The Motif of the Journey in Chaucer’s "The Canterbury Tales"

To draw the conclusion, one can say that the major journey in The Canterbury Tales is used primarily as a literary device that brings together a disparate group of travellers with a common purpose, allowing Chaucer to engage in a broad social commentary. The General Prologue introduces the book as a whole, in addition to the array of diverse characters who narrate the subsequent tales. These characters are representative of the three estates: military, clergy and peasantry and The General Prologue is an Estates Satire that is able to criticise the abuses that occur within these estates (particularly the clergy, with a large representative including the Prioress, Monk, Friar, Parson and Pardoner). The pilgrimage is not particularly significant to the Motif of the Journey, but it is a useful technique for setting up the Estates Satire of the General Prologue and for binding together each of the varied stories that make up “The Canterbury Tales”. Therefore, the main character goes through changes, or discovers something about themselves. A motif is a reoccurring theme or idea, and journey can often mean discovery in literature.…