Department of English

National University of Modern Languages,

Islamabad

Assignment

Subject: Classical poetry

Topic: The Canterbury Tales
Submitted By: Muhammad Danyal Khan
Submitted To: Madam “Uzma Moin”
Program: BS English
Semester: 3rd
Section: “C”
1) Analyze characterization, throughout the prologue, Chaucer uses physical
details-eyes, hairs, clothing-to help develop his character. Choose three
pilgrims and describe how their outward appearances reflect their
personalities.
Answer:- Chaucer was a master at using physical details--eyes, hair complexion, body type, and
clothing-- to reveal character. Here are some characters which were fully described by Chaucer.

The Knight:-
The narrator begins by describing the Knight, a noble man who loves chivalry and fights for truth
and honor. The knight has travelled through Christian and heathen territories––Alexandria, Prussia, Russia,
Lithuania, Granada, Morocco, Turkey––and has been victorious everywhere and universally praised for his
valor. But his exploits are always conducted for love of Christ, not love of glory.
In addition to being worthy and brave, says the narrator, the Knight is modest and meek as a maid.
He never speaks ill of anyone. He wears modest clothes, and his mail is stained with rust. The Knight’s
stained, modest clothes show that he truly fights well and is not showy or vain. As Chaucer says
His horses fine, he wore no colors gay
Sported a tunic, padded fustian
On which his coat of mail left many a stain;
For he was scarcely back from his voyage,
And going now to make his pilgrimage.

The Prioress:-
The prioress is one of the fully described pilgrims. The Prioress, is a nun named “Madame
Eglantine”. She sings the liturgy through her nose. She speaks French elegantly, though in an English
accent. She has excellent table manners: she never lets a morsel of meat fall from her mouth onto her breast,
nor does she dip her fingers into the sauce. She wipes her lips so clean that not a speck of grease remains
after a meal. The Prioress takes pains to imitate courtly manners and to remain dignified at all times.
The Prioress is so charitable and compassionate, the narrator says, that whenever she sees a mouse
caught and bleeding in a trap, she weeps. She keeps small dogs, feeding them roast meat, milk, and fine
white bread, and she weeps if any of them are trampled or if men beat them with a switch.
The Prioress wears a wimple draped to show off her well-formed nose, gray eyes, and small red
mouth. The narrator observes that she has a wide forehead and that she is hardly underfed. Her cloak is very
elegant. She wears a coral rosary with green beads, on which there is a gilded A, for Amor Vincit Omnia:
“Love conquers all.”
 The narrator notes that a second nun rides with the Prioress as well as a chaplain and three priests;
however, these characters are only mentioned in passing in the General Prologue.

The Monk:-
The Monk who conducts business outside the monastery. When he rides through the country, men
can hear his bridle jingling as loud as the chapel bell. This monk is of the old, somewhat strict Benedictine
order, but he lets the old ideas pass away to follow new customs. The Monk scoffs at the notion that monks
cannot be holy if they go hunting and scorns the text that claims that a monk out of his cloister is not worth
an oyster. The narrator claims to agree: why waste away indoors, and do as Augustine ordained? Let
Augustine do his own. As he says
And I agreed his views were scarcely bad:
What! Should he study, drive himself quite mad,
In his cloister over a book must pore,
Or labor with his hands, and toil the more
As Augustine bids? How would the world run?
Let Augustine keep his labor for his own! work!

The Monk is a good horseman and rides along with a pack of swift greyhounds. His sleeves are
trimmed with expensive squirrel fur, and his hood is fastened with a gold pin into an elaborate knot. His
head is bald, and his face glows as if he had been rubbed with oil. He is a plump, lively man whose eyes
gleam like fire under a cauldron.
In conclusion it must be said that the Monk resembles a prosperous lord rather than a scholar who
spends his days pouring over his books. Instead of dressing in modest, pious attire, the Monk wears fine
furs and shows off his material wealth.

2) Examine satire. A writer who pokes fun at behaviors and customs with the
intent of improving society is creating satire. Review the descriptions of the
Monk and the Prioress. What aspects of the medieval church does Chaucer
satirize through these characters?
Satire:
Satire is a technique employed by writers to expose and criticize foolishness and corruption of an
individual or a society, by using humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule. It intends to improve humanity by
criticizing its follies and foibles. Therefore, writers frequently employ satire to point at the dishonesty
and silliness of individuals and society, and criticize them by ridiculing them.

