Tuesday, March 8, 2011

The Prologue of The Canterbury Tales

Based on the writings of the prologue of The Canterbury Tales, i believe that it is safe to assume that the author carries the values of a scholar that wishes to be a free man. Most of the characters introduced in the prologue were scholarly and wise of some religion or life skill in general. Then again, they all had a party side to them. Most of them having more than one wife and concubine while others enjoyed a good drink. The church of the narrator's time seems to be of hypocritical judgement and corrupted. The priest and nun amongst the ranks were party people with little to no discretion. The closest thing we have to a knight today would be an officer of the military such as a colonel or a general. A modern day squire would be an enlisted rank of the military such as a SMSgt or an A1C of the Air Force. These are those that are trained by the officers or "knights" of today. Today, a pardoner would be the church in general. The church has become a business compared to being a place of worship. The church sells people salvation for publicity and recognition, telling its followers that they are going to make it to heaven if they come down to their alter and get on their knees and admit their sins.  The narrator would be quite confused by our modern beliefs and ways of behavior so he might describe me as a man of lowly presence. A man who boasts of his life with little discretion to the ears around him. An attention seeker if you will. But he might also describe me as a man too grown. Developed before his time and of good judgement. Not wise in any extravagant manner but of good judgement. A selfless man that is foolish with his earnings yet will be a noble when the time arrives. A man who gives but doesnt take. A scholar of wines and a man of simplicity. Nothing too showy, but a man of elegance. That is just what i think the narrator would say.

No comments:

Post a Comment