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Physiognomy

Physiognomy was a science that judged a person’s temperament and character based on his or her anatomy. Physiognomy plays a significant role in
Chaucer’s descriptions of the pilgrims in the General Prologue. The most exaggerated facial features are those of the peasants. The Miller represents the stereotypical peasant physiognomy most clearly: round and ruddy, with a wart on his nose, the Miller appears rough and therefore suited to rough, simple work. The
Pardoner’s glaring eyes and limp hair illustrate his fraudulence.

Conclusion

The observer or narrator of the Canterbury Tales has joined a group of twenty-nine other pilgrims at the Tabard Inn in Southwark and has spoken to all of them. Thus he is an observer, just one of a group – accurate, interested, reporting in close detail what he has seen and learned. As he proceeds in this role, we get an idea of his character, and it is that of an exceedingly naïve fellow. He thinks the pilgrims are all perfect people and describes each with enormous enthusiasm, admiring them, in bourgeois fashion, for their appearance and their success – even when that success is in duplicity or thievery.
This unduly accepting observer is telling about the beginning of a pilgrimage from which he has now returned. No doubt he learned much more in a week or so than he would have seen at first glance in the inn. Like any returned traveler he must have picked up some guesses or surmises. But as we get further into his descriptions of his fellow pilgrims, we realize that he is reporting many more details than the average observer would normally see or guess. He knows how the Friar goes about his daily rounds, what he keeps concealed in his hood, how he hears confessions. He knows how the Prioress behaved in her convent and how the Summoner abused his office. He even knows what the Monk thinks (it seems unlikely that the Monk would have told all this) and hints broadly that the Monk’s “outriding” and hunting was in fact a hunt for women. In short, though we started with a pilgrim-observer returned from his travels and reporting what he remembers, we end up with an almost omniscient observer and reporter who knows their thoughts and secrets.
Obviously behind this observer stands the poet himself, who can imagine and write down what he pleases. Indeed the first voice we hear, in the opening sentence of the General Prologue, is the poet’s. The familiar lines, “Whan that April with his showres soote/The drought of March hath perced to the roote,” are not “realistic observation,” though often so described, but rely on learning and poetic convention. We are not told that the flowers have blossomed, but that “the a showers of April have penetrated March’s dryness, bathing the veins in such liquid as engenders flowers.”
“Pilgrimage” was a perfect metaphor for human life conceived in this way, and Chaucer was aware of this when he chose a pilgrimage as the setting for the tales. Pilgrimages were often condemned by churchmen because of the selfindulgent holiday conduct of pilgrims; the Wife of Bath herself is a great joiner of pilgrimages, and knew, we find out, much about “wandering by the way.”
Analyzing the Canterbury Tales, we found very interesting information. When we covered it during the lesson, we just got the main idea, but now we know the whole work. It is really interesting and useful. It can teach us many life lessons.
That’s why it is timeless. Furthermore, it shows the reader the condition of society, common people. However, its language is difficult for the readers of the 21th century since it was written in Middle English. While doing course paper and analyzing the work, we used new normalized spelling system for easier reading and pronunciation, extensive footnotes, complete listing of The Canterbury Tales recordings, glossary of basic Middle English words.
In addition, we improved our critical thinking, researching skills, analyzing skills, comparing and contrasting skills, obtained writing course paper knowledge in practice. We learned new words as well.