THE
CANTERBURY
TALES
Except
for two
prose tales,
Chaucer^resents
The
Canterbury
Tales
in
verse.
Tjigjneter
varíes,
although
many
lines
are
iniambic
pentameterrMowever.
metric
classifícation
depends
ofte^oñwhether
the
reader
uses
Míddle
Englrsírpronunciations.
Even
then,
it
may
be
difficult
to
determine whether
Chaucer
intended
a
syllable
to be
pronounced
or
skipped
as
silent.
A
further
problem
is
that scribes copying
his
original manuscript
may
have deleted
or
inserted
syllables.
Most
of the
prologues
and the
tales
of the
pilgrims
consist
of a
series
ofrhyming
couplets
(units
of
two
lines, each about
the
same
length,
with
end
rhyme).
The
opening lines
of the
work
in the
general
prologue demónstrate
the
couplet
pattern.
The
rhyming
pairs
of
words
in
each couplet
are in
alternating
blue
and red
type.
1
Whan that Aprille, with hise
shoures
soote,
2 The
droghte
of
March
hath perced
to the
roote
3 And
bathed
every
veyne
in
swich
licour,
4 Of
which
vertu
engendred
is the flour;
5
Whan
Zephirus
eek
with
his
swete breeth
6
Inspired hath
in
every
holt
and
heeth
7 The
tendré
croppes,
and the
yonge
sonne
8
Hath
in the Ram his
halfe
cours
yronne,
9 And
smale
foweles
maken
melodye,
10
That slepen
al the
nyght with open eye-
11
So
prikeíh
hem
Nature
in hir
corages-
12
Thanne
longen
folk
to
goon
on
pilgrimages
13
And
palmeres
for to
seken straunge
strondes
14
To
ferne
halwes,
kowthe
in
sondry
londes;
15
And
specially,
from
every
shires
ende
16
Of
Engelond,
to
Caunturbury
they
wende,
17
The
hooly
blisful
mártir
for the
seke
18
That
hem
hath holpen, whan that they were seeke.
Some
tales,
however,
use a
different
rhyme scheme.
For
example, "The
Lawyer's
Tale," "The
Prioress's
Tale"
and
"The Clerk's Tale"
are in
rhyme
royal,
in
which
stanzas
of
seven lines
in
iambic
pentameter
have
a
rhyme scheme
of
ababbcc,
as in the
following
stanza
from
"The Prioress's Tale":
a
Lady!
thy
bounty,
thy
magnificence,
b Thy
virtue,
and thy
great
humility,
a
There
may no
tongue
express
in no
science:
b For
sometimes, Lady!
ere men
pray
to
thee,
b
Thou
go'st
before,
of thy
benignity,
c And
gettest
us the
light,
through
thy
prayere,
c To
guiden
us
unto
thy son so
dear.
In
depicting
the
Canterbury pilgrims, Chaucer presents realistic descriptions that
exhibit
his
understanding
of the
human drama
and the
foibles
and
eccentricities
of its
participants. Using concise
and
specifíc
language,
he
enables
the
reader
to see or
hear
the
squire
carving
meat
for his
father,
the
prioress
crying
wheñ
sKé
sees
a
mouse
ensnared,
the
monk
riding
horses with bridles that jingle,
and the
wife
of
Bath
wearing
hose
of
scarlet red.
In
"The
Reeve's
Tale," Chaucer tells
us
that Simkin
is a
bully
with
a
bald
head
who
can
play
pipes,
fish, and
wrestle.
In
"The
Man of
Law's Tale,"
he
tells
us
that
the
eyes
of
the
evil knight
pop from
their sockets
after
he
tells
a
lie.
In
"The Miller's Tale,"
he
tells
us
that Absalom
gains revenge
by
ramming
a
red-hot poker between
the
buttocks
of
Nicholas.
Among
the
pilgrims
are the
learned,
the
religious,
the
worldly,
the
romantic,
the
practical,
the
idealistic,
the
merry,
the
irreverent.
The
pilgrims come
from
the
middle
class
but
vary
in
their personal
backgrounds
and
occupations.
As a
group, they
are a
microcosm
of the
English society that
flourished
beyond
the
palé
of the
highborn.
However,
the
characters
in the
pilgrims'
stories
include royáis
as
well
as
commoners.
Thus,
in The
Canterbury
Tales,
Chaucer presents
the
whole
range
of
humanity,
a
rarity
in a
day
when
most
writers
centered their stories
primarily
on
kings
and
queens
and
legendary
héroes.
The
host,
Harry
Bailly,
plays
a
crucial role
in The
Canterbury
Tales.
With
his
questions
and
comments,
he
stimulates conversation that
helps
to
reveal
the
personalities
and
attitudes
of the
pilgrims.
Generally,
the
tales
the
pilgrims
tell
reflect
the
attitudes
and
beliefs
of the
tellers.
