Chaucer's Tales 'That Sownen into Synne' : a study of the moral context of Chaucer's Fabliaux

Abstract

This dissertation is a study of moral aspects of Chaucer' s fabliaux which are found in the Canterbury Tales. The six fabliaux which exist have been examined. These are the Miller 's Tale, Reeve's Tale, Cook 's Tale, Friar's Tale, Summoner's Tale and Shipman 's Tale. The first chapter discusses the fabliaux vis a vis traditional morality. The second part focuses on Chaucer's development of his sources into his own original and complex tales. The third chapter applies Bakhtin' s theories of polyphony and the carnivalesque to Chaucer' s fabliaux. The fourth section deals with fabliau like pilgrims within the Canterbury pilgrimage and the final chapter reviews what is currently under discussion and published about the fabliaux. Research work was mainly done by reading various critics' works and in consultation with my supervisor about the various issues of morality. Attending lectures and also watching Pasolini's 1971 film interpretation of the Canterbury Tales can be included as part of the ideas which formed the basis of this study.