General Prologue (The Canterbury Tales)

1: Whan that aprill with his shoures soote 2: The droghte of march hath perced to the roote, 3: And bathed every veyne in swich licour 4: Of which vertu engendred is the flour; 5: Whan zephirus eek with his sweete breeth 6: Inspired hath in every holt and heeth 7: Tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne 8: Hath in the ram his halve cours yronne, 9: And smale foweles maken melodye, 10: That slepen al the nyght with open ye 11: (so priketh hem nature in hir corages); 12: Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages, 13: And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes, 14: To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;

The poem opens with a passage about spring, the season when people long to get out and about after the rigors of winter. Chaucer does not only give the essence of the season itself, but a vivid realization of its effect on human beings:

‘When April with his showers sweet with fruit The drought of March has pierced unto the root And bathed each vein with liquor that has power To generate therein and sire the flower; When Zephyr also has, with his sweet breath, Quickened again, in every holt and heath, The tender shoots and buds, and the young sun Into the Ram one half his course has run, And many little birds make melody That sleep through all the night with open eye…

The company of pilgrims (29+1)meeting together at the Tabard Inn in Southwark for the journey to Canterbury. The journey usually took 3-4 days, though it could be done in less. The shrine of St. Thomas, who had been murdered in 1170 and canonized three years later, was the major place of pilgrimage

At the end of the General Prologue, Chaucer says that he has described the ‘estate’ of all the pilgrims and his prologue is not merely a collection of portraits, but something that goes much further

Literature that described the characteristics qualities and failings of the members of the various ‘estates’, the trades, professions and ways of life of fourteenth-century people

Thus, in describing the pilgrims, Chaucer was not merely inventing a group of interesting characters, or portraying actual people that he knew, but drawing upon a well-established but rather stereotyped mode of writing and transforming it, to give us the highly individualized group of people who make up the company assembled at the Tabard Inn

In order to give a more comprehensive view of his society, Chaucer presents a very large company of pilgrims, and selected representatives from high up on the social scale (the Knight and his son, the Squire), and from both religious and secular life He has women as well men, poor as well as rich, learned and ignorant, and simple countrymen as well as sophisticated, worldly pilgrims

Clothing Attitude The way a story is told Response to other’s stories

The knight = highest class The most admirable member in the society Fight for religious ideals rather than personal Disregards the look of his appearance Participate in 15 crusades Description shows Chaucer admires him * Refer to the hardcopy of TCT (General Prologue)

His steeds (horse) were good but he was not gay (merry) He wore a short close-fitting sleeveless padded garment (jupon) made from cloth suitable for menswear (fustian) under his discolored sleeveless coat (habergeon) Clothing indicated he comes straight away from battlefield to join pilgrimage

The squire = the knight’s son Young lover, 20 years old Romantic ideal rather than chivalry Loves dressing up, singing, dancing, playing flute Has high respect towards the father * Refer to the hardcopy of TCT (General Prologue)

The prioress (nun) = religious sect Female superior in a convent Beautiful lady dedicated to worldly romance Charming and courteous – has good table manners, dresses well, speaks French, charitable, compassionate Loves wordly material – wears a brooch inscribed “Love Conquers All Things” * Refer to the hardcopy of TCT (General Prologue)

Described as physically attractive – not gross and bloated Loves good food but not a glutton Adorns fine clothing and loves hunting * Refer to the hardcopy of TCT (General Prologue)

A trader = businessman Secular group rather than religious Traditionally associated with fraud and dishonesty Chaucer’s Merchant wears a “mask” to hide the status of his dealings * Refer to the hardcopy of TCT (General Prologue)

An admirable figure Not so attractive appearance – bony lad, half-starved, ragged clothing Not concern of monetary matters Prays for food and anyone who could support his studies Even his horse is not fed well *Refer to the hardcopy of TCT (General Prologue)

A very experienced older woman but one who is still ready for love if anyone will give her a chance A seamstress by occupation She was married five times and had many other affairs in her youth, making her well- practiced in the art of love *Refer to the hardcopy of TCT (General Prologue)

Which discussed women’s faults and failings and the appropriate attitudes towards them that men should adopt = hatred of women Such writing often denounced women for pride and bad temper Chaucer portrayed his elderly woman as knowing all about love

After Chaucer has introduce all the pilgrims, he excuses himself in advance for any displeasure that he may cause by attempting to report accurately the uncensored words of his companions, and he also apologizes for not introducing the pilgrims in exactly the correct order. The host, Harry Bailey is then introduced *Refer to the hardcopy of TCT (General Prologue)

The Master of Ceremony The judge The arbitrator The alarm clock The rule setter for the contest The prize giver * The one who draws the shortest straw, shall tell be the first story-teller

SONNET