Chaucer is going on a pilgrimage to Canterbury in April with 29 other people. In the “Prologue”, Chaucer introduces and describes all the pilgrims who will go with him to Canterbury. He depicts the characters with their clothing, social status, personality traits, and manners to show the weaknesses and flaws of the clergy members. The seven deadly sins are lust, pride, greed, sloth, envy, wrath, and gluttony. The deadly sins help show the flaws in the pilgrims. In Chaucer’s “Prologue”, he uses clergy pilgrims as the basis for satire of the church during the 14th century. Chaucer questions the corruption of the church based on the description of two clergy members, the Nun and the Friar, which illustrates his disappointment and frustration with …show more content…
The Nun is compassionate toward animals, “She would weep if she saw a mouse caught in a trap” (line 144-145). She only has feelings for animals not humans. She thinks this is how a damsel of the court would behave. She has no problem feeding her dogs flesh, therefor her weeping over the trapped mouse is probably like a habit or affectation. Chaucer says her forehead is a full hand-span broad and that “for certainly she was not undersized” (line 156). She tries to seem dainty, but she is a large woman. She is not underfed, so she might be glutton. The author is describing what she is wearing, “a lovely golden brooch on which was written first a crowned A, and then, Amor vincit omnia” (line 160-162). The brooch has "Love conquers all" inscribed in Latin. A nun is expected not to love any man yet she wears his brooch. The Nun should only love god, but she is faking her feelings. “Her table manners were admirable: she never let a morsel fall from her lips” (line 127-128). She has precise manners and eats as an noblewomen would. She tries to seem dainty to attract attention. She tries hard to be admired by others. She has pride in her manners. A nun only needs basics and nothing more but the Nun likes to eat good food and wear fancy …show more content…
This illustrates the church’s corruption. A friar should not drink yet “He knew the taverns well in every town” (line 240). A tavern is an establishment for the sale of beer and other drinks. He should know the poor houses better than the taverns. It is not fit for a respectable person as him to be with poor, “in general wherever it might be profitable he was courteous and humbly serviceable” (line 249). Chaucer uses irony to show he is doing the extract opposite of what he should really be doing. He is avaricious. Why should he spend time with the poor when if he spends time with rich people he gets money. The Friars should be helping and spending time with the sick and poor. Instead of wearing a simple cloak of a beggar, he is “more like a master or a pope: his robe was made of double worsted” (line 263-264). The friar wears expensive clothing. Friars are supposed to be humble and modest but this Friar wants to live a life of luxury. No other friar could sweet talk like him and “he had married off many a young woman at his own expense” (line 212-213). The Friar is lustful, so he probably seduces young girls and then takes their virginity and gets them pregnant. Before anyone finds out, he arranges their marriages. He pays the dowry to pay for the virginity he has taken from the young girls. The Friar is supposed to be a man of the church according to his job, caring for