Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Canterbury Tales Prologue
I've read the Canterbury Tales Prologue in high school and I still enjoy it now. It flows well and I enjoy the rhyme scheme. The characters are varied, each with their own personality and story. In keeping with the subject of realistic and unrealistic characters, those discussed in this story seem to me to be realistic. They aren't perfect and they represent the rich and the poor, the workers and the religious. There is also a lot of irony that can be seen already, as the group is going on a religious pilgrimage and many of them would be considered "sinners." I never got to the storytelling contest, which I find interesting, as it turns the pilgrimage into a business venture so the host can have more customers at his tavern. I look forward to reading more of it and getting a better idea of how people thought during the Middle Ages.
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4 comments:
You have hit some key points: We will definitely be talking about Chaucer's irony tomorrow in class. It is worth spending some time thinking about how precisely it works. We will also want to talk about the relationship between the ideal of a pilgrimage and the reality, why people are supposed to go and why they really do--as you suggest, just because people are supposed to be virtuous doesn't mean they are.
I agree with you in the fact that even though they are all going on a pilgrimage which is a religious journey some of the people would be considered "sinners." It is ironic that these people would even want to venture on such a type of trip.
In terms of talking about who gets to participate in a pilgrimage or not, I find it very connected in relation to Christianity in the idea that God is loving to everyone, even sinners. Thus, in many ways Chaucer show some realistic qualities in his work.
I also agree and find it interesting that these characters who are all on this spiritual journey are some of the most sinful people. But I also agree with Fior in that this is part of what it means to be Christian. If they are all on this pilgrimage, then they must have realized how much they have sinned and so this is their way of asking for forgiveness.
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