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- Let Augustine do his own work! The narrator satirizes the contemporary non-devout life of monks through his portrait of the jolly huntsman.
www.litcharts.com/lit/the-canterbury-tales/general-prologue
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The Host is a somewhat separate figure from the rest of the pilgrims: though he is an important character, he is not one of the tale-tellers and does not get his own portrait in the General Prologue.
- Characters
The Knight is a noble man who fights for truth and for...
- Characters
We get the impression that the Host is a jolly fellow – large, with piercing eyes, fit "to been a marchal in a halle" (General Prologue 754), which is in fact what he becomes as the self-styled director of the pilgrims' merriment.
In stanza thirty of ‘The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue’, Chaucer has come to the conclusion of his portrayal of characters: of their rank, dress, number, and also the purpose of their journey. They all have gathered in this Tabard Inn beside The Bell.
- Female
- March 18, 1991
- Poetry Analyst
The Host's is the 23rd portrait in the General Prologue. It comes after Chaucer has finished describing the other pilgrims, when the Host meets them all at dinner in the tavern. The Host proposes the tale-telling game at dinner the night before the pilgrims embark for Canterbury.
On the other hand, the narrator’s declaration that he will tell us about the “condicioun,” “degree,” and “array” (dress) of each of the pilgrims suggests that his portraits will be based on objective facts as well as his own opinions.
The Monk’s portrait, in which the narrator inserts his own judgment of the Monk into the actual portrait, is the clearest example of this. But most of the time, the narrator’s opinions are more subtly present.
The Host is the last member of the company described, a large man with bright, large eyes - and an extremely fair man. The Host welcomes everyone to the inn, and announces the pilgrimage to Canterbury, and decides that, on the way there, the company shall 'talen and pleye' (to tell stories and amuse themselves).
