93 Canterbury Tales Essay Topics, Prompts, & Examples

We highly recommend you check some Canterbury Tales essay questions, prompts, and topics before or instead developing yours. Thus, whether you’re writing an assignment on satire and irony or character analysis, check ideas collected by our team.

🏆 Best Canterbury Tales Essay Prompts & Examples

1. Dante and Chaucer: The Divine Comedy and The Canterbury Tales Comparison
   Both Geoffrey Chaucer and Dante Alighieri wrote in the Middle Ages and were the two most famous and most celebrated writers of that period.”Both Dante and Chaucer were active in affairs of their times”.
2. Geoffrey Chaucer
   Geoffrey Chaucer, the father of English poetry, was the first who started writing in English, not in Latin, as writers and poets used to.
3. How The Canterbury Tales Reflect Chaucer’s Attitude
   For example, the idea of prioritizing one’s own benefits is discussed as the writer presents such characters as the miller and the reeve.
4. “The Miller’s Tale.” Critical Analysis of Jealousy Theme
   It has been argued that the Miller’s tale reflects a fall in social status a from the noble intentions of the characters in the Knight’s Tale, and their noble standing as well, in contrast to […]
5. The Canterbury Tales
   Geoffrey Chaucer has also been able to write quite a good number of poems such as The Book of the Duchess, House of Fame, The Parliament of Fowls and The Legend of Good Women.
6. Literary Analysis on The Canterbury Tales
   Through the description of the contrasting characters of the Summoner and the Parson, the narrator is able to draw the picture of the Catholic Church during the nineteenth century.
7. The Knight: Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales
   The Knight is the narrator of the first tale in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The Knight’s character is the complete opposite of the knight in the Wife of Bath’s Tale who rapes a girl.
8. Interpreting Dreams That Never Occurred: The Dream Sequence in The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Its Implied Concepts
   Despite men being predominantly satisfied with the given state of affairs at that time, humanist ideas were spawned by Chaucer ‘s The Canterbury tales in the era when women had little to no authority in […]
9. Emily, Palamon, and Arcite in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales
   In conclusion, Palamon and Arcite are bound together by their duty and the desire to win Emily’s heart, regardless of her opinion.
10. Women’s Issue in Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales”
    The most evocative depiction of feminism and the plight of women can be found in the story The Wife of the Bath.
11. The Pardoner’s Tale: “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer
    Despite the fact that the Tale and the Prologue revolve around the issue of morality most of the time, the two stories manage to touch upon a range of other issues, among which the one […]
12. The Skipper in The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer
    However, based on the prologue and description of the man, it can be understood that he is a simple representative of the working class.
13. Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales” Review
    He had made expeditions in Lithuania and in Russia, no knight of his degree so often; and many a time in Prussia he had sat at the head of the table alone all the knights […]
14. Comparison: The Gospel of Mark and the Book of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales
    Consequently, the love explained in the book of Mark is the ultimate love that makes people volunteers of even their own life for the purposes of abiding to the promises.
15. Tale as Old as Time: In Search for Women’s Sovereignty
    The above-mentioned example can be classified as the means to turn the text into a story, which allows to refer the latter to the narrative style.
16. “The Tale of the Wife of Bath” by Geoffrey Chaucer
    In summary, the Wife of Bath has a diverse personal attributes ranging from intelligent to wickedness with an appealing physical appearance and from her description or autobiography, she is an expensive, independent woman from England.
17. Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales
    The tales touch on various topics such as corruption and marriage, and they also unveil the immoral nature of the clergy in the modern Catholic churches.

