Canterbury Tales Are a Collection of Stories Essay

Canterbury Tales are a collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the late 1300s. At the end of the contest and pilgrimage, the person who has told the best story will win a free meal at the Tabard Inn in Southwark. Among the most popular tales in the book are "The Knight's Tale," "The Miller's Tale," and "The Wife of Bath's Tale."

"The Knight's Tale" is a story that follows Arcite and Palamon, cousins who are captured by the duke of Athens, Theseus. The cousins are imprisoned in a tower in Theseus's castle that overlooks a garden. One morning, Palamon awakes and looking out the cell's window, spots Emily, instantly falling in love with her. Arcite is woken up by Palamon, and looking out the window, instantly falls in love with Emily too. The cousins' fierce love for Emily causes them to grow apart and hate each other, which will contribute to their downfall later in the story. Arcite is eventually released from prison, only to disguise himself and enter into Emily's service in order to be close to her. On the other hand, Palamon is only able to escape his prison after drugging the jailer.Eventually, the two cousins confront each other and are about to enter into a duel until Theseus intervenes and forces them to gather one hundred men each to enter into a tournament. The champion of the tournament will be given the right to marry to Emily.While Arcite wins the tournament, he dies; his dying wish is that Emily marries Palamon, which she does.

"The Miller's Tale" revolves around adultery and the repercussions of attempting to betray and trick people. Like "The Knight's Tale," this story also involves a love triangle. In the story, John, a carpenter, and Alisoun are married to each other; Nicholas rents a room from John and successfully convinces Alisoun to have sex with him. Later on, Absolon, also falls in love with Alisoun, and in his attempts to woo her, sings to her outside her window. Alisoun rebuffs Absolon's advances and Nicholas, in an attempt to spend more time with Alisoun, convinces….....