Overview of “The Canterbury Tales”

This work is a collection of tales from various pilgrims on their way to the shrine of the Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury. The narrator, as we come to know him as the Host, meets with the some 29 other pilgrims by chance in Southwark at the Tabard. As circumstance would have it, they are all headed to the same site. At suggestion by the Host, the pilgrims agree to tell two tales apiece, one on the way there and one on the way back, and whoever tells the best tale shall be treated to a free meal at Bailey’s Tavern. Each tale is named after the pilgrim who tells it; The Knight’s Tale, The Pardoner’s Tale, The Nun’s Priest’s Tale, the Cook’s Tale, and so on. Many of the tales have a prologue that adds greater depth to the tale. Belief systems and values clash between the pilgrims who come from various walks of life. Each pilgrim being so diverse, many critics have come to view Chaucer’s Tales as a social commentary that grants insight to the lives of people in his time.