In The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer crafts a frame narrative centered on a pilgrimage to reveal the moral contradictions and social hypocrisies present in medieval English society. Write a well-organized essay arguing how Chaucer uses characterization, irony, and narrative voice in at least two tales or prologues to critique the disparity between claimed virtue and actual behavior among his characters. Your essay should present a clear, defensible claim and back it up with specific textual evidence.

In The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer uses the framework of a pilgrimage to reveal the moral contradictions and social hypocrisies present in medieval English society. Write a well-organized essay that argues how Chaucer uses characterization, irony, and a variety of tale genres to critique institutions — like the Church, the aristocracy, or the rising merchant class — that shaped his time. Support your argument with evidence from at least three tales or prologues, and reflect on how the range of narrators and their stories together create Chaucer's wider social commentary.

In The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer crafts a frame narrative centered around a pilgrimage, revealing the moral contradictions and social hypocrisies of medieval English society. In a well-organized essay, make an argument about how Chaucer uses characterization, irony, and a variety of tale genres to critique institutions — such as the Church, the nobility, or the rising merchant class — that influenced fourteenth-century England. Support your argument with specific evidence from at least three tales or prologues.