What is The Structure of The Canterbury Tales?

Updated: November 28, 2022
The Canterbury Tales is a collection of 24 stories that range in a variety of genres, including romance, tragedy, and comedy. The tales are told by a group of pilgrims on their journey from London to the Canterbury Cathedral.
Detailed answer:

The Canterbury Tales is a collection of 24 stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the late 14th century. The stories are told by different characters who are on their way to Canterbury, where they will visit the shrine of Thomas Becket. However, the structure of The Canterbury Tales is quite complex and it’s easy to get confused if you’re not careful. Luckily, we’ve got you covered! Here are some things to remember as you read:
Each pilgrim tells two stories on the way to Canterbury and two more on the return journey. In each story, there are many characters who all have different personalities, but they are all connected in some way. For example, in one story they may be talking about how they hate a certain queen or king and then later on they mention another character who has married that same queen or king. This gives us insight into how their lives overlap and how people’s lives intersected with each other back then.
The tales are written in Middle English and are a mix of verse and prose and some of them are in the form of a fabliau.
The characters in the stories are not always likable, but they’re meant to be realistic representations of people in the Middle Ages. They deal with controversial topics such as adultery and religion.
Also, it has been translated into many different languages and there have been several film and stage adaptations based on it.

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