AWA: Academic Writing at Auckland

In Chaucer’s The General Prologue each character that we meet has a very distinctive personality, and often even more distinctive physical characteristics. Through Chaucer’s rich descriptions of them, we can see there is a strong sense of individuality in each of the characters; each pilgrim seems more different than the last. The portraits of the Squire and the Clerk are no exception. Using the Cambridge University Press edition of Chaucer’s The General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales to give examples, I will compare and contrast these two characters.

The Squire’s portrait paints him to be a very vibrant and youthful character; a great deal goes into emphasizing the physical peak that the Squire is in. Images of spring are evoked in various lines when he is described as “fressh as is the month of May” (Chaucer 53) and his clothing is described as being embroidered “Al ful of fresshe floures, whyte and reede” (Chaucer 53). There is also mention of a cavalry expedition the Squire had been on; he knew how to properly ride a horse “Welkoude he sitte on hors and faire ryde” (Chaucer 54) among other talents such as composing songs, jousting, dancing, drawing, and writing. Chaucer seems to view the Squire favourably; from his description, the reader can see the Squire is in the prime of his life, and is well on his way to becoming a knight. Even though he is still relatively young and carefree, and spending a large part of his day on more recreational activities such as singing or fluting “Syngynge he was, or floytynge, al the day,” (Chaucer 53) the Squire was also well mannered and knew how to properly serve his father (and therefore presumably others of his father’s rank) “Curteis he was, lowely, and servysable, and carf biforn his fader at the table” (Chaucer 54).

The Clerk, on the other hand, is a stark contrast to the youth and vibrance of the Squire. Whereas the Squire is described as “wonderly delyvere, and of greet strengthe,” (Chaucer 53) the Clerk is described as looking “holwe, and therto sobrely” (Chaucer 60). While the Squire is described as being in the prime of his life, the Clerk is stated to have “unto logyk hadde longe ygo,” (Chaucer 60) suggesting he is older. He is dressed very shabbily, and unlike the Squire, he has no steady employment, having not taken an ecclesiastical position and “ne was so worldly for to have office” (Chaucer 60) i.e. he wasn’t experienced enough to work in a secular position. Also unlike the Squire, the Clerk does not take any great pains with appearances; while the Squire is dressed in fine clothing and “with lokkes crulle as they were leyd in presse,” (Chaucer 53) the Clerk’s clothing is described as threadbare “ful thredbare was his overeste” (Chaucer 60). The Clerk would rather books over finery; he cared little for appearances, and was more interested in the pursuit of knowledge than making money “for hym was levere have at his beddes heed… Than robes riche, or fithele, or gay sautrie” (Chaucer 60). Any and all money that the Clerk did acquire went straight on books or learning (which is perhaps why he was so skinny).

However, despite these apparent differences, in some ways the two are quite similar. For example, the Clerk, like the Squire, was very well spoken and well mannered “and that was seyd in forme and reverence” (Chaucer 60). Also like the Squire, the Clerk is very passionate about the things he loved (in his case, knowledge). He was also very dedicated and knowledgeable in the things he chose to learn about; the Squire knew well how to sing, compose songs, joust, etc. and the Clerk was well versed in Philosophy (his chosen field of study). The Clerk had begun his studies long ago, whereas the Squire had only just begun; however the Squire’s chