General Prologue Essay Example For Students

General Prologue Essay `General Prologue and show how their descriptions add to our  understanding of his society.  `The Canterbury Tales is a group of tales written by Geoffrey  Chaucer in about 1387. Chaucer was supposed to write 24 tales but died  before he could complete them and so the Canterbury Tales consist of  22 tales and two long prose tales. The General Prologue gives a brief  but vivid description of each pilgrim that is journeying to Canterbury  before the pilgrims actually begin telling their tales. Most  literature written in the medieval period was written in either French  or Latin especially poems or Holy Scriptures and so when Chaucer wrote  `The Canterbury Tales in Middle English he was making a statement. Chaucer wanted to promote the vernacular language of England and so  wrote `The Canterbury Tales in `Chaucerian English. Three of the  best examples of the pilgrims in the `Tales are the Knight, the Wifeof Bath and the Monk who all tell us a great deal about Chaucers  society.The Kn ght is a verray, parfit gentil knyght who earns his living  Ã‚  by fighting for his faith and defending his king. The Knight has a  very high status in the feudal system in Chaucers society and is Ful  worthy was he in his lordes werre. The Knight is as meeke as a  mayde, he is verray, parfit and gentil. He is also worthy and  humble. The evidence that he is humble is where in the poem about him  reads;  His hors were goode, but he was nat gay  Of fustian he wered a gypon  Al bismotered with his habergeon  This extract proves the Knight is humble and not materialistic  because he does not care about what people think about him; he uses  his horse for its function, he does not decorate it elaborately but  just uses it for travelling and fighting.  The Wife of Bath lives biside Bathe and she likes to weave, she has  been married five times and she gives advice to people in love. She is  a vain and materialistic unlike the knight. She had And thries hadde  she been at Jerusalem, which suggests that she is a holy woman who  has been on a lot of pilgrimages. Evidence to show she is a  materialistic is where in the poem about her the text says;Hir coverchiefs ful fine weren of ground  Ã‚  Hir hosen weren of fyn scarlet reed  Ful streite yteyd, and shoes ful moyste and newe  This shows that in contrast to the Knight the Wife of Bath is  materialistic and wants everyone to see her riches. The fact that she  has new shoes for a pilgrimage just adds to the fact that she is vain  and materialistic.  The Monk is bald, plump, has bright eyes, wears cuffs made out of  squirrel fur, and has a luxurious gold brooch. The Monk should spend  his time praying and This is to seyn, a monk out of his own  cloystre. The Monk should be humble, not materialistic and help  people. However the Monk enjoys hunting and eating roasted swan; which  implies that he is indulgent which a monk should not be.When the Monk  goes hunting his bridle bells are eeke as loude as dooth the chapel  belle, it is ironic that he is compared to a chapel bell because that  is where he should be in a chapel praying in a cloistered environment;  however this simile is used to describe how loud he is as he riding  out to hunt. The Monk thinks that the rules a monk should live by are  old fashioned whereas he is modern; he doesnt give a pulled hen for  want of a better phrase. The Monk is the total opposite to what a real  monk should be he is gregarious whereas a monk should be humble and  retired, he is outgoing whereas a monk should live a cloistered,  conserved life away from the public. The Monk is totally different to  the Knight; the Knight is humble and wears tattered clothes covered in  rust whereas the Monk wears expensive clothes, is materialistic and is  flamboyant.