Geoffrey Chaucer is known as the father of English poetry, particularly for his brilliant insight of human nature. In The Canterbury Tales, his illuminating views of character are clearly evident when he describes the pilgrims in his stories. Chaucer's characterization vividly reveals his insight into human nature.
When Chaucer describes the Monk, he talks about the human nature of worldliness. He writes, "This same monk let such old things slowly pace and followed new-world manners in their place." The Monk gets caught up in things like hunting, having nice horses, and dressing well. He pretty much does whatever he wants to and in turn he drifts away from the ideals of the church.
The friar's characterization reveals Chaucer's insight into the nature of greed. The friar uses his position to extort money and gifts from people. Chaucer shows this when he says, "Therefore, instead of weeping and of prayers, men should silver to the poor friars." Greed makes the friar so corrupt that he cares more about the gifts he receives than actually doing his job and helping people.
When he characterizes the Merchant, Chaucer is showing the human nature of falsehood. This is never clearer than when Chaucer writes, "This worthy man kept all his wits well set, there was no person that knew he was in debt." He is showing how people will lie and deceive in order to keep their reputation. The Merchant, for example, dresses up nicely and talks about only his successes in order to present a false image of a good businessman, when he is actually failing and in debt. .
Through his characters in The Canterbury Tales, it is easy to see that Chaucer has a great perspective into the different aspects of human nature. Every character shows us a different part of the way people behave and interact. Chaucer's insight can help us learn a lot about others and ourselves.
