Recasting the Canterbury Tales: Stage 4 Final Draft

In the course of studying The Canterbury Tales it becomes blatantly obvious that many remarkable similarities exist between the works of other contemporary authors, such as the Gower’s The Decameron and Boccaccio’s Confessio Amantis, and the work of Chaucer himself. While some of these similarities are vague, such as the basic premise of The Decameron and Canterbury Tales or the similar story elements shared by the Boccaccio’s Tale of Florent and Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath’s Tale, others, like the Franklin’s tale of the timeless lovers, Arviragus and Dorigen, are too direct a usurpation of the original texts to pass as either original or adapted. However, the main difference in Chaucer’s iteration of the original works is the manner in which he utilizes his first person narrator differently than previous authors have. For instance Gower’s, in The Decameron, The First Day offers a description of three young men entering the church . Gower provides a very basic description, directly characterizing them as “debonair” and “chivalrous (078),” leaving little detail for the reader to infer on their own. However in Chaucer’s General Prologue, Chaucer describes the Merchant, a minor character, extensively, describing such minute insight as that “This worthy man kept all his wits well set; there was no one could say he was in debt (279).” Here Chaucer provides a unique insight that other author’s, such as Gower, may not have included. In this small observation, Chaucer goes beyond simply describing a character and provides insight to the readers that enriches the character’s background as well as allows the reader to infer for themselves about the nature of the Merchant’s hidden debt. So, Chaucer is able use keen personal observations to enrich the reader’s experience when reading the Canterbury Tales by providing insight that other authors would otherwise omit, as well as allowing the reader to infer things for themselves. Finally, Chaucer’s interpretation of the tales is also humorous in nature. This particular difference is one of the most important in setting the Canterbury Tales apart. While The Decameron tends to very bleak, taking place after the detrimental effects of the plague in a solemn church sanctuary, The Canterbury Tales initially takes place amongst the merriment of a Tavern and includes such characters as the Miller, who brings vulgar comedy into the mix. This distinction indicates that The Canterbury Tales may be more geared toward entertaining a more general audience than providing a moderately serious tale. Thus Chaucer’s purpose in writing the Canterbury Tales is to augment keen observation and humor to the original works, allowing for a more entertaining experience for the reader through his use of the Narrator’s sharp perspective and humorous characters that sets the work itself apart from other similar contemporary pieces.

It is this sense of humor and keen observation in Chaucer’s writing that gives birth to an idea for a new pilgrim to accompany the others on their way to Canterbury and the shrine of Sir Thomas Becket. The man’s name is of no importance, however he is best identified as a spunky old man. He is slightly hunched and often times a bit rowdy. He has experience with many things, many a mystery to the pilgrims. Outwardly, the old man can be cantankerous at times but generally is good humored, always laughing and adding a sly, often inappropriate comment to any situation. By his speech and choice of words, many think he may be an old sailor, but he maintains a polite nature towards women and, when merited, men. What sets this old man apart from a vulgar character such as the Miller, however is the keen sense of observation he possess. Much like Chaucer’s narrator his age and experience allow him to see through peoples facades and often times provide serious insight that is as shocking as it is true. Thus this character derives his nature from the characters of the Miller, the Knight, due to his chivalrous, experienced past, and Chaucer’s narrator himself.

The character will retell the Nun’s Priest’s Tale. The Nun’s Priest Tale describes the great lusty rooster Chanticleer. The tale itself unfolds as a fox stalks Chanticleer and his many wives in the chicken coop. The fox then proceeds to flatter Chanticleer on his glorious singing. As Chanticleer lets his guard down to such flattery, the fox snatches him by the throat and runs off. As the fox escapes with him, Chanticleer is able to convince him to boast to the hounds that are chasing them from the barnyard. As the fox turns to do so, Chanticleer escapes his jaws and flies into a tree, safe, and rejects the fox’s next attempts to flatter him from his safe place. The moral of this tale is to never trust a flatterer. The tale itself is told by the Nun’s priest companion and so the tale is meant to be a moral one, however the very promiscuous, often explicit, nature of the tale makes the source of its telling rather odd. It seems misplaced that a priest should tell such a vulgar tale, including such descriptions as Chanticleer copulating with his unwed lover, Pertelote, several times before sunrise (3177). Thus the tale seems better told by the rowdy Old Man. The often-inappropriate nature of the man will aid in the believability of him telling such a lusty tale, and his experience and observational skills will allow the theme, the dangers of flattery, to come across with real weight. The telling of this tale by this Old Man will thus embody Chaucer’s purpose in telling the tales: to provide a humorous and observant retelling of an old tale, keeping the reader engaged through raunchy humor that may have appealed during Chaucer’s time.

Ultimately, through the composition of this project, the nature of the video as a visual aid, combined with the essay as a conceptual aid, joins together to create a seamless final composition in which the video, meant to entertain and give visual imagery to the concepts provided in the essay portion.

*DISCLAIMER: SOME OF THE LANGUAGE IN THE FOLLOWING VIDEO MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO SOME VIEWERS*




Citations:

Geoffrey Chaucer. _The Canterbury Tales_.
14th century.

John Gower. _The Decameron_.
1353.

Clint Eastwood. _Gran Torino_. Perf. Clint Eastwood.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, 2008.

Pete Doctor, Bob Peterson. _UP_.
Pixar Animation Studios, 2009.

Robert McKimson. _Looney Toons_. Foghorn Leghorn.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, 1946-1963.

George Carlin. _You are all Diseased_.
HBO entertainment, 1999.