The Canterbury Tales Essays

Fairy tales give us an insight into the values of the society in which they were written. In different appropriations, we are presented with the author’s reaction to the values of their society and/or the values of previous societies. Through the study of these appropriations we observe the relationship between …

Chaucer introduces us to the Miller in the prologue, who appears to personify his own story. By introducing the Miller as a crude ruthless man Chaucer prepares for what is to come in the tale, we see his personality and which becomes the basis for the themes which run through …

Nature can be perceived as a fundamental theme in Chaucer’s writing during certain parts of The Franklin’s Tale. It can be conveyed as a positive or negative aspect of the characters surroundings. Dorigen’s castle stands “faste by the see.” The sea is significant to Dorigen’s feelings in several different ways. …

INTRODUCTION Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, an anthology of stories in a framework story, between 1387 and 1400. It is the story of thirty people who travel as pilgrims to Canterbury and tell stories. The most amusing and at the same time filled with astuteness is the story told …

The classic tale, Split Cherry Tree, exhibits just representation of general nature. While The Spirit of Emulation, on the other hand, is written in metaphor and does not represent common experience. I will discuss each stories different ways of meeting its desired moral intent, and why each is valuable and …

Bruno Bettelheim utilizes a psychoanalytical framework in analyzing the elements of fairy tales thereby providing greater value to children literary works beyond their creative and entertainment value. Under this approach fairy tales are treated as channels through which people express their universal fears and desires which are often repressed into …

Stories handed down from generation to generation are those that are real experiences of the people throughout the ages. Themes of love and infidelity have always been a favorite plot which is why Petronius’ The Widow of Ephesus has become a classic. However, tales can be altered to conform to …

The Great Japanese writer-novelist noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu had written the beautiful story of The Tale of Genji. The Tale of Genji is considered by some as the first modern novel but there has been much debate on that topic. Lady Murasaki Shikibu’s The Tale of Genji had undergone many translations …

The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. The tales are presented as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims. The Canterbury Tales, the work stands as a historical and sociological introduction to …

Chaucer begins the Prologue with a beautiful announcement of spring. This introduction is the voice of the Poet, polished, elegant, and finished. He tells us that just as Nature has a predictable course through the seasons, so does human nature follow a seasonal pattern, which causes people to want to …