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CHAUCERS ART OF CHARACTERIZATION AND POETIC ART
Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400) is considered as the father of
English poetry not only for his somefinest poetic works ut also for
his gift of poetic art! Chaucer was the first nota le creator of
characters in English literature! "s a poet and creator of literary
characters# he had no pre$iousmodels to follow in his portayal of
characters! Chaucer created his own style of character
portrayal!
%hough the characters in the Canter ury %ales are descri ed
$i$idly and often comically# it is notnecessarily true that these
characters are therefore stereotypes of %he &iddle ages! %he
comple'image descriptions and the tales the characters tell help to
direct the reader in finding a moreaccurate and realistic picture
of the pilgrims# ringing into uestion the theory that Chaucer was
ustsee again! %he fact that there is one representati$e for each of
the chief classes (under the higher no ility) would suggest that
this work is an attempt to pro$ide a catalogue of characters from
themiddle ages# and it can e assumed from this that this denotes a
collection of stereotypes# althoughthis is not necessarily
true!
%he format of %he Canter ury %ales suggests a simplistic
approach# a prologue and epilogue and inetween a collection of
tales# on the passageway of English poetry# Chaucer flourishes the
fantastic
colours of his words and paints different characters of his age
with minute o ser$ation! *ndeed# he isa great painter who paints
not with colours ut with words!+ndou tedly# he has,
The Seeing Eye, the retentive memory, the j !gment to "e#e$t %n!
the %&i#ity to e'(o n!)*
is keen analysis of the minutest detail of his characters# their
dresses# looks and manners ena lehim to present his characters
lifelike and not mere loodless a stractions!
is poetical piece# .%he /rologue to the Canter ury %ales is a
real picture gallery in which thirtyportraits are hanging on the
wall with all of their details and peculiarities! ather it is a
grandprocession with all the life and mo$ement# the colour and
sound! *ndeed#
Hi" $h%r%$ter" re(re"ent Eng#i"h "o$iety, mor%##y %n! "o$i%##y,
in the re%# %n! re$ogni+%ety(e"*)
"nd still more representati$e of humanity in general! 2o# the
characters in Chaucer s .%he /rologueare for all ages and for all
lands!
Chaucer is the first great painter of character in English
literature! *nfact# ne't to 2hakespeare he isthe greatest in this
field! *n .%he /rologue to the Canter ury %ales the thirty
portraits traced yChaucer gi$e us an e'cellent idea of the society
at that time! E'cept for royalty and aristocracy# onone hand and
the ro ers or out casts on the other# he has presented in rief
practically the wholeEnglish nation!
%he thirty pilgrims# including the host# elong to the most
$aried professions! %he night and the2 uire presents the warlike
element of the society! %he learned and li eral $ocations are
signified ythe &an of 5aw# the 6octor# the 7'ford Clerk and the
/oet himself! %he &erchant and the 2hipmanstand for the higher
commercial community while the 8ife of 9ath# an e'pert Cloth maker
representsthe traders and manufacturers! "griculture is represented
y the /loughman# the &iller and the:ranklin!
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%he lower ser$ants like &anciple and the ee$e and the lower
ser$ant like ;eoman and the Cookrepresent the town and Country
etween them! %he &onk from his monastery# the /rioress from her
con$ent# her attendant priests# the $illage /arson# the roaming
:riar# the /ardoner and the 2ummoner sufficiently co$er the casual
categories of the religious order in those days!
%o preser$e the distinctions among these typical characters#
Chaucer has indicated the differences intheir clothes# manner of
speech# ha its and tendencies representing the common traits and
thea$erage characteristics of each profession! %hese personages#
therefore# are not mere phantasms of the rain ut real human
eings!
%hese characters represent $arious types of contemporary
society! %hey are no longer meredummies or types ut owing to their
$arious peculiarities# their arguments and agreement and their
likes and dislikes we recogni
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particularly e$ident the way he presents his characters!*n fact#
the Prologue reaches the height of agrand social comedy in
poetry!%his comic effect is finely achie$ed y his wonderful sense
of wit andhumour!%hus the Prologue is not merely a wonderful
document of the English social life of the 14thcentury ut also as a
delightful comedy of human life!
1%ng %ge %n! meter"
Chaucer greatly increased the prestige of English as a literary
language and e'tended the range of its poetic $oca ulary and
meters! e was the first English poet to use the se$en-line
stanth-century English followers and the so-called 2cottish
Chaucerians!
:or the enaissance# he was the English omer! Edmund 2penser paid
tri ute to him as hismaster? many of the plays of 8illiam
2hakespeare show thorough assimilation of Chaucer s comicspirit!
@ohn 6ryden# who moderni
