Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Love for The General Prologue

As much as I hated Beowulf as a character, I love The Canterbury Tales. The prologue was my favorite part because the descriptions of the characters made me laugh. Let's start with the Knight. Okay, he didn't remind me of any one in particular, but I loved him. The fact that he can be as noble as he is described and dress casually makes me love him. He is humble and a guy I think I would get along with. We can hang out in sweatpants and t-shirts anytime, basking in each others awesomeness; we just won't bring it up or talk about it. I thought his son, the Squire was pretty funny. He reminds me of an animal that puffs out its chest to make it look better. Actually, he reminds me of this bird.All he wants is to look good for other people, much like this bird trying to impress the lady Red Frigates.
The Prioress seems like a phony to me. She acts like this delicate flower that cares for all lives, but in reality, she cares about animal lives more than human lives, and her high class manners makes me think she comes from money and is not so happy to be a prioress. In drastic contrast to the Prioress and her delicate manners is the Wife of Bath. Although she is promiscuous, at least she is honest about it, and I can respect honesty. She reminds me of Blanche from my favorite show, The Golden Girls. With her experience with men, she is much like Blanche, a true expert in men. She is also personable and fun like Blanche. All in all, the Wife of Bath is Blanche Devereaux.
The biggest connection I made was the Summoner to one of my favorite childhood characters. With the description of acne, diseased skin, scabby brows, shouting when he spoke, children fearing him, eating onions, garlic, and leeks, and was a troublemaker, I immediately thought of the Grinch. With his gross skin, loud voice, the fear he tries to instill in Cindy Lou Who, his onion eating in the beginning of the live action movie, and his constant wish to create trouble for the Whos, the Summoner is essentially the Grinch's twin. See the resemblance?
I loved the comparisons I could make in the prologue of The Canterbury Tales. It was fun to relate the characters to examples from today. I had a lot more fun with this than with cocky ol' Beowulf.

1 comment:

  1. I like your comparisons! A Golden Girls fan myself, I instantly agreed with your likening of Blanche and the Wife of Bath. Blanche and the WoB are also very similar in ways other than their promiscuity, which you touched on. Blanche carries herself as a classy, refined woman who just happens to like sex a lot, and so I think you really hit the nail on the head with your observation. I love the comparison of the Squire to the bird, partly because the picture made me laugh pretty hard. There is a lot to be said about the Squire and why he's so outwardly flashy, so I'm excited to discuss this further. Nicely done here.

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