Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales:
Towards Realism & Naturalism in Literature

Lynchnotes to The Pilgrims:
29 + Chaucer (counting only 1 nun's priest) + two met along the way

• Chaucer, a somewhat naïve poet
• Knight, a genuinely chivalrous professional soldier who loves truth & honor
• Squire, the Knight's son, an up & coming knight & self-proclaimed ladies’ man
• Yeoman, the Knight & Squire's servant/woodsman
• Prioress, a nun, Madame Eglantine, who seems more fashionable than devout
• Second Nun, the Prioress' secretary
• Nun's Priests, three priests accompany the prioress & second nun; only one tells a tale
• Monk, a jolly, gluttonous monk who hunts & spends much time outside his monastery
• Friar, Hubert, a "salesman" who works for his own benefit rather than for the poor
• Merchant, a well-dressed man who seems successful, but isn't--it's a cover
• Clerk, a student at Oxford who (like a BHC student) is quiet, poor & values books
• Sergeant of Law, an able lawyer who is able to charge large fees for his services
• Franklin, a landowner who enjoys good food & is a very hospitable host
• Haberdasher, Dyer, Carpenter, Weaver, Carpet Maker: well-dressed guildsmen
• Cook, a great cook, but his hygiene leaves room for improvement
• Shipman, huge, uncouth, a fine sailor but poor horseman
• Doctor of Physic/Physician, happy to cure people, loves the gold he gets to do so
• Wife of Bath, an excellent weaver who has outlived 5 husbands & seeks the 6th
• Parson, poor but good, portrayed without irony as a good shepherd, a true Christian
• Plowman, the parson's brother, a peaceful, charitable, honest tenant farmer
• Miller, named Robin, a thick, crude, rowdy man w/ a red beard, black nose, & facial wart
•  Manciple, a less than honest law school steward in charge of purchasing its food
•  Reeve, a skinny, bad-tempered ex-carpenter, now a shrewd manager of a large estate
• Summoner, a physically repugnant, corrupt church court servant who happily accepts bribes
• Pardoner, the nastiest of the pilgrims, a fast-talking, immoral seller of indulgences
• The Host of the Tabard Inn, Harry Bailey, who acts as the master of ceremonies

Additional Pilgrims (who join the group on the way to Canterbury):

•  The Canon, an alchemist
•  The Canon's Yeoman (servant)

Structural Devices for Developing Character:

A.  Framing Device, "The General Prologue"
B.  Linking Device, The Prologues to Each Pilgrim’s Tale
C.  Linking Device, The Tale Each Pilgrim Tells
D.  Relationships/Interactions between the Pilgrims

1. As you read the General Prologue, refer to the Lynchnotes above and note the details that foreshadow each pilgrim's character, class, degree of integrity, etc.  Look for ironic incongruities, such as when the pilgrim Chaucer seems to be admiring a character, but the details given paint a less than admirable picture.
2. Look for subtle and overt critiques of members of the clergy.  All of these characters are participating in a Christian pilgrimmage, but do their characters reflect Christian principles?
3. Look for the ways that social class--and tensions between members of different classes--are indicated through the representation of these diverse characters and the way some of them interact with each other (e.g., who respects whom?  who goes out of his or her way to convey disrespect for others?).

1. What's the Wife of Bath's thesis for her prologue?
2. Does her thesis change, and/or argue against itself--and if so, where?
3. Are her views feminist, anti-feminist, or a problematic mix of both?