Satire in the Canterbury tales

 Chaucer uses satire in the descriptions of the pilgrims in the "General Prologue" of The Canterbury
Tales to reveal corruption in the Church that was prevalent in society. Many members of the clergy used
their positions for personal gain. This can be seen in his cast of characters, such as the Prioress and the
Monk.

The Prioress:-
The Prioress is one of the most satirized pilgrims. She is the first clergy person described and the
first character that is satirized in real terms. Even that the satire and irony used herein in a milder satire than
the satire and irony applied in characteristics of the other church members. The Prioress is an entertaining,
pleasant, friendly, attractive and cheerful person who has courtly manners that she is not supposed to have.
She likes to pretend she is a part of a court. Chaucer satirizes here her desire for lady-like behavior and
emphasizes the contradiction between the nun and her personality:
At meals she had been taught well withal;
And from her lips she let no morsel fall,
Nor dipped her fingers in the sauce too deep;
Well could she take a morsel and then keep
The slightest drop from falling on her breast;
Courtesy it was that pleased her best.
All her desire was to maintain courtesy. She is also concerned with her appearance which is a problem for
a nun. She wears a medallion with engraved courtly motto in Latin: “Amor vincit omnia” – Love
conquers all” . She does not only love people but animals as well. She would be very alarmed and worried
if someone would hurt even a mouse and she loves her dogs but paradoxically is ignoring the fact that she
is feeding them with a meat from another animals. Chaucer also satirizes her desire to speak French. But
there is a big problem because the nun cannot speak French, she only knows few French phrases which
she repeats all over again and pretends she speaks fluently French. People who does not speak that
language would assume that is excellent in it. Chaucer expresses her hypocritical behavior here:
And fair French she spoke, all elegantly,
After the school of Stratford-atte-Bowe;
For French of Paris was not hers to know.
He also describes her appearance by using an irony:

But certainly she had a fair forehead,

It was almost a span broad, I deem,
Fro she was not small of build, I mean.

“Not small of build” here or undergrow in Middle English means in a gentle way that she is quite large
because she loves to eat which is another behavior that prioress would not have acquire because she is
supposed to live in a poverty. Her interests and behavior reflect all the things that a religious person
should not have and should not supposed to do. She is accompanied by another nun and three priests.

The Monk:-
The Monk is another religious character in the General Prologue and Chaucer starts to use irony
and satire in more graver and sharper form. If a person in the Middle Ages was religious he was not
allowed to have love affair, he was supposed to live in celibacy and the person was also not supposed to
be rich on the contrary was supposed to give all the money to the church. Chaucer expresses a very
critical portrait of the Monk who ignores the rules of his order and only believes what he wants himself in
the Bible:
The rule of Saint Benedict and Saint Mawr,
As old and somewhat strict he would ignore,
This same monk scorned the old world’s pace,
And spurred after the new world, apace.
Chaucer amplifies the characterization and description of the Monk’s personality, opinions and interests.
The Monk likes to spend most of his time outside the cloister riding his ponies, hunting and eats a lot. But
he is supposed to be poor, be inside the cloister and pray all day. Chaucer exaggerates even when
describes the Monk’s favorite food which is a roasted swan, a symbol of luxury. Chaucer satirizes the
way of Monk’s living and his total disregard of the rules.
Paradoxically Chaucer writes that he agrees with the Monk:

And I agreed his views were scarcely bad:

What! Should he study, drive himself quite mad,
In his cloister over a book must pore,
Or labor with his hands, and toil the more
As Augustine bids? How would the world run?
Let Augustine keep his labor for his own!
But the reader have to be cautious because this is not Chaucer the writer but Chaucer the narrator who
agrees almost with everybody, not even criticize anybody and who is the exact contraposition of the
writer. In the General Prologue Chaucer expresses his disagreement with the hypocrisy of the church. He
describes this hypocrisy in two different shades. First and the tenderness satire Chaucer uses with the nun
who pretends to speak French fluently and has courtly manners. Second criticized and ironized religious
person is the Monk who is supposed to live inside the cloister and follows the rules of his order but who is
the genuine opposite.

Conclusion:-
The reader can feel that through the use of the tools mentioned Chaucer wants to educate people,
wants to attract attention to the corruption inside the church and at least wants people not to sightlessly
believe in the church. . The church did not always followed the rules that has established and Chaucer
wanted to draw attention to this tampering and to the corruption inside the church itself. Chaucer uses
exaggerations and reverses the roles in the satire to show that both means of domination are not proper
and humane. Chaucer wants to educate the medieval people and does not want them to blindly follow the
rules of the medieval church which breaks them alone and which uses the common people to become
even wealthier.