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.

That if gold ruste, what shal iren do?

Of all the characters that we meet in "The General Prologue," I most liked the "povre Persoun," or poor parson. Out of all the characters, the poor parson seemed the most familiar to me; I think this is because, unlike knights or squires or summoners, the role of a parson is one that still exists in various forms and is, therefore, one that we generally recognize. It is interesting (and I wonder if Chaucer intended this) that the description of the poor parson follows the "Wyf," who lacks charity and commitment to others, and precedes (by several pages, as we didn't read all the way through) the summoner and pardoner, both of whom are vulgar and deceitful. I like that it is broken up this way, and - whether intended or not - emphasizes the parson's admirable qualities and, in turn, the others' unfavorable qualities.

The parson, though poor himself, gives what little income he has to his poor parishioners; his parish is so large and some live far, but he makes visits to all - regardless of weather, illness, or distance; and, most importantly, he strives to be an example of the gospel that he teaches. And he is an example - he doesn't just preach the gospel and act nice, but truly lives his life as Christ did in poverty and as an unyielding figure: the poor parson doesn't run "to London unto Seynte Poules" to take the easy, comfortable positions available to him as a member of the clergy, nor does he scorn sinful men, but rather, he "drawen folk to heven by fairnesse" and leads by example.

My favorite line from this passage is "That if gold ruste, what shal iren do?" The parson, an earthly representative for Christ, is "gold," the bright, desirable, holy character, the shining example of man - and admonishes other clergy members to not be corrupt, to not "rust." I couldn't help but think that it is fitting that we should be reading about the poor parson the week that Pope Francis is to visit the United States. Pope Francis, among many changes he has made in the Vatican, is well-known for his attention to corruption  and abuse within the Vatican and within the Catholic Church as a whole. I think there is some of this poor parson's gold that shines in Pope Francis, and I think it is something to which people are drawn.