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The General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales : Key info

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The General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales is a notable literary work by Geoffrey Chaucer. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, to various questions of The General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales.

Key info

  • Writer: Geoffrey Chaucer (1343 – 1400)
  • Title of the Poet: Father of English Literature, Father of English Poetry, Father of English Language, Grandfather of the English Novel
  • Written Date: Between 1387 and 1400
  • Published Date: 1476
  • Original Title: “The Canterbury Tales” (“The General Prologue” is part of it.)
  • Genre: Frame story, satire, estates satire (A medieval genre common among French poets.)
  • Tone: Satirical, humorous, observant
  • Style: Narrative
  • Narrator: Geoffrey Chaucer
  • Total Lines: 858
  • Language: Middle English
  • Rhyme Scheme: Rhymed couplets (AA, BB, CC, etc.)

🗹 Settings:

  • Time Setting: Late 14th century
  • Place Setting: Southwark, England, and the road to Canterbury

🗹 Background: The late 14th century in England was a time of great change. After the Black Death, many people began questioning the Catholic Church’s authority. Groups like the Lollards opposed the Church’s control. Society was traditionally divided into three groups: the Church, nobility, and peasants. However, this system was collapsing. Peasant revolts spread like the 1381 Jack Straw rebellion. A new middle class of educated workers, such as merchants and clerks, was rising, especially in cities. 

Chaucer was part of this class and satirized these changing times in “The Canterbury Tales.” Chaucer planned to write 120 stories. He finished 23, and one was partially finished, of which 22 were verse tales and 2 were prose tales. However, the rest remain unfinished because of Geoffrey Chaucer’s sudden death.

If “The Canterbury Tales” is a book, “The General Prologue” is the first chapter of this book. Chaucer draws a framework for this work in “The General Prologue.”

🗹 Important Issue: There are 30 pilgrims, including Chaucer. This is made clear by the lines 20, 24, 25, and 26. Chaucer mentions 31 characters in “The General Prologue.” He describes the inn’s owner at the end of the character list. It is made clear that the owner of the inn becomes The Host of the pilgrims. His proposal clears that he becomes the pilgrims’ guide and organizes the journey. His role is not like other pilgrims in the group. (Important names are given from both Original Text and Modern English.)