Question

In the Canterbury tales, what is the main idea of the general prologue?

Answer 1

Answer:

The general prologue of "The Canterbury Tales" is to give the information of the pilgrims and the reason behind the telling of the tales.

Explanation:

Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" is a collection of tales told by thirty pilgrims on their way to Canterbury. The tale begins with a general prologue by the narrator presumed to be one of the pilgrims.

The "General Prologue" begins with the narrator describing the reason of these pilgrimages. People usually go on pilgrimages to distant holy lands but mostly to Canterbury in visit the relics of Saint Thomas Becket in the Canterbury Cathedral. St.Thomas Becket was the archbishop of Canterbury who was killed by the knights of King Henry II in 1170. Then he along with twenty-nine other pilgrims are staying in a tavern, on their way to Canterbury. He told of how the idea for the storytelling start, saying that in order to pass the time, they will all take turns telling stories, two tales on the way to Canterbury and two tales on their way back. Then he went on to introduce and describe each traveler, all coming from different backgrounds. Also, the owner of the inn will serve as the judge to chose the winning tale. The next morning before they set off for the journey, he tells of his intention to record the tales told by the others too.