ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -The tales could be described both as social realism and as estates satire. At the same time that Chaucer takes care to honestly show the perspective of each of his characters, he also aims to critique the hypocrisy of the church and the social problems posed by Medieval politics and social custom.

Detailed explanation-2: -Since all the tales end with some sort of moral or lesson, many people take The Canterbury Tales for simple children’s fables. However, Chaucer’s main purpose for the tales is to portray the existence of morality and the lack thereof in his time.

Detailed explanation-3: -The tales that manifest Chaucer’s critique the most effectively are “The Friar’s Tale, ” “The Summoner’s Tale, ” and “The Pardoner’s Tale.” In all three of these stories the characters are corrupt church officials revealing their true natures and their greed by taking advantage of the common folk they are bound to serve.

Detailed explanation-4: -Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales in vernacular, Middle English, because that was the type of English spoken by the English people at the time. Since many works were written in French and Latin, there was a dearth of works in English.

Detailed explanation-5: -Through his satirical portrayal of his characters in Canterbury Tales, Chaucer explores issues such as the changing economy and corruption of the church in order to expose and criticize the wrongdoings and values of his shifting society caused by the end of feudalism during this time.