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The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue. By Geoffrey Chaucer. Here bygynneth the Book of the tales of Caunterbury. Whan that Aprille with his shour e s soot e, The droghte of March hath perc e d to the root e, And bath e d every veyne in swich licóur. Of which vertú engendr e d is the flour;
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A summary of General Prologue: Part 1 in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of The Canterbury Tales and what it means. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans.
1.1 General Prologue. The Middle English text is from Larry D. Benson., Gen. ed., The Riverside Chaucer, Houghton-Mifflin Company; used with permission of the publisher. 1 Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote. When April with its sweet-smelling showers. 2 The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
- Stanza 1
- Stanzas 2-3
- Stanzas 4-6
- Stanza 7
- Stanza 8
- Stanzas 9-10
- Stanza 11
- Stanza 12
- Stanza 13
- Stanza 14
In the first stanza of ‘The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue’, Chaucer gives a beautiful description of April, the spring that has inspired a universal feeling. The April Shower added with the fragrance is carried by the west wind, and the music produced by the little birds seems to intrigue the people to go on a pilgrimage. They go across countr...
In stanza two, Chaucer shares his visit to Canterbury. During his journey, he stayed at the Tabard Inn in Southwark. Another twenty-nine pilgrim too joined him and by chance, they were all going to Canterbury. Since the tavern had enough rooms and spacious stables they decided to stay at that place. By evening he made acquaintance with them all and...
Chaucer begins his description of the characters with the Knight in stanzas four to six of ‘The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue‘. The Knight is represented as a distinguished man, for he has followed chivalry, truth, honor freedom, and courtesy. He had been a part of many wars and expeditions at places like Algezir, Belmarye (Benamarin), Lyeys (...
Chaucer gives a description of the knight’s son, a young squire who accompanied him on the pilgrimage. He is a merry bachelor about the age of twenty with curly locks as if they had been laid in press. Like his father, he too bore a remarkable appearance with agility and strength through moderate in height. He had been out once with cavalry and con...
The knight brought along with him a yeoman, and in stanza, eight Chaucer speaks of him. The yeoman wore a coat and a hood of green. He carried carefully under his belt a neatly sheathed sheaf of peacock arrows bright and keen. On the other, he carried a dagger, sharp as the point of the spear. As a yeoman, he dressed up and bore a mighty bow in his...
Following his description of the knight and his companions in line 119, Chaucer now turns his direction towards ecclesiastical characters. The prioress has come with the company of another nun, her chaplain, and three priests. She was very simple and shy, known as Madam Eglantine. Also, spoke French taught at Stratford-atte-Bowe, not the one spoken...
The Monk was a leader in fashions. He was passionate about inspecting farming and hunting. Also, he had many horses in his stables. When he rode, his bridle jingled like a chapel bell. The monk preferred to ignore the old rules of St. Maur or St. Benet because he felt it to be old and strict. He followed the modern spacious way and never regarded t...
In ‘The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue‘, the next character Chaucer introduces us is the “Friar.” The friar is a wanton and merry fellow. He is a limiter and a festive man. Of all the four orders (Dominican, Franciscan, Augustinian) there is no one who knows flattery as his. He seems to be popular among the franklins and also with esteemed wome...
Following the characters of the church, Chaucer introduces us to the merchant who stands to symbolizethe people of business. The merchant with a forking beard and in motley dress sat high on a horse. On his head, he had a Flemish beaver hat. His boots were fairly and neatly buckled. He stated his arguments solemnly, talking always of his increasing...
In this stanza of ‘The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue’, we are moving on to have a look at a learned man, a “clerk” from Oxford. He is a man who learned logic and he came on a horse that looked as lean as a rake. Even he wasn’t very fat but looked emaciated and self-disciplined. He also wore a simple dress. On the whole, he looked like a man wh...
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- March 18, 1991
- Poetry Analyst
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.
In The Prologue are portraits of all levels of English life. The order of the portraits is important because it provides a clue as to the social standing of the different occupations. The pilgrims presented first are representative of the highest social rank, with social rank descending with every new pilgrim introduced.
