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The Nun’s Priest’s Tale, The Merchant’s Tale, The Pardoner’s Tale
The three Tales introduced in this lecture are among Chaucer’s best, and their excellence is the main reason for studying them. However, in considering them as a group, we can also trace a progression in moral intensity: a pair of light-hearted nominal morals is appended to The Nun’s Priest’s Tale; The Merchant’s Tale is a savage exposure of folly, self-deception and moral blindness in old age; while The Pardoner’s Tale is a chilling and deeply ironic warning against cupiditas, i.e. greed.
The text referred to throughout is Nevill Coghill’s translation of The Canterbury Tales into modern English (London: Penguin, 2003). (more…)
The General Prologue, The Knight’s Tale, The Miller’s Tale
This introduction to the first three sections of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales focuses on structures, social classes, characterisation and ethics.
The text referred to throughout is Nevill Coghill’s translation of The Canterbury Tales into modern English (London: Penguin, 2003).