The Nun's Priest's Tale
Master Summary & Critical Analysis
1. Introduction
"The Nun's Priest's Tale" is one of the most famous and entertaining stories in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. It fits into the genre of a "Beast Fable," which is a story where animals talk and act like humans to teach a moral lesson. It is also a "Mock-Heroic" poem. This means Chaucer describes a simple event in a barnyard using the grand and serious language of epic heroes. The story is about a rooster, a hen, and a fox, but it deals with deep themes like pride, flattery, and dreams.
2. The Characters and The Dream
The story is set on a poor widow's farm. The main character is a magnificent rooster named Chauntecleer. He is very handsome, proud, and has a beautiful singing voice. He has seven wives, but his favorite is a hen named Pertelote. One night, Chauntecleer has a terrible nightmare. He dreams that a beast (a fox) is trying to eat him. He wakes up frightened and tells Pertelote. However, Pertelote laughs at him. She says dreams are meaningless and are only caused by indigestion. She advises him to take a laxative. Chauntecleer disagrees and uses examples from history to prove that dreams can predict the future. This long debate is funny because they are just chickens talking like scholars.
3. The Fox and The Trap
Despite his fear, Chauntecleer flies down into the yard. A cunning fox named Sir Russell is hiding in the bushes. When the rooster sees him, he wants to run away. But the fox uses flattery to trap him. The fox says he only came to hear Chauntecleer's beautiful voice, which he claims is better than an angel's. Chauntecleer becomes filled with pride. He closes his eyes and stretches his neck to sing. At that exact moment, the fox grabs him by the neck and runs towards the woods. The entire farm—the widow, the dogs, and the other animals—chases after them in a chaotic scene.
4. The Escape and Conclusion
Chauntecleer realizes he made a mistake, but he is clever. He tells the fox to turn around and shout insults at the people chasing them. The fox, also being proud, opens his mouth to speak. As soon as the fox opens his mouth, the rooster flies out and sits high up on a tree. The fox tries to flatter him again, but Chauntecleer has learned his lesson. He refuses to come down.
5. Moral and Message
The tale ends with a double moral. For the rooster (and the reader), the lesson is to beware of flattery. As the rooster says, we should not close our eyes when we need to look. For the fox, the lesson is that we should not talk when we need to remain silent. Chaucer teaches us that pride comes before a fall. Through this humorous story of farm animals, Chaucer exposes human weaknesses and vanity in a brilliant way.
Prepared by PKG SIR
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