“The Nun’s Priest’s Tale” is one of the Canterbury Tales written by a famous poet, Geoffrey Chaucer in the 1390s.
It is a narrative, beast fable, and mock epic that is based on an incident in the “Reynard Cycle” and teaches moral lessons.
“Reynard Cycle” is a collection of 26 Chapters put together by several clerks and minstrels.
It was compiled towards the end of the 12th century and the early part of the 13th century. The collection contains a set of famous animal stories.
The poem has 695 lines which include a prologue and an epilogue. The prologue tells us why the narrative was made.
The Nun’s Priest is called on to narrate his tale in order to ease the tension created by the previous tragic stories. The knight demands that a tale of good fortune be narrated.
The priest then narrates the story of a rooster named Chanticleer owned by an elderly poor widow.
About the Poet- Geoffrey Chaucer
The actual date of birth and the place of birth of Geoffrey Chaucer is not known. By some accounts and his works, he was born in London in the early 1340s.
He was a famous English poet and author. His most popular work is “The Canterbury Tales.” He was referred to as the “father of English Literature.”
Chaucer was born into a middle-class family. His father’s name was John Chaucer, a wine merchant, and his mother was Agnes Chaucer.
It is on record that Geoffrey Chaucer received formal education and could speak French and Latin very well.
Chaucer embarked on a military career in his early twenties and served as a page to the Countess of Ulster. He later joined the army during the Hundred Year’s War.
He was captured by the French in 1939 and upon the payment of his ransom was eventually released.
After leaving the military, he had a career in diplomacy. He held various positions afterward.
He served as a customs officer, comptroller of customs, and clerk in the king’s palace. These experiences influenced his literary works.
“The Nun’s Priest’s Tale” is one of the Canterbury Tales among others compiled and composed by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 1390s.
Chaucer died on the 25th of October 1400 in London, England. He was buried in Westminster Abbey and his burial site became a pilgrimage for Chaucer’s admirers.
The Poetic Meanings of Some Difficult Words and Expressions in the Poem
Cottage- A small house
Meadow- A land covered with grass
Little she had in capital- Poor
Piquante- Flavor
No dainty morsel- No delicious food
Temperate- Moderate
Apoplexy- Uncontrollable anger
Dairy woman- She feeds on dairy products
Jollier- Louder
Abbey- A Monastery
Equinoctial- Relating to the equator
Azure- The unclouded sky
Paramours- Lovers
Debonair- Charming
Particulars- Appearance
Durance vile- Persecution
Timorous poltroon- A complete coward
Laxative- A drug that aids digestion and prevents constipation
Apothecary- A person who makes and sells drugs
Woods- Forest
Analysis of “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale”
Once upon a time, there lived an elderly, poor, hardworking widow in a small cottage by a grassy land in a hilly terrain.
Since she became a widow, she has been living a simple and quiet life. She managed with little resources that came her way to take care of herself and her two daughters.
The widow had three female pigs, three cows, and sheep named Molly. Her house is full of black particles from her kitchen and she has few things in there.
She doesn’t cook any flavored or delicious food, she just eats moderately to keep herself alive. She plans her things according to the available resources.
The widow doesn’t drink any wine. She is mostly served milk and brown bread that she has in abundance. She also eats pork or an egg or two most of the time.
The widow had an enclosed yard where she kept her cock named Chanticleer. This cock is the best in crowing; his voice is louder than the church organ on Sundays.
The crowing is more regular and accurate than any clock or bell in the monastery; there could be no complaints about his crowing.
Chanticleer has a tall, fine comb, redder than fine coral. His bill is black and shines like a jet. His legs are set with white nails. The feathers are bright, shining like gold.
There are other seven hens who are beautiful like Chanticleer and are his lovers. One of the hens is called Lady Pertelote whom he loves most. Pertelote is beautiful, polite, discreet, and caring.
Pertelote was seven days old when she was in love with Chanticleer. They were very close and loved one another.
It happened one day when Chanticleer was troubled by a terrible dream that he was groaning.
Pertelote, his favorite who was always close to him and was by his side, heard him groaning and was terrified.
Pertelote then asked him what his problem was. He responded that he was troubled by a terrible dream that created fear in him.
He then prayed to God to turn the dream into good and keep him from a long prison sentence. He said he dreamt about a beast (fox) that is after his life.
Pertelote in her response chided him for believing in dreams and said that Chanticleer was a coward and that she couldn’t love a coward.
She said that dreams were vanity, he was only being disturbed by indigestion. She added that she shouldn’t take it seriously.
She advised him to go to drug sellers to buy drugs to pudge him. She also prescribed the herbs he could take to cure him of the indigestion.
