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Which social groups are represented among the pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales?
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Geoffrey Chaucer
English poet Geoffrey Chaucer, author of The Canterbury Tales.
In The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer utilizes the framing device of a pilgrimage to bring together a diverse group of approximately 30 individuals from many different walks of life. This structure allows for the representation of various social classes and professions, including:12
- Nobility and Gentry: Knight and franklin.12
- Clergy and Religious Figures: Prioress, monk, pardoner, and scholarly clerk.12
- Professional and Commercial Classes: Merchant and man of law.12
- Laborers and Tradespeople: Miller, reeve, and others such as the Wife of Bath.12
By assembling this wide array of social types, Chaucer was able to present a highly varied collection of literary genres and offer complex, humorous, and insightful depictions of the human condition.12