The Canterbury Tales

The Prologue is the summarized essence of ' The Canterbury Tales' It contains the descriptions of the pilgrims who are to each ideally tell two tales . Chaucer never completes this plan but he does in the prologue give us wonderful character sketches of everyone from the ideally virtuous Knight to the scandalous Wife of Bath . These small portraits outline clearly what is to come but in themselves reveal the world of the Tales . The Prologue is filled with humor and piety, with sacrasm and wit, with beauty of language and harsh social criticism. It is the microcosm of the whole set of Tales which are to come. A masterpiece though marred to my mind as the whole work is by the Nun Prioress and her unfortunate blood- libel tale.