Essay on “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale” An Analysis - 2247 Words

The â€Å"General Prologue† provides us with no evidence as to the character of the Nun’s Priest. Only in the prologue to his tale do we finally get a glimpse of who he might be, albeit rather obtusely. As Harry Bailey rather disparagingly remarks: â€Å"Telle us swich thyng as may oure hertes glade./Be blithe, though thou ryde upon a jade† (p.235, ll2811-2812). I say this cautiously because much criticism has surrounded the supposed character of the Nun’s Priest, his role in the tale, and his relationship to the Canterbury Tales as a whole. One example, in my opinion, of an unsatisfactory reading is exemplified by Arthur Broes’s 1963 article â€Å"Chaucer’s Disgruntled Cleric: The Nun’s Priest’s Tale.† Broes argues that the Nun’s Priest is an â€Å"erudite†¦show more content†¦So we may dismiss him without ceremony, and imagine ourselves face to face with Chaucer; his is the all-pervading geniality and sly elvish humour of this sparkling tale† (Pearsall 39). Personally, I find this position to be almost as far-fetched as that of Broes. We have seen, quite consistently, throughout the various tales that Chaucer plays an intricate, even slightly devilish, game of hide and seek with the reader. No single character can be said to represent Chaucer, just as Chaucer never completely enters the psyche of his creations. In fact, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. Of course, it is curious that we know so little about the Nun’s Priest. However, perhaps we might conjecture that this vagueness is a deliberate strategy. In other words, because we know so little about the Nun’s Priest, our ability to enter into the realm of the tale is unclouded by our preconceptions, or misconceptions, of this pilgrim. Too often, we have a tendency to judge the tale based on our liking or disliking of the particular pilgrim whose portrait remains indelibly printed on our impre ssionable minds. By withholding the portrait, Chaucer affords us a chance to really read the tale. Indeed, if we are to speculate at all, then we might be tempted to identify with this anonymous â€Å"Sir John† who is seemingly mocked, albeit gently, even by Chaucer: â€Å"And right anon his tale hath he attamed,/And thus he seyde unto us everichon,/This sweete preest, this goodlyShow MoreRelatedThe Nuns Priests Tale in the Canterbury Tales Essay1339 Words   |  6 PagesChaucers The Nuns Priests Tale is at once a fable, a tale of courtly love, and a satire mocking fables and courtly love traditions. To this end, Chaucer makes use of several stylistic techniques involving both framing and content. The tale begins and ends with a poor widwe somdeel stape in age (line 1), but the majority of the content involves not the widow but the animals on her farm, in particular an arrogant rooster name Chauntecleer. 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