🎓 Interesting Canterbury Tales Essay Topics

1. The Different Perceptions and Attitudes of Marriage in “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer
2. The Great Use of Satire in “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer
3. The Relationship of the Reflection to the Teller in “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer
4. Geoffrey Chaucer’s Portrayal of the Squire and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” From “The Canterbury Tales”
5. A Comparison of the Moral Values and the Perception of Heroism in “The Knight’s Tale” and “The Miller’s Tale” From “The Canterbury Tales”
6. The Emotionless Banter and Labor of Christ’s Soldiers in “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer
7. The Portrait of Medieval Social Classes as Presented in the General Prologue to “The Canterbury Tales”
8. A Character Sketch of Knight in “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer
9. Chaucer’s View on the Church as Evident in “The Canterbury Tales”
10. An Analysis of Stereotypes in “The Miller’s Tale” and “The Knight’s Tale” From “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer
11. Diversities in Marriage in “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer
12. The Illustration of the Medieval Church in “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer
13. The Important Theme of Sex in the Stories in “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer
14. The Important Roles of the Prioress and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” in the Prologue of “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer
15. The Flaws of the Pardoner and the Prioress in “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer
16. The Social System of Medieval England Through the Characters’ Description in “The Canterbury Tales”
17. The Church Corruption in “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer
18. The Perceptions of Marriage in “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer
19. The Changing Society of the Middle Ages as Revealed by “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” in “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer
20. A Literary Analysis of Chivalry in Chaucer’s “The Knight’s Tale” From “The Canterbury Tales”
21. The Pursuit of Love in “The Miller’s Tale” From Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales”
22. The Idea of Women With Rights in “The Pardoner’s Tale” and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” From “The Canterbury Tales”

📌 Good Canterbury Tales Essay Topics

1. A Literary Analysis of “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” From Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales”
2. The Secret Promise in “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” From “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer
3. The Use of Irony in Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales”
4. A Critique of “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer in the Theme of Religious Pilgrimage
5. A Comparison of the Friar and the Summoner in “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer
6. The Distinction Between Classes in “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer
7. The Symbolism of Clothing in “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer
8. The Picture of the Medieval Society in “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer
9. “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” and the Prioress Described in Great Detail in “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer
10. The Tales of Marriage and Love in Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales”
11. The Unfinished “The Canterbury Tales” Due to the Death of Geoffrey Chaucer
12. The Quality of Gentillesse of the Clerk in Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales”
13. The Unethical Economic Practices of Inflation by the Merchant in “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer
14. The Views of the Author Through the Narrator in “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer
15. Women as the Downfall of Men in Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales”
16. The Hints of Feminism in “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” From Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales”
17. The Moral and Social Commentary of Geoffrey Chaucer in “The Canterbury Tales”
18. The Roles of Men and Women in “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer
19. “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” From “The Canterbury Tales” as the Ideal Model for the Feminist Literary Figure
20. The Satire and Humor in “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer

❓ Canterbury Tales Essay Questions

1. Who did the narrator meet at the Tabard Inn?
2. How does Chaucer portray the women in The Canterbury Tales?
3. What is the frame narrative of The Canterbury Tales?
4. Why is The Canterbury Tales helpful to historians?
5. How does Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales reflect the negative attitude of society?
6. What was the main reason for the popularity of The Canterbury Tales in Medieval England?
7. Are there any symbols, hidden context, or undiscovered questions in The Canterbury Tales?
8. How is the narrator in The Canterbury Tales portrayed?
9. Of what use is the bone?
10. How does Chaucer show dislike for characters in The Canterbury Tales?
11. In “the prologue” to The Canterbury Tales, how does Chaucer use the pilgrimage as a device?
12. How is Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales still relevant in society today?
13. What is implied about the prioress in these lines from Chaucer’s prologue to The Canterbury Tales?
14. In The Canterbury Tales, where does history end and legend begin?
15. How did The Canterbury Tales challenge medieval social conventions?
16. Where did the Pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales meet?
17. What was the Knight’s tale in The Canterbury Tales about?
18. The Canterbury Tales is written almost entirely in what style?
19. What are some examples of social satire in The Canterbury Tales?
20. Where are the people in The Canterbury Tales traveling, and for what reason?
21. How is the Pardoner different from the Parson in The Canterbury Tales?
22. How did Chaucer criticize the church in The Canterbury Tales?
23. What technique does Chaucer use to create lively characters?
24. Why was Chaucer’s Knight an example of chivalry?
25. What is ironic about the description of Absalom in The Canterbury Tales?
26. Which innovation is attributed to Geoffrey Chaucer?
27. What simile is used to describe Alison that hints at her dishonesty in The Canterbury Tales?
28. What segment of society does Chaucer examine with the Pardoner?
29. What type of story does the Nun’s priest tell?
30. How does Chaucer conceive of ancient history and belief systems in The Canterbury Tales?
31. Which details in the sketch of the Oxford Cleric in The Canterbury Tales match the stereotype of the starving student?
32. Where does the Knight fit in? What is the role of fustian tunic?
33. What is the role that social class plays in The Canterbury Tales?
34. How well does Madame Eglantine really speak French?