The beginning of 1960 is called Modern Literature but to become more specific, it is also called early Modern Literature, and there must be a background to it in the social development that cause the rise of early Modern Literature.
The Canterbury Tales is one of the milestones of English Literature. The characters of the Canterbury Tales are so very varied in their characteristics that critics have called these characters God's Splantee which has created so many people and all of them are represented in the book.
The characters were created and introduced by Chaucer, and the most important thing that happens in this book is that each character is asked to tell a story. So, Chaucer leaves the range to each individual in a story. So, imagine Chaucer himself representing these stories, introducing a character, establishing his individual types, and making all of them tell their own stories. Chaucer took this inspiration from Boccaccio. He was a contemporary of Chaucer and lived in Italy. He wrote stories in this fashion.
Each character is asked to tell a tale. When you tell a tale, what happens in a way. You allow people to have a peep into your mind. The person who is listening to you understands what you want to say, what your performances are, which things you want to avoid, and which things you want to attack. So, in a way, the mental picture of a person becomes clear if we read a story. The interesting thing is that at the end of the tale, there is a discussion between the different characters.
When discussion happens, in the end, the discussion will help the characters in the telling of the next story. Chaucer's characters are not static, but he showed them as learners who hear one another and take influences from one another, and develop into new persons. Chaucer's characters are wrong characters who are always in the process of making themselves and producing themselves. The more we read about the characters become aware not only of contemporary history but of human nature.
Chaucer is not talking about religion, nor talking about God; he is talking about actual human beings. This poem exemplifies secularism.
Chaucer is an old author. With him, modern English Literature begins. He is truly known as the father of English literature. Today the English form is very elegant, very developed, very precise, great vocabulary, but the language in Chaucer's time was not standardized.
Chaucer came from the upper hierarchy of society. Chaucer tells the story in a manner of a person who sings. He is not describing, he is telling. He was a man of court and also performed ambassadorial duties. The prologue is an introduction, so he is writing an introduction to the bigger piece called the poem titled "The Canterbury Tales" and this introduction is more than 100 lines.
The language adopted by Chaucer has devised the owner of the inn is a host and he is so excited that when he meets these people, he offers himself additional company.
He is sociable and mixes with people very well. The people are presented as pin portraits. Critics have called Chaucer's prologue a portrait gallery.
Chaucer has tongue in cheek, sometimes pulling their legs. All of them were on their own horses as traveling was only possible on horses. They were from different walks of life and professions, and they mingled, integrated here, and become a community. They gathered in a small town. The owner of the inn was a host, and he was so excited that he offered himself as an additional company.
The formal beginning of The Canterbury Tales is set in April, a time when people traditionally began to travel, as the harsh conditions of earlier months made journeys difficult in England. Chaucer famously opens the prologue with the line 'Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote,' referring to the sweet spring showers that stir life and inspire pilgrimages.
So, he talks of showers, birds singing, and flowers smiling, there is moisture and this moisture is running through the veins of the birds and flowers. So, they have a new kind of life.
Chaucer was a masterful communicator, a true artist with words. He possessed the rare ability to weave language with such charm and wit that it effortlessly drew smiles from his listeners. In The Canterbury Tales, he emerges not just as a narrator but as a warm, memorable presence—gentle, observant, and wonderfully human. He blends seamlessly with the very characters he sketches in the Prologue, offering vivid pen portraits of a remarkably diverse group. Even those who appear quiet at first hint at voices yet to be heard. No two characters are alike—not even the father and son, for the son is unmistakably shaped by a different world, a different time. Chaucer does not tell us who they are in direct terms; instead, he lets them reveal themselves. He shows rather than tells—and in doing so, he invites us to discover them for ourselves.
The Knight
The knight is a widely traveled, and perfect gentleman. This is said not tongue in cheek. He is a brave man. He is loyal to friends, and masters. He denied a lot of pleasures and sacrificed all his personal things but they don't exist now and they have been lost to history now.
The Squire
He is the son of the Knight, who is twenty, and we associate this age with fun, courage, etc. If one is a lover, then one must be writing poetry.
The Yeoman
The third character is Yeoman. The phrase in the dictionary is yeoman service. He rendered a yeoman service, which means a loyal servant. Yeoman was like a bodyguard.
The Nun
Nun is a very simple soul. They believe in self-abnegation, and self-denial, and believe in service only. Nun is the one who is kind, nice, polite, and who is always helpful. she eats less and sleeps less, prays to God, and leads a simple life.
But Chaucer's run is entirely different. She is called, for instance, "Madame Eglantine". She speaks French. She is fashionable. She was an English woman and tried to inculcate the French, so it was English French, not the French that was spoken at the time in France. She uses it to her advantage. So she is a very clever person. She uses it to impress others. She has good table manners. She eats in style. She holds the spoon steadily. She puts it in a cup. The spoon travels from her hand to her mouth without spelling anything along the way. When things have reached the mouth, she wipes her lips clean, and this amuses us as this person is known as very simple, but this woman enjoys eating. Chaucer talks about the sauce. It means sauce was there in Chaucer's time. She is cheerful and elegant. She has a behavior that she must learn from somewhere. She is not a good bread person. She is not from that kind of family.
Chaucer exposes her hypocrisy. She shows imitated behavior. When she sees a mouse trap, tears arise in her eyes, but on another occasion, she feeds her hounds with roasted meat.
She has a tender heart. She wears ornaments, and she likes ornaments very much. Chaucer is satirizing, but in a mild manner. He is enjoying their company. The nun adds a kind of spice to life.
It can be said that Chaucer is satirizing religion and moral principles. In that sense, Chaucer is not exactly a satirist. He has a good sense of humor. He is a good-humored soul. He treats all the characters like children, like a grandfather satirizing his grandson.
The great humanists have learned from Chaucer. He can't hate people. One can talk about certain habits of some, but those habits are examples of certain restrictions that society puts on them. So there is a clash in every human being between what the human being wishes and what one human being is expected to perform or do in life, and that clash is fun.
The Monk
Monk is a manly man. He owns valuable horses. He is a state supervisor, supervising the church. He also likes hunting. He is a hard rider. He has a pack of hounds. His boots are of good leather, and Chaucer has given him 42 lines in the prologue.
The Narrator Geoffrey Chaucer
The narrator in The Canterbury Tales, often identified with Geoffrey Chaucer himself, presents a curious, observant, and good-natured voice. He mingles easily with the pilgrims, offering vivid sketches of each without harsh judgment. Though he claims naivety, his subtle wit and sharp eye reveal a deep understanding of human nature. Through his gentle humor and keen storytelling, he invites readers to see each character in their full complexity.
The Host Harry Bailey
Harry Bailey, the Host of the Tabard Inn, is a lively, commanding, and good-humored figure who proposes the storytelling contest to entertain the pilgrims on their journey. He is practical, sociable, and quick-witted, often stepping in to guide the group and keep order. With a strong personality and a flair for leadership, he brings energy and structure to the pilgrimage.
Following are some other characters in the Canterbury Tales who will be elaborated on:-
The Prioress
The Second Nun
The Nun's Priests
The Friar
The Merchant
The Clerk
The man of Law
The Franklin
The Five Craft Workers
The Cook
The Shipman
The Physician
The Wife of Bath
The Parson
The Plowman
The Miller
The Manciple
The Reeve
The Summoner
The Pardoner
The Canon
The Canon's Yeoman