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The Prologue - A microcosm of Fourteenth century English society
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The Prologue : A social chronicle - discuss
Chaucer
lived in an age which was epoch-making in religious, social and political
planes. Chaucer is the perfect exponent of his age. He has painted, with great
fidelity, the body and soul of the society of his time. His poetry reflects the
fourteenth century not in fragments but as a complete whole. He is the most
comprehensive soul, and he takes a full view of the wide and variegated life of
his times. “Here
is God's plenty” exclaims John Dryden in the Preface to his Fables, as
he praises the poetic genius of Geoffrey Chaucer for his brilliant placement of
the different characters in The Canterbury Tales.
As
Compton-Rickett remarks: "Chaucer symbolises, as no other writer does, the
Middle Ages. He stands in much the same relation to the life of his time as
Pope does to the earlier phases of the eighteenth century, and Tennyson to the
Victorian era; and his place in English literature is even more important than
theirs....."
Chaucer was as much a
representative of his age as Pope and Tennyson were of theirs. They were the
perfect exponents and representatives of their respective ages. Firstly, their
views and "philosophy of life" are, more or less, characteristic of
their respective ages.
Thus,
Chaucer may well be compared with Pope who faithfully represents the main
social and literary tendencies of the earlier phases of the eighteenth century,
or with Tennyson who gave expression to the hopes and aspirations, and
the fears and doubts of the Victorian age. Both Pope and Tennyson held the
mirror up to the life of their respective times and reflected the fancies and
sentiments of their respective ages.
The
Augustan age is the remarkable period of English satire. Like Chaucer and
Langland. Pope was a fine satirist who exposed the hollowness of the eighteenth
century society. His satires were basically directed against the follies of
polite society, against corruption in politics, and against false values in
art, particularly the art of poetry. His genius is best exhibited in his
satirical poems. Pope's masterpiece, The Rape of the Lock, is the best
satirical picture of contemporary society. In this poem, Pope presented a social
picture of his time, with all the lack of seriousness and foolishness of the
young lords and the fashions and amorous adventures of the young ladies. This
poem is a page torn from the pleasure seeking life of the fashionable society
of his time. In the Essay on Man, Pope gave expression to the philosophical
thought of his age, and in the Dunciad he let loose the flood-gates of offensive
satire, presenting the political strife of the times and the law morals to
which the wits of his age had fallen in those days.
Tennyson
is the representative of the Victorian age. He was a thorough Victorian in his
outlook as well as his intellectual approach. His poetry reflects the moral,
social, and religous tendencies of the Victorian period. He wrote poems even of
the gradual development of the democratic ideal. In the Princess, he undertook
to grapple with one of the rising questions of the day-that of the higher
education of women and their place in the fast changing conditions of society.
In Locksley Hall, he reflected the restless spirit of Young England and of its
faith in science, commerce and the progress of mankind; while in its sequel,
Locksley Hall Sixty Years After, he showed the revolution of feeling which had occurred
in many minds when the rapid development of science seemed to threaten the very
foundations of religion, and commerce was filling the world with the sordid
greed of gain. His Maud "gives a dramatic rendering of a revolt of a
cultured mind against the hypocrisy and corruption. His In Memoriam, traces the
triumph of Faith and Love over Death and Scepticism. In all these ways,
Tennyson was giving voice to the ideal traditions, hopes, aspirations, fears,
doubts and the griefs of the people of his age.
Like
Pope and Tennyson, Chaucer too, painted the life of his time in his poetry. The
General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales is a remarkable piece pertaining to
social criticism and has been universally acclaimed as an 'unsurpassed social
document of Chaucer's time. The social group of thirty pilgrims covers the
entire range of fourteenth century Englsih society, leaving only royalty on the
one hand, and the lowest life on the other. He truly becomes the social
chronicler of his time and unfolds the colourful panorama of life which he saw
around him. The following are the various traits which show the realistic
presentation of the society.
Artistic
and realistic presentation of society
The Prologue is a
picture-gallery of the fourteenth century English. Here he presents the
different characters from the various classes of the English society of the
time. Leaving aside the very highest and the very lowest of the English
society, his 29 pilgrims represent the whole range of English nation. The
design of bringing together the different representative figures, appears to be
realistic because pilgrimages to the religious shrines were a common feature of
that age. Chaucer's portraits are quite realistic, and with great tolerance and
sympathy, he has given a vivid and true picture of the English society. Furthermost
he discarded the fantastic world of dream and allegory. He painted his society
in a realistic manner and with great artistic detachment. These make his poem a
far greater work of art and a no less valuable social document than William
Langland's Vision of Piers the Plowman.
Medieval
chivalry of the age
Chaucer's age was
medieval although new trends were coming to the surface. He did believe in
medieval chivalry which stood for love, heroism and religion. Chaucer's Knight
is an example of medieval chivalry. He has been a warrior of fifteen battles,
fought in defence of Christian shrines. The Knight's Tale is also a full of
medieval chivalry, though it deals with the exploits of Greeks heroes in their
proper setting. The Knight is not only the first in the social order but also
the first in the medieval hierarchy. It is true that the Knighthood was losing
its importance under the new trends of the age, and the new class was
represented by his son the Squire, who was a modern young man full of zest for
life. He shows the change that was coming in the later half of the fourteenth
century.