Chanticleer appreciated her advice and said that dreams couldn’t be overlooked just like that.
He added that there were two sides to the interpretation of a dream; it might lead to triumph or tribulations for the person.
He cited some instances to back up his claims by narrating some stories from one of the greatest authors.
He narrated the story of two comrades on pilgrimage who had accommodation problems in a town. They had to separate each of them to solve their individual problem.
The first one found a place where oxen and a plough are kept. The other friend also found a place somewhere.
It happened that the second friend had a dream that he heard his friend calling for help. He urged him to come to his aid that he would be killed where he slept that night in the ox’s stall.
The friend dismissed the dream as mere fantasy and slept back. He dreamt about his friend again telling him that he had been killed.
He told him to go early in the morning to the West gate where he would see a cart loaded with dung. He said his dead body was hidden in the dung.
He urged him to arrest the cart that he was killed because of his money.
The friend quickly went to where he slept and was told he had gone. He then headed to the West gate as instructed in the dream.
He found the cart as described, and he then started shouting,
“My friend’s been killed! There’s been a
foul attack,
He’s in that cart and gaping on his back!
Fetch the authorities, get the Sheriff down
-Whoever job it is to run the town-crier
Help! My companion’s murdered, sent to
glory!”
The people searched the dung and the dead body was found fresh and new.
The perpetrators were arrested and hanged after their confession. Chanticleer concluded that dreams should be feared.
Chanticleer also narrated the story of two men who embarked on a business journey and had to cross the sea.
The wind on the sea was not friendly, so they decided to wait till the storm subsided.
They went to sleep and one of them dreamt that a man told him that they should not set sail the following morning. The person added that if they did, they would drown.
He woke up and told his friend about the dream. The friend didn’t take it seriously that it was “empty nonsense.” He embarked on the journey and drowned.
Chanticleer tells Pertelote that one should not be careless of dreams. Many dreams give signs of up-coming problems.
He also narrated the story of St. Kenelm the son of Kenulphus, the king of Mercia, who dreamt of his murder shortly before being killed.
Chanticleer cited more examples for Pertelote of Macrobius, young Scipio Africanus who affirms that dreams can give warnings of what is coming ahead.
He also goes Biblical by making reference to the old testament mentioning Daniel, Joseph and Pharaoh who never said dream was vanity.
Reference is also made to Croesus, the Lydian king that dreamt of being hanged and came to pass.
Andromache, Hector’s wife, dreamt of his husband’s death. Hector waved it aside and went to war and was killed by Achilles.
He concluded by saying that the dream made him confused and sick and that the drugs are dangerous to take from his experience.
He told Pertelote that whenever he set eyes on her, all forms of terror disappeared. When she is by his side, he is always happy and forgets about any dream.
Chanticleer jumps down and plays around with Pertelote and the other wives as there is no fear in him again.
When he finds a seed of corn, he chuckles and they all run to his side. He crows to announce the hours of the day.
As fate would have it, a fox that has been going around the jungle for three years burst into Chanticleer’s yard in the night.
Chanticleer was in the euphoria of being in the midst of his lovers and sang merrily. He suddenly cast his eyes to catch a butterfly but fell on the fox lying down.
At that moment, the Chanticleer couldn’t cock out of fear. The fox then flatters him that he shouldn’t be afraid of him. He says he is a friend and doesn’t come to harm him.
He says he is there to listen to his merry voice singing. He compares his voice to the angels of heaven and Boethius who was an expert in singing.
He added that he was friendly with Chanticleer’s parents as he enjoyed his father’s songs. Nobody could be compared with his father when it comes to singing and wisdom.
The flattering entered Chanticleer’s head and stretched his neck and began to sing. The fox then jumped on Chanticleer and grabbed him by the neck.
They initially were not aware of what was going on until they cited the fox with Chanticleer in his mouth going into the forest. They all carried sticks running after him.
Chanticleer also played a fast one on the fox by advising it to pause and tell the pursuers to give up the chase. Since he is now in the forest, the cock is now his and he is going to eat it.
As the fox opens his mouth to jeer at his pursuers, Chanticleer escapes from his jaws and flies high to the treetops.
The fox tried to play a second one on Chanticleer again. He apologized for the way he had treated him that he meant no harm.
He begs him to come down so that he can explain his intentions.
Chanticleer refuses and says he would not allow himself to be fooled again; nothing would make him listen to him again.
The Nun’s Priest’s Tale- Themes
Simplicity- Simplicity is derived in this poem from the life of the old widow.
She is described as a poor woman who lives a very simple life. She lives in a small cottage and manages what comes her way. She doesn’t drink any wine.
“Since the sad day when last she was a wife
Had led a very patient, simple life.”
