their own unique way. Geoffrey Chaucer made it easy for the reader to divulge oneself in the characteristics of just one character. One of these characters includes the Pardoner. In many of the stories in Canterbury Tales, they often reflect the characteristics of the character telling them, as if each story is meticulously crafted to reflect upon the characters telling them. The Pardoners allegoric tale appears to be especially evident to this, as The Pardoners tale conveys many personal traits including greed, hypocrisy, and arrogance.
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The characters are on a pilgrimage which is a clear indicator that the text is of religious genre. The Catholic Church, at the time, was losing many followers due to the Black Death and their lack of faith in the importance of the church. The Summoner and the Pardoner, who both represent the Catholic Church, are both described as greedy, corrupt, and abusive. This is a direct correlation to how Chaucer and many others felt about the Catholic Church during this period. The Monk and the Prioress are not described as being corrupt like the Summoner and the Pardoner; however they are described as falling short of what is considered ideal for people of their position. They both are described as being in a depressed state. Also bot...
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