The Canterbury Tales
Geoffrey Chaucer (1400)
“A drunken, bawdy, razor-sharp portrait of every social class in 14th-century England — told by the classes themselves.”
At a Glance
In April, thirty pilgrims meet at the Tabard Inn in Southwark and agree to tell stories on their journey to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. The Host, Harry Bailly, proposes a contest: two tales each way, best story wins a free supper. What follows is a cross-section of medieval English society — knight and miller, wife and pardoner, clerk and merchant — each telling tales that reveal as much about the teller as the tale. The collection is unfinished: Chaucer completed only 24 of the planned 120 tales before his death in 1400.
Read full summary →Why This Book Matters
The Canterbury Tales is the foundational work of English literature. Before Chaucer, serious literature in England was written in French or Latin. By writing in the East Midland dialect of Middle English — the dialect that would become standard English — Chaucer demonstrated that the vernacular could carry philosophical depth, psychological complexity, and literary beauty. He essentially created the English literary tradition that runs from him through Shakespeare, Milton, Austen, and Dickens. The work was also the first to give individuated, realistic voices to characters from every social class — the democratic impulse in English literature begins here.
Diction Profile
Ranges from elevated courtly romance (Knight) to bawdy vernacular (Miller, Reeve) — the register IS the characterization
Moderate