In the General Prologue, the Knight is described as a "worthy man" (line 43). He has the highest class level out of all the people on the pilgrimage, so that is most likely the reason he is described first. We can also infer that he rides close to the head of the processional due to his status. He is a noble man, for he "loved chivalrie, trouthe and honour, fredom and curteisie" (lines 45-46). Line 51 reveals that the knight participated in the Crusades and fought and won many battles for the glory of Christendom. In lines 70-71, Chaucer asserts that the Knight has never participated in any type of "vileynye" in "all his lyfe" which makes him a "parfit gentil knyght" (line 72).
The Parson is similarly described as a good, worthy man. Though the Parson has a much lower societal status, and has not fought any battles for Christendom, he is a religious man and his good values stem from his beliefs. (He is described much later in the General Prologue because of his lower status). While the Knight is wealthy from his victories, the Parson is "povre" (line 480). The Parson is "benygne" and "wonder diligent, and in advercitee ful pacient," which adds to his positive descriptors (lines 485-486). In line 523, the text says that the Parson's business was to lead people to faith by being a good example. The Knight may have fought in the Crusades, but the writer's praise for the Parson is clear - the Parson is an example of a true Church figure. While both the Knight and Parson are described favourably, (which is rare in the General Prologue), it is clear from their descriptions that the Knight and Parson are separated by their statuses and the ways in which they live their lives, though both are good men.
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
How would you compare and contrast the Knight with the Parson in the General Prologue of "The Canterbury Tales"?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Why is the fact that the Americans are helping the Russians important?
In the late author Tom Clancy’s first novel, The Hunt for Red October, the assistance rendered to the Russians by the United States is impor...
-
There are a plethora of rules that Jonas and the other citizens must follow. Again, page numbers will vary given the edition of the book tha...
-
The poem contrasts the nighttime, imaginative world of a child with his daytime, prosaic world. In the first stanza, the child, on going to ...
-
The given two points of the exponential function are (2,24) and (3,144). To determine the exponential function y=ab^x plug-in the given x an...
-
The only example of simile in "The Lottery"—and a particularly weak one at that—is when Mrs. Hutchinson taps Mrs. Delacroix on the...
-
Hello! This expression is already a sum of two numbers, sin(32) and sin(54). Probably you want or express it as a product, or as an expressi...
-
Macbeth is reflecting on the Weird Sisters' prophecy and its astonishing accuracy. The witches were totally correct in predicting that M...
-
The play Duchess of Malfi is named after the character and real life historical tragic figure of Duchess of Malfi who was the regent of the ...
No comments:
Post a Comment