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English Questions

p 6 1 : Allegory is a primary device used in all medieval art . Explain how Chaucer uses allegory in his masterpiece `The Canterbury Tales

An allegory is a story in verse or prose with a double meaning : a primary or surface meaning and a secondary or under-the -surface meaning . It is a story , therefore , therefore that can be read understood and interpreted at two levels or more . Chaucer like William Langland 's The vision of William Concerning Piers the Plowman ' uses the device of allegory in a beautiful way . Apparently this poem

is about a pilgrimage made by a group of people including the poet himself . But deep down Chaucer is trying to convey to his readers the social-class consciousness , the thinking and behaving patterns enjoyed by the people of his age and corruption that was making its way in the ecclesiastical circles of his time . He tell his readers that the church people are becoming worldly in a beautiful way , for instance these lines from Prioress 's will help in understanding this point , and peyned hire to countrefete cheere /Of court , andto been estatlich of manere (139-140

This work of Chaucer is about 29 pilgrims who belong to different social classes and professions . They are going on a pilgrimage , during the course of journey these pilgrims decided to tell tales based on their experiences . These tails are interesting and entertaining . The poet 's own s about the characters and the tales make the readers learn that what seems from outside is but the half-truth . The whole-truth can only be gathered by understanding the hidden significance of the tales and the poet 's s scattered here and there in the poem . By understanding the depth of the poem we learn that Chaucer is exposing the corruption of the church and the hypocrisy of the clergy , but in the main time keeps on his face a good humored laugh His primary aim is to provide entertainment to his readers and not to correct the corruption of his age the allegorical method of relating the corruption of his age made the readers feel that even his satire is friendly and sympathetic

2 : All art manifests many aspects about the artist . What does `The Canterbury Tales` reveal about Geoffrey Chaucer , the man

With him is born our real poetry ' says Mathew Arnold . The Canterbury Tales ' made the world realize that Chaucer is the first realist , the first humorist , the first narrative artist , the first great character-painter , and the first great metrical artist in English literature . Further he has been credited not only with the fatherhood ' of English poetry but has also been hailed as the father of English drama before the drama was born , and the father of English novel before the novel was born . And , what is more , his importance is not due to precedence alone , but due to excellence . He is not only the first English poet , but a great poet in his own right . Justly has he been called the...

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