Characterization in Canterbury Tales Essay

From cover to cover, Geoffry Chaucers late 14th century collection of forgetful stories, Canterbury drools, provides proofreaders with a unique literary experience. Chaucer compiles cardinal-four short allegories of no relation, up to now all of the narrators know eachother. Another interesting trait of Chaucers masterpiece takes place in the beginning as he dedicates over twenty pages just to characterization of the story tellers. Chaucer takes or so a page to profoundly introduce the reader to each character who tells their own fable.It has been said of Chaucers characterization that the sheer variety of wealth of detail get tos the impression of a specific person. And yet, taken together, it all adds up to a comparatively childlike stereotype (Prompt) Chaucer goes into such detail in his prologue that he al just about seems to create real lot. For the most part, Chaucer stereotypically characterizes each character, but in the tale about another person of their same type, he satirically and indirectly characterizes them contradictary to the readers sign impressions of the equatable narrating characters.Chaucer creates these contradictart characterizations to show the flaws in society. Chaucer sets up the reader with a stereotypical description of each character showing them what characteristics the characters should possess, then simulatenously in the tales points out traits that one would view as corrupt and ironic. In the Shipmans tale, a monk goes behind his best friends back and sleeps with his wife. Ironically not something a stereotypical monk should do. In the mendicants narration, a summoner corruptly blackmails heap to persist from summoning them.Lastly in the Wife of Baths bosh, a gymnastic horse rapes a women which contradicts Chaucers initial courtly description of the Knight. In the Wife of Baths Tale, a lusty knight sees a maiden alone as she was born, and despite her refusal by very force he took her maidenhead (282). This Kni ght contradicts Chaucers initial direct characterization of the Knight in the prologue having truth, honor, generousness, and courtesy (4). Chaucer describes the Knight in his prologue as the stereotypical distinguished, underage, perfect gentle-knight(5).The Wife of Baths Tale could not deliver the knight in any more ironic of a light. The knights brutal rape of the maiden creates situational irony as it all told contradicts the description of Chaucers gentle knight (5). Chaucer points out that even the most noble and respected men can committ cruel acts of violence that go against their expected values. But even men who do not exact the same class rank as the knight can lock away committ immoral acts that go against their expected actions. In Chaucers prologue, he characterizes a Summoner.He does not necessarily portray the Summoner as a noble man, but respected as children are afraid when he appears (20). A respected Summoner that society expects to do his job right, the Fri ars Tale describes a Summoner who does everything but do his job moraly and respectfully, he was a theif, a summoner, and a pimp (295). The Friars Tale exposes a Summoner who rode fore to catch his prey as he would blackmail people ruthlessly for money in order to not Summon them to court (295).Chaucer victimizes the people the Summoner takes advantage of by lableing them as prey and indirectly characterizes the Summoner as unfeeling and manipulative. Society expects a Summoner to truthfully do his job without stealing peoples money in exchange for a court release. The Friars Tale portrays a dirty Summoner which contradicts the stereotypical Summoner Chaucer describes in his prologue. This wrong Summoner shows the ill in society that many Summoners exploit people in the same way the Summoner does in the Friars Tale