The Pilgrimage And The Canterbury Tales

"What was society like back in the late 1300s?" you may ask. "I bet it wasn't that fun without electricity and television. Would things that were funny back then be funny for us now?" Geoffrey Chaucer's realistic description upon society within the story of The Canterbury Tales made the comedic depiction of life into a momentous tale for all to read. The story in itself contains a myriad of tales that is told by each individual character partaking in the pilgrimage to Canterbury, combined with some satirical aspects. Chaucer's use of the story's setting, detailed character description, and plot all somewhat correlated with what society must have been like during his time. Due to his creative compilation of each and every tale, The Canterbury Tales remains known as Chaucer's best introduction to his work.Chaucer's choice in setting was one aspect that could relate to his society during his lifetime.

His idea of the pilgrimage to Canterbury had placed the story within a specific period of time which had prevented it from being implemented universally. Furthermore, in doing so, the reader could infer that the events described within each of the tales were somewhat a small description of what occurs within his society. The setting of the story's beginning had placed all of the characters at an inn in which they were all preparing to set forth for a pilgrimage to Canterbury.

This idea of the pilgrimage, which was by horseback, obviously restricts the story's universality by that it describes a past where people still paid homage to St. Becket. It has even been stated that:Chaucer had taken the setting for his stories fresh from the earth of his native England

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