Contentment- The widow is content with what she has. Though she is poor, she didn’t turn herself into a nuisance in the community. She has three pigs, three cows a cock (Chanticleer), and a sheep(Molly).
From there, she takes care of her two daughters and eats a little. She doesn’t bother about her soup being delicious and cuts her coat according to her cloth and not according to her size.
“No dainty morsel ever passed her throat,
According to her cloth she cut her coat”
Hardworking- The fact that the widow is poor doesn’t mean that she is lazy.
She is hardworking and takes care of herself and the two daughters. She has brown bread and milk in abundance.
“Hard work for exercise and heart’s content.”
Beauty: The old widow has a cock known as Chanticleer who has seven wives. His favorite is Lady Pertelote who is very beautiful and charming.
“She with the loveliest dyes upon her throat
Was known as gracious Lady Pertelote.
Courteous she was, discreet and debonair,”
Lady Pertelote’s beauty is capable of quenching all forms of fear in a man. This is from the utterances of Chanticleer while extolling Lady Pertelote’s beauty.
“For when I see the beauty of your face,
That scarlet loveliness about your eyes,
All thought of terror and confusion dies.”
Love: This is seen in the affairs of Chanticleer and Lady Pertelote. Chanticleer developed an interest in her when she was seven days old.
Out of the seven wives, Pertelote is his favorite; they walk about closely and do things together.
The Power of Dreams: This poem showcases the power of dreams through Chanticleer. He slept and had a terrible dream that he was killed by a fox.
This disturbed him and made him groan. When Pertelote asked him why he was groaning, he narrated what happened and said he entertained fear because of the dream.
Pertelote waved it aside and said that dreams were vanity and that he was only being disturbed by constipation. Chanticleer then gave instances of the people that dreamt and the dreams came to pass.
Fear: There is no doubt that Chanticleer entertains fears because of the terrible dream he had. This disturbs his sleep and makes him groan.
Even when his wife, Lady Pertelote tries to discountenance it and calls it vanity, Chanticleer takes time to cite instances of dreams that some people had and came to pass.
He even goes Biblical by citing instances from the Holy Bible to corroborate the fact that dreams should be taken seriously and feared.
Death: A number of deaths are recorded in the narrative due to non-heeding the revelations of dreams.
The first one is that of two comrades who are traveling and are separated because of the problem of accommodation.
The other friend dreams of his friend in danger of being killed, but doesn’t take any action. It is when he dreams again that he is killed and should pursue the killers that he takes action.
The perpetrators of the dastardly act are arrested and hanged after they all confess to the crime.
Another death is recorded in the case of two traders who are traveling and have to cross the sea. One of them dreams that they shouldn’t travel the following morning so that they wouldn’t drown.
The dreamer tells his companion about it but he doesn’t take it seriously and embarks on the journey. There’s an accident as they are on the sea and all the occupants drown and die.
Hector also loses his life because he doesn’t believe the revelations from his wife’s dream. Andromache, his wife, dreamt in the night that he would lose his life.
She warned him as he was going to war the following day but he dismissed it. He fought Achilles and was killed that very day.
Flattery: We see in the narrative how the fox flatters Chanticleer and makes him believe what he is saying.
Initially, fear grips Chanticleer when he sees the fox, but the latter allays the fear with flattery. Chanticleer is carried away with the flattery and falls prey to the fox.
Chanticleer also flatters the fox in return in his bid to rescue himself from his grip.
He advises the fox to shout at his pursuers to turn back and tells them that Chanticleer is already in his custody.
“Sir Fox, if I were you, as God’s
My witness, I would round up these clods
And shout, ‘Turn back, you saucy bumpkins all!
Now that I have in safety reached the wood
Do what you like, the cock is mine for good;
I’ll eat him there in spite of every one.”
As the fox opens his mouth to address his pursuers, Chanticleer breaks free and flies to the treetops.
Another instance of flattery is seen in Chanticleer and his wives. Chanticleer enjoys the attention of his wives and enjoys hearing them sing his praises.
This also serves as a satire of the self-importance and the vanity of the people at the helm of affairs during that period.
The Nun’s Priest’s Tale- Poetic Devices
Fable: This is a device whereby animals wear human behavior and characteristics. This poem is an example of a beast fable.
It narrates the story of a rooster named Chanticleer who falls prey to a fox (Reynard). Chanticleer has seven wives including Lady Pertelote who is his favorite. They all talk and act like human beings.
Satire: This is a writing, in which societal indiscipline and foibles are identified and ridiculed in the write-up indirectly in order to bring correction or change.
This poem is a good example of a Satirical write-up because it is written to satirize certain aspects of medieval society.
