The Canterbury Tales is a collection of 24 tales counting over 17,000 lines. The poem begins when the pilgrims (زائرین), living in London, set forth to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket (the saint who fought for the dominance of the church over monarchy in twelfth century), situated in Canterbury. Geoffrey Chaucer, at that time, was Controller of Customs. He had to visit other areas for official purposes. He enjoined the caravan of pilgrims in Southwark while staying in an historical inn, The Tabard. It was decided that each person would tell two stories on arrival and departure from canterbury while the host Harry Bailey of above-mentioned inn should be the judge and the winner would be awarded with free meal at his inn. Thus the journey began in 1380 and collectively more than 120 stories were told but Chaucer was only able to narrate 24 of them. In the prologue, every character is introduced with condensation of detail. Chaucer is an epic observer.
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Classical Poetry
