Criticism of the Church in the Canterbury Tales Essay

The Canterbury Tales, a collection of news reports by Geoffrey Chaucer, was written in midst inc delineate at the end of the fourteenth carbon (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2011). It is considered to be the best work of literary works in English in the Middle Ages (Johnston, 1998). Chaucer engages literary devices as no wholeness had ever d adept. In addition, he chose to use English instead of Latin. This masterpiece is incorpor ingest in a similar focus as Bocaccios Decameron. The tales ar nonionised within a frame annals (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2011) explained in the General Prologue by the bank clerk a group of pilgrims that argon release to visit St. Thomas Becket in Canterburys Cathedral.These pilgrims ar from different estates of the mediaeval family nobility, the church and peasantry (The Norton Anthology, 1993 76). by means of the cites, Chaucer reveals some aspects of the orderliness he lived in. In other words, instead of creating typical role mod els, the characters argon blown-up individuals real different from the archetypical idea. The designer uses hyperbolic characters and irony to create gratify and criticism. For example, the knight is non the typical medieval soldier the reviewer would expect. He avoids engagement being a actually amatory mortal.In a similar way, the characters that be part of the Church are a rallyingable very peculiar. At the clock time when Chaucer wrote this poem, the Catholic Church was very powerful and rich. The clergy enjoyed commodious fortunes and a high quality of flavour compared with the peasantry who was starving and dying. In this essay, Im going to deal with the criticism towards the Catholic Church analysing the ironic portrays of the Prioress, the Monk, the beggar and the excuser. Chaucer begins written material or so the hypocrisy of the church in the General Prologue when the Prioress is introduced.The Prioress is a nun with very good courtesy (e. g. she wipe s her lips before drinking, lines 133-134) that behaves as if she were a lady of the court (e. g. she speaks French nonwithstanding with a very bad accent, lines 124-125). The Prioress is in addition very romantic as we contribute see in her brooch and her proverb Amor vincit omnia -Love conquest all- (Dr. Melillo, 1996). She is withal very kind and sensitive. For instance, she cries when a computer mouse falls in a bound and feeds her dogs meat so they do non starve. This image of nice person contrasts with the tushdor of the time.If her words and actions are analyzed, the audience stop understand that this was non the typical expression of a nun. She is more worried about her pets than the commoners who actually did starve and rarely ate meat. The narrator is portraying her as a very naive person in a very nice footstep that hides the irony. Nevertheless, the audience was aware that she is not fulfilling the convey of the Church take care of deal (The Norton Anth ology, 199376). The Monk is the weding pilgrim set forth in the General Prologue. According to his description he is very interested in capture and in horses (line 166).A monastic should not be riding and hunting but obeying, praying, copying and studying. In addition, the Monk is richly aware that his order does not allow these practices and he admits that he does not follow the rules of his order (Jokinen, 2010) (lines 174-175). When the portrait of the Monk finishes in the General Prologue, the man described is bald, round and well-dressed. Any person in that time that heard this description would immediately call back about a lord not a monk. Although the narrator comparables the animateness musical mode of the Monk and his description is not very acid, we can see how Chaucer is criticizing some monks lives.Monks are supposed to be obedient and to embrace devote of indigence not to reject rules and live the life they want. After analyzing two characters against who the narrator does not show great rejection, I am going to analyze the beggar and the forgiver who the narrator describes in a very ironic and bitter tone. A mendicant is a roaming priest that begs for living whose finale is to help beggars and lepers selflessly. On the contrary, this friar rattling detests this kind of action because he does not pass external any benefice from it (lines 242-247). He likes to enjoy life and pleasures.He shows that he is not like a customary friar implying that he is above (lines 210-211) like an aristocrat (Knapp, 1999). In this sense, he acts like the Prioress does, pretending not to be who he really is, a beggar. The reader also knows that he accepts bribes and bursts easy self-mortification for extra donations so he can live better. He justifies his conduct explaining that large-minded money is a sign of repentance. Nevertheless, the mendicant, as the Monk, is supposed to have done the vow of poverty. Contradicting any preconceived idea s the reader may have about friars, he has a good quality life give thanks to lioniseing the money he should give his order nd receiving extra incomes.In the description of the character, the audience understood how Chaucer is objurgate the abuses of the Church by creating a person who does not follow any of the prototypical characteristics of a good Christian friar. Finally, I am going to explain in detail the character of the Pardoner. The Pardoner resembles the Friar in the fact that both get money from volume (with a ghostlike reason behind) for a living and keep it for themselves. However, there are some differences the Pardoner is not part of an order whereas the Friar is and he does not believe in what he does either while the Friar justifies it.The Pardoner is considered the most hypocrite character of all because he embodies all the sins he preaches against. He sells papal indulgences in exchange of donation that he keeps for himself video display avariciousness (li nes 389-391). In addition, he admits that he does not feel guilty and that the relics he sells are a fraud. Furthermore, he tells the other pilgrims his tricks implying that he lies and manipulates people to get money. Ironically, after he has admitted that he is a liar, the Pardoner gives a kind of sermon against gluttony, drunkenness, gambling and swearing.Moreover, his tale can be considered an exemplum (Patterson, 1976) that warns against avarice and drunkenness. He gives an instance of the kind of person he is when he tries to sell one of his relics to the soldiers even when he has already told them they are forged and useless. Apart from being described as, what we would call now, a con mechanic and a sinful person, there are allusions to his condition of homosexual and eunuch (Jokinen, 1998). all(prenominal) these characteristics make him appear in the margins of society. As I said before, this character is the one that better represents the hypocrisy that Chaucer shows in this work.As I said, he represents all the sins he preaches against he drinks (his finishes his drink before stating the tale) he lies (about his relics, line 394), and he is greedy (he keeps the money, line 409). Through this character, the author shows a very sinful and corrupt church away from their goal. To conclude, Chaucer shows a very hypocrite and egocentric members of the Church in The Canterbury Tales. In the 14th century, the Catholic Church was very prestigious and religion was present in nonchalant life. The purpose of the Church was supposed to be the caring of the people.Nonetheless, the characters in this poem do not worry about anything else that themselves and their actions are directed always to their own benefit. Through their words and actions described ironically by the narrator, the characters reflect their sins and their rotting and by extension, the sins and corruption of the Church. It can be concluded that in The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer makes a soci al criticism showing the dishonesty of the Church. However, it should be pointed out that the characters are an exaggerated version of the original people because the main aim of this work is to be enjoyable for the audience.