How do you find the socio-political world depicted in the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales different from that of Beowulf?

 

“Prologue to the Canterbury Tales” by Chaucer provides us a critical but faithful account of people from different social and political background shown by all the characters he presents in the tale. Each of the character presents their socio- political status like the monk, frier, lawer, merchat who represent their socio-political society of contemporary England. On the other hand the epic poem "Bewolf" brilliantly illustrates : religion, supernatural elements, heroic virtues (bravery, dignity, glory, loyalty), and a particular history of a particular time and place during the Anglo Saxon period whose people lived in clans and survived fighting against evils. There is a huge difference in the presentations of socio-political portrayal in the epic poem "Canterbury Tales"  with that of the epic "Bewolf". Characters matter a lot to differentiate socio-political world of the two stories. The epic poem " Bewolf" is different from "Canterbury Tales" in the aspect of socio-political practice as the two tales are narrated in two different times.

 

Geoffrey Chaucer takes characters from different strata of the then contemporary England. The poet creates the characters on his own and identifies them with the people of contemporary society. He, even in order to describe socio-political world, he selects  people more accurately, chooses a perfect occasion, the pilgrimage, because the pilgrims came from all social strata and formed a perfect group of representatives of the time. The poet encounters the people and describes them as they seemed to him.  He says,

 

“To inform you of the state of everyone

 

Of all of these, as it appeared to me.

 

And who they were, and what was their degree.”

 

The poet actually makes a satire on the society and on its people for being on both the extreme levels. He begins his tale of satire with a knight and continues with the knight’s son, a prioress, and a monk, friar, clerk, a sergeant of law, merchant, sailor and so on.

 

 

Chaucer presents the prioress and the monk as the epitomes of the luxury and hypocrisy. These two characters perfectly represent the show-off religiosity of the priests and nuns, and of their luxurious life which was very much visible in that society. The practice of hypocrisy reigned among the  Prioress which is highlighted through him. Whereas women in "Bewolf" are seen as peace- weaver, gift- giver and ring- giver. Welatheow is such a lady who bestow Bewolf the rewards after the death of Grendel.  Hyged is presented as being wise minded. She lives in high love for all humankind. She has made peaceful court and country with her with her political presence. She says:

 

"Such queenly habit

 

Is not for a woman to perform, though she be matchless

 

That peace-weaver far denies life".

 

The prioress represents the contemporary clerical or sophisticated decorum of the religious people. She was no way closer to the real teachings of Christ. She was simply a lady of self-obsession, self-possessed and of self-consciousness. She is such a lady, worthy of contempt that she seemed to have wept if a mouse got caught in a trap, but she herself had pet dogs that she fed on roasted flesh, or milk and fine white bread. She seemed to be less bothered about people around but busy with her pets. Yet she pretended to present herself as very faithful to Christ. She represents a hypothetical contemporary society of England.

 

“Full well she sang the services of the divine, through her nose, becomingly.”

 

The account of the monk is also very satirical. Chaucer portrays him as one not possessing the true qualities of a monk. He was “a manly man” who always rode on horse and love hunting of the hare. He was a monk contrary to the cloistered monk, though he chose a life of cloister. Sometimes he seemed to be a very practical man, but not suited for the cloistered monkhood. The monk too just like the prioress was a man of luxury. He would for no cost spare the pleasure of hunting because “Hunting were all his love.” He was more worldly than spiritual. The socio-political world that Chaucer paints in the tale is full of hypocrisy, ill- practices, vices and double-standardness whereas  in "Bewolf" bewolf as a king and worrier shoe no hypocrisy, no double- standardness. He fights for people, kills dragon, monsters not to cheat people. He plays no hide and seek games. He is truthful  and honest to his people, to his duty and to his kingdom which is a complete contrast to the Monk and Prioress in socio-political world of England.

 

The Friar, the mendicant monk, named Hubert lived happily and excessively. In Chaucer’s criticism, he was the best beggar in town and was so smooth that he could even get the poorest little old ladies to give him money. A dirty society was projected through him. He is the irony of religion and always ready to befriend young women or rich men who might need his services, especially those of marriage and confession. The guy had a lot of nice stuff, including a fair amount of jewelry in his robes that he used to woo the ladies. He would spend all his time with the wealthy, flattering them so that they would give him money. None was more virtuous than him in a nightmare. But in "Bewolf" people believe in their clan gods in their faithful observances. There's no hypocrisy in their religious practices.

 

Chaucer gives an account of a lawyer in order to present the corruption of the legal system in terms of socio-political background of that time.The lawyer, who was appointed by the king, often serves as a judge, and he specializes in land deeds. He used to always talk about laws, cases, and judgments, a great show of his learning. He wanted everyone to believe that he stayed very busy in his profession, but in truth, he did not. He used to charge the clients very heavily. Whereas does just the opposite. For his work he doesn't take rewards though it was given to him as a token of love and gratitude. He shows his readyness to save, help and make sure people's well being at the cost of his life. When Bewolf is given charge to kill dragon, he utters:

 

"Dragon

 

Until one began

 

To dominate the dark, a dragon on the prowl

 

From the steep vaults of a stone-roofed barrow

 

Where he guarded a hoard (2211-4)22

 

The burning one who hunts out barrows,

 

The slick-skinned dragon, threatening the night sky

 

With streamers of fire. People on the farms

 

Are in dread of him. He is driven to hunt out

 

Hoards under ground, to guard heathen gold

 

Through age-long vigils, though to little avail".

 

He doesn't run from danger while killing the dragon rather at the cost of life he brings wealth, goblets from the dragon's possession and give to people.

 

The first pilgrim Chaucer describes in the general prologue is the knight. The knight represents the ideal of a medieval Christian man-at-arms. He has participated in no less than fifteen of the great crusades of his era. The ‘knight’ stands for the chivalry and chivalric values that give him the right to govern and responsibility to protect the community. He slays people as a servant of the king. The king orders him and makes use of his strength and power to secure his kingdom. He earns glory, fames and honour that serve only the king. For Anglo Saxon king, Bewolf kills to protect his people. He kills monsters and dragon and sacrifice his life at the end to save the community.  He also hunkers after power, glory and fame that meant only for people. There's no socio-political gain in it. He does it self volunteerilly. He says,

 

"I sold my life for this treasure, and I sold it well. Give it all to my people".

 

Knight’s son Squire, who is about twenty years old, though he has fought in battles with great strength and agility, like his father, he is devoted to love. There is a clear contrast set up in ideas of chivalry between the knight and his son. Knight and his son represent aristocracy. They are the pilgrims with the highest social status. While the knightly classes were still important in Chaucer’s England, their hold on wealth and influence was less exclusive than in previous generations.  Knight’s son squire represents the noble class, and the warrior class.

 

At the end I admit that the society presented by Chaucer in "Canterbury Tales' is full of nasty practices carried out by the people of different social and political strata which is much different from "Bewolf" which presents peace, honesty, self sacrifice and philanthropic attitudes.