... social satire. He presents the majority of these characters as people going on the pilgrimage for completely the wrong reasons, which suggests how seriously Chaucer is worried with the lowering of moral standards, as well as the avarice gripping society. This could be a definite criticism of the corrupt state of the church at the time. Out of the thirty pilgrims in the Canterbury Tales, eight are members ... of or have close dealings with the Church, which indicates ... just how much Medieval life is dominated by the Church, and how widespread ... ...

• Word Count: 1850
• Approx Pages: 7

... is able to make his official expectation concerning the "Estate of Spiritual Rulers" in his explanation of clerical members. These expectations are based on the various Benedictine Rules which governed the Monks within the Church (Miller, 210). Chaucer's satiric comments about the Monk in, The Canterbury Tales are made because of the inappropriate worldliness of the Monk (Phillips, 31). This characteristic of the Monk stands out because of its contrast to ... the basic idea of what a Monk should be. The worldliness of the Monk is criticized because of his apparent ... ...

• Word Count: 2003
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate