The poem’s arrangement is not entirely clear outside of the initial group that follows the General Prologue. We also get a brief snapshot of the pilgrims in the “General Prologue” which describes the initial gathering at the Tabard Inn in London. Some of the backstories are developed at length: the Wife of Bath tells her own life story in a prologue as long as her tale about the “loathly lady.” The Pardoner and the Canon’s tales further develop their own backstory, while the backstories of other pilgrims have to be gathered from occasional remarks they make or from the response of the host or other pilgrims to them.įor example, when the Reeve reacts violently to the Miller’s tale of a carpenter cuckolded, we learn that the Reeve is a carpenter who is known to the Miller. The tales run the gamut of tales known to people in the Middle Ages and include ribald stories such as the “Miller’s Tale” and the “Reeve’s Tale” medieval romances set against ancient backgrounds such as the “Knight’s Tale” animal fables such as the “Nun’s Priest’s Tale” Arthurian legends such as the “Wife of Bath’s Tale” saint’s lives such as the “Prioress’ Tale” and the “Second Nun’s Tale” tragic tales, sort of, such as the “Monk’s Tale” and cautionary tales, such as the “Pardoner’s Tale.”Įach of the pilgrims has his/her own backstory, which, in some cases, explains the story told. The “Knight’s Tale” is about 30 pages in length, while the “Parson’s Tale” (more a sermon on the seven deadly sins than a tale) is about 50 pages.
Chaucer’s work, if he produced the work he promised, would have had more stories, and stories of greater length and complexity than Boccaccio attempted.
The hundred tales in Boccaccio’s book are often quite short (no more than a few pages in length). During their ten-day stay, each of the ten tells a story. In the Decameron, set in a villa outside Florence, ten people come together to avoid the plague ravaging Florence. (Chaucer the pilgrim tells one story, “Sir Thopas,” that is so bad, the host breaks in and demands he try again, and he complies with the tedious “Tale of Melibee.”)Ĭhaucer was inspired by Boccaccio, whose collection of tales, the Decameron, Chaucer had read – Chaucer had served in the king’s diplomatic corps and could read and speak several languages. As it is, we only have one story from most of the pilgrims, and two from Chaucer himself. Of course, there may have been fewer stories or more intended, as some pilgrims may have dropped out before the return journey to London, while others may have joined the group (one such add-on is the Canon’s Yeoman who tells a story of alchemy after he joins the pilgrims a few days into the journey). This would have resulted in a book of at least 120 tales, and a work over 1,000 pages in length. Their host, Harry Bailey, who serves as the emcee on the journey, suggests a bet – each of the pilgrims will tell two tales on the way to Canterbury and two on the way back, to be followed by a vote for best tale, the teller of which will win him/herself a dinner back at the Tabard Inn.
CANTERBURY TALES MIDDLE ENGLISH AUDIO PLUS
And as far as literature goes, it remains my favorite mistake.Ĭhaucer’s elaborate plan was for each of his 30 pilgrims (29 pilgrims plus Chaucer himself) to tell a total of four tales each.
Chaucer finished no more than a quarter of his proposed project.
The Canterbury Tales is Geoffrey Chaucer’s most famous work, and yet it is incomplete.
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