Commercial
sections of the fourteenth century society
The trading and craftsman/mechanic
classes were gaining prominence in this
age. The new industries of silk and glass-making and brassware (utensils) were
becoming quite popular. This led to expansion of business. A class of merchants
acquired prominence as the middle-men between craftsmen and consumers. Chaucer
has given an important place to the Merchant. In spite of his doubtful practices,
he has not criticized him. The other classes of craftsmen, namely, the
Haberdasher the Carpenter, the Weaver, the Dyer and the Tapestry maker were
also fairly prosperous. Their good clothes and equipments show that not only
were they respectable in their looks, but also economically stable. Chaucer in
The Prologue has given a vivid picture of the commercial classes. The Merchant
is a typical representative of his class. His character-sketch as done by
Chaucer, exudes prosperity. He is always talking about the increase in his
income, and knows well how to make money in the marketplace. The countrymen and
the merchants have always been made the two most common objects of humour and
satire. But Chaucer lets the Merchant go without much of satire, perhaps, in
recognition of the important that this class had gained in his age.
The
medical profession
The Doctor of Physic represents the medical
profession of the fourteenth century. In those times, astronomy or rather
astrology was an important element in the training of a medical man. The
medieval theory of diseases was that they were due to the peculiar combinations
of stars and planets, which affected the human body. The standard of
cleanliness and sanitation was very low. So the great Plague raged for a number
of years. The Doctor of Physic made a pile of money during the great Plague and
was keen to keep it with him.
The
characters of the Church
The Prologue gives a
vivid picture of the Church. Chaucer is aware of the weaknesses of the
Churchmen, their love of money, corruption and materialism. The Monk, the
Friar, the Summoner, the Pardoner, and the Prioress are the example of the
corrupt clergy. They neglect their duty of looking after the moral and
spiritual conditions of the parishioner. The Monk is fond of hunting and
opposed to
serious study and penance. The Friar used the gift of the holy words to knock
out money from the people. The Pardoner makes money by selling pardons to the
sinners. The Prioress is keen in her manners and modish in behaviour. All these
characters, except the poor Parson, show how the Churchmen had become depraved.
In a nutshell, the Monk is a fat, sporting fellow averse to study and penance;
the Friar is a jolly beggar who employs his tongue to carve out his living, the
Prioress bothers more about modish etiquette; the Pardoner is a despicable
trading in letters of pardons with the sinners, who could ensure a seat in
heaven by paying hard cash in penitence for their sins; the Summoner is,
likewise, a depraved fellow. These characters indicate that various drawbacks
had crept into the Church. Side by side, there was the movement which revolted
against the corruption of the Church. The poor Parson was apparently a follower
of Wycliffe who was not in favour of existing conditions of the Church.
A
cross-section of the fourteenth century society
Fourteenth century
society, social historians tell us, consisted of three main classes-that of the
knights representing medieval chivalry, that of the clergy representing the Church,
and that of the workers. These three classes constituted the main social
structure, and each of these had its individuals indicating their degree or
order in the social scale. It was essentially a medieval society, although it
was gradually breaking up into what we know as the modern English society. For
example, the middle class of merchants and traders and shipmen was growing
slowly but steadily powerful. The clergy was growing on the other way-corrupted
and degenerated. Chaucer suggests this in the characters representing the
Church. Keeping in new the Prologue, Chaucer paints a National Portrait Gallery
with some thirty odd characters who, by and large, constitute the society of his
time. The picture is complete, except for royalty and the lowest step of the
ladder of English society. The Prologue is particularly representative of the
ranks and professions of English medieval society with the Church and the State
as its principal pillars. Chaucer, undoubtedly, is the social historian of his time,
and the remark could be verified by reference to the standard social and
political histories of the fourteenth century England.
Chaucer
is the most representative poet of the fourteenth century. Other poets of his
age direct their gaze and attention to only certain limited aspects of the
time. The unknown author of Pearl shows us the mysticism of a refined mind.
Wycliffe depicts the surging wave of religious reformation. Gower is
pre-occupied with the fear produced in the wealthier class by the Peasant's
Revolt. Langland represents the corruption in the Church and the religious
orders of his time. Considering these points, we can say that in The Prologue
and The Canterbury Tales, we do get an accurate picture of English social life
in the fourteenth century. The only qualification we can make is that the
highest and the lowest ranks the social ladder are missing. And since Chaucer
is no chronicler, we need not point out that some of the social upheavals of
his time-the Revolts, the Plagues, etc. But even these may be guessed at by
reading between the lines of The Prologue. The Doctor's exploitation of the
'pestilence', and the slightly idealised picture of the Ploughman and the poor
parish priest in an otherwise 'realistic portrait of the times do indicate
these social and political upheavals of the fourteenth century.
