Geoffrey Chaucer, General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales

Michael Delahoyde (Washington State University)

Ed. by Richard Utz, Georgia Institute of Technology
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.02: English Writing and Culture: High and Late Medieval, 1066-1485.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Rory Critten (Université de Lausanne), David Fuller (University of Durham), Natalie Hanna (University of Liverpool), Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast), Jamie McKinstry (University of Durham), Sarah Peverley (University of Liverpool), Sebastian Sobecki (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 1387

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poetry (any)
Story

Resources

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The General Prologue to

The Canterbury Tales

justifies Chaucer’s traditional title as “father of English poetry”. In couplets of iambic pentameter, the General Prologue introduces a wide range of characters from various occupations and social strata, and contextualizes these pilgrims with a realism not encountered previously in English poetry.

Chaucer seems to have struck on the idea of The Canterbury Tales in the mid- or late-1380s, and 1387 works best as a hypothetical date for the fictional pilgrimage to have taken place (based on internal temporal and geographical references, and, externally, on the ramifications of Holy Week and Easter falling variously within the relevant years). For the source of such a framing device as the General Prologue serves, 1001 Nights and

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2481 words

Citation: Delahoyde, Michael. "General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 August 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=19964, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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