What is the meaning of the General Prologue from The Canterbury Tales?
The General Prologue is, arguably, the most familiar part of the Canterbury Tales. It frames the longer story collection by setting the season, describing the pilgrims who will narrate the tales, and laying the ground rules of the storytelling contest.
What is the fundamental function of the opening lines of the prologue to Canterbury Tales?
The primary function of these opening lines is to provide a physical setting and the motivation for the Canterbury pilgrimage. Chaucer’s original plan, to have each pilgrim tell two stories on the way to Canterbury and two more on the way back, was never completed; we have tales only on the way to Canterbury.
What does the General Prologue reveal about life during Chaucer’s time?
In the prologue, the narrator describes the group of pilgrims who are journeying to Canterbury for a religious pilgrimage. One thing the reader learns about the late 14th century society is that there is a great deal of anticlerical sentiment, meaning that many people felt that the church was corrupt.
What is the importance of the General Prologue in The Canterbury Tales?
The prologue to The Canterbury Tales is most important because it established the class structure of society in Medieval England. Chaucer uses the genre of estates satire. He introduces the nobility first, followed by the clergy, the merchants, tradesmen, and finally the peasants.
What is the basic purpose of the General Prologue?
The General Prologue establishes the frame for the Tales as a whole (or of the intended whole) and introduces the characters/story tellers. These are introduced in the order of their rank in accordance with the three medieval social estates (clergy, nobility, and commoners and peasantry).
What is the moral of the General Prologue?
The “Prologue” provides the context for understanding the Tales. The purpose of the Prologue is twofold: to introduce the characters who are making this pilgrimage and to set the framework for the stories to follow. And bathed each vein with liquor that has power… Then do folk long to go on pilgrimage….
What is the purpose of the General Prologue?
What are the four functions of a prologue?
What Is the Purpose of Prologue in Literature?
- Foreshadowing events to come.
- Providing background information or backstory on the central conflict.
- Establishing a point of view (either the main character’s, or that of another character who is privy to the tale)
- Setting the tone for the rest of the novel or play.