For example, Lady Pertelote, Chanticleer’s favorite wife, wears the characters of the vain and foolish behaviors of noblewomen of the period.
The dreaded fox in the narrative is also a representation of the pictures of the corrupt clergymen of the period. The clergymen exploit other people with their positions.
Personification: The non-human characters are fully given the attributes of humans. They talk, behave, and reason like humans.
The poet also makes use of personal pronouns which are used for humans for the non-human characters. Chanticleer narratives and the arguments of Lady Pertelote are of humans.
Chanticleer also describes how he feels while looking at the beautiful face of Lady Pertelote using personification.
“All thought of terror and confusion dies.”
Simile: Some qualities of Chanticleer are compared to give a vivid description of his sterling qualities. His comb, bill, legs, and feathers are described thus:
“His comb was redder than five coral, tall
And battlemented like a castle wall,
His bill was black and shone as bright as jet,
Like azure were his legs and they were set
Like burnished gold his feathers, flaming bright.”
Another example of simile is in the description of the way the pursuers of the fox yell while running after it.
This is after Chanticleer falls prey to the fox and he is being taken to the forest.
“They yelled like fiends in Hell, ducks left the water
Quacking and flapping as on point of slaughter,”
Metaphor: This is the comparison of two things that share similar qualities without the use of “like” or “as.” Chanticleer’s nails are compared with “lily” in the poem.
“On azure toes with nails of lily white,”
Metaphor is also used in the description of the beauties of Lady Pertelote.
“She with the loveliest dyes upon her throat”
Hyperbole: This is the use of undue exaggeration in an expression. The way Chanticleer crows is overstated in the poem as if no other cock could do it better.
“He crowed so well there could be no improvement.”
We also have this in the description of his feathers which is compared with burnished gold.
“Like burnished gold his feathers, flaming bright.”
Hyperbole is also used by the fox while flattering Chanticleer. He compares his voice with those of the angels of Heaven.
“You have as merry a voice as God has given
To any angel in the courts of Heaven;”
Rhetorical Questions: These are questions that require no answers. They are just expressions put in the form of questions.
This is used in Lady Pertelote’s response when Chanticleer expresses his fears about the dream. The expressions are made to embolden Chanticleer.
“How dare you say for shame, and to your love,
That there was anything at all you feared?
Have you no manly heart to match your beard?
And can a dream reduce you to such terror?”
Other instances of rhetorical questions in the poem are used by Chanticleer while narrating different stories to back up his claims that dreams should be feared.
“What need I add to finish off the story?”
“Did Daniel think a dream was vanity?”
“Did not their visions have a certain force?”
Synecdoche: This is a literary device where a part is used to represent the whole, or a whole represents a part. It is used when Chanticleer is narrating the story of two merchants.
One of them got the revelation through a dream that they shouldn’t travel the following morning. One of them disobeys and he along with the other occupants of the ship drowns in the sea.
“Her bottom rent, all hands aboard to drown”
Biblical Allusion: Chaucer makes use of Biblical allusion in this poem. This is a literary device where reference is made to the events in the Bible.
We can find this in the narratives of Chanticleer. He made reference to the stories in the Bible to corroborate his belief in the efficacy of dreams.
He made mention of Pharaoh the king of Egypt and Daniel. He also made reference to Ecclesiastes and Iscariot in the Bible.
Classical Allusion: This is making reference to events that happened in a very long time. A reference to a historical event, person or place.
The story of the death of Hector, who is wife had earlier dreamt of his death but discountenance it when the woman told him. Hector was later killed by Achilles in a duel between the duo.
Chanticleer cites this instance while trying to convince Pertelote that dreams come true and should be feared.
Rhyme: “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale” is written in rhymed couplet; the end rhymes at the end of each line.
This gives the poem the rhyme scheme “AA” “BB” and “CC.” This contributes to the musicality of the poem.
Irony: This is when the opposite of what is expected to happen happens. During the first encounter of the fox with Chanticleer, the fox refers to him as his friend which is not.
“Are you afraid of me that I am your friend?”
It is somehow ironic when Chanticleer, a dignified character, falls cheaply to the antics of a fox.
It is at the same time ironic that Chanticleer could also be able to flatter the fox to rescue himself from the grips of the fox.
Imagery: There is the use of vivid descriptive imagery to bring the narrative alive.
The pictures of the characters are skillfully painted with words so that the readers can visualize the characters and the events in their brains.
As readers go through the poem, the mental picture of what is read reflects in the brain.
Enjambment (Run-on-line): This is a literary device whereby the lines of the poem run to one another.
There is the continuation of an expression from one line to the next without a pause. It is used to create an uninterrupted rhythm to make the poem flow.