The Canterbury Tales Q&A

The storytelling contest is proposed by Harry Bailey, the host of the pilgrims at the London Inn, who accompanies them to Canterbury to judge and decide the winner. He asks the pilgrims to tell stories that are both enjoyable and teach a moral lesson. A great number of the stories told by the pilgrims appropriately fit the criteria provided by the host, such as the Knight’s tale, the Franklin’s Tale, the Merchant’s tale, and several others. However, some stories do not meet either criteria or only meet one. For instance, the Monk tells them all of the various famous men that suffered tragedies, while the Miller tells them a bawdy tale that doesn’t quite communicate any moral lesson. In the end, Harry Bailey does not choose any winner, and thus it is up to the reader to decide which of the tales should be considered the winner.

The Knight tells the company a romantic tale about two honorable knights that staked their whole lives and reputations on the line for the sake of their love. On the other hand, Miller tells the story of an unfaithful carpenter’s wife who has won the attention of the scholar, Nicholas, and a priest, Absalon. The Miller’s tale also ends with a battle between two suitors, but instead of jousting with lances, the lovers in the Miller’s tale make use of hot iron and flatulence to combat one another.

The Canterbury Tales ends with Chaucer retracting the wretched and uncouth tales that are included in the volume and he asks for forgiveness as a devout Christian. This last section of the tales can be seen as a confession, and the placement of the Parson’s tale before this retraction is purposeful. Chaucer speaks highly of the Parson in the very prologue, and the Parson’s tale has a markedly different tone from all the other tales that are included in the volume. The Parson describes the right method of penitence for Christians and highlights how each of the sins can be countered through a virtue. For instance, Pride can be tempered by humility, Greed by Sobriety, and so forth.

The Parson is excluded from all shades of satire, from the very beginning of the novel. The author describes him as a righteous man who preaches the gospel in its purest form. Upon his turn for telling a tale, the Parson seeks permission from the rest of the pilgrims as he does not have a tale, but rather wishes to speak about the virtuous matter. All of the pilgrims gladly assent to this, and Harry Bailey, the host encourages him to speak freely, promising him that they would all listen to him gladly. In this way, the host, the pilgrims, and Chaucer himself accord the Parson the utmost dignity as well as respect during his telling of the tale.