What is the General Prologue of The Canterbury Tales about?
The General Prologue is the first part of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. It introduces the frame story, in which a group of pilgrims travelling to the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury agree to take part in a storytelling competition, and describes the pilgrims themselves.
Who was Geoffrey Chaucer and what is The Canterbury Tales?
Written at the end of his life, The Canterbury Tales is Geoffrey Chaucer’s best-known work. It is a collection of 24 stories told by a group of 30 pilgrims who travel from Southwark to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Thomas Beckett. Chaucer did not complete the work before he died. Geoffrey Chaucer, (born c.
Why did Geoffrey Chaucer write The Canterbury Tales?
The tales are presented as contributions to a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims travelling from London to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket. Chaucer’s plan was to write two stories for each of the pilgrims, telling their tales both on the way there and on the return journey.
What is the main theme of Canterbury Tales?
Social satire is the major theme of The Canterbury Tales. The medieval society was set on three foundations: the nobility, the church, and the peasantry. Chaucer’s satire targets all segments of the medieval social issues, human immorality, and depraved heart.
Who is the narrator of the Prologue?
The Canterbury Tales uses the first-person point of view in the General Prologue and the frame narrative; Chaucer, the narrator, speaks from his own perspective on the events of the story contest and the pilgrims who tell the tales.
Why is Canterbury so important?
Canterbury has been a European pilgrimage site of major importance for over 800 years since the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket in 1170. Today it is one of the most beautiful and historic cities in England.
What is the main message of Canterbury Tales?
One of the main lessons throughout all of the tales and main story is that honor and honesty is valued. In stories like the Physician’s Tale, we see that the lying Appius who lusts after a young girl, is eventually caught for his lies and thrown in jail where he kills himself.
What type of story is The Canterbury Tales?
frame narrative
Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales is a frame narrative, a tale in which a larger story contains, or frames, many other stories. In frame narratives, the frame story functions primarily to create a reason for someone to tell the other stories; the frame story doesn’t usually have much plot of its own.
What is the theme of The Canterbury Tales?
What is the General Prologue of the Canterbury Tales about?
The Canterbury Tales The General Prologue Summary & Analysis. LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Canterbury Tales, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. The General Prologue opens with a description of April showers and the return of spring.
Are there any books about the Canterbury Tales that contain Chaucer?
Henry Dudeney ‘s 1907 book The Canterbury Puzzles contains a part reputedly lost from what modern readers know as Chaucer’s tales. Historical-mystery novelist P.C. Doherty wrote a series of novels based on The Canterbury Tales, making use of both the story frame and Chaucer’s characters.
What is the biography of Geoffrey Chaucer about?
Geoffrey Chaucer Biography. Geoffrey Chaucer occupies a unique position in the Middle Ages. He was born a commoner, but through his intellect and astute judgments of human character, he moved freely among the aristocracy. Although very little is definitely known about the details of his life, Chaucer was probably born shortly after 1340.
What is the structure of the General Prologue by Charles Chaucer?
Chaucer wrote his poem in rhyming couplets with every two lines rhyming with each other. Though they are divided into stanzas, it is structured with the lines of iambic pentameter, with five pairs of unstressed and stressed syllables. The narrator opens the General Prologue with a description of the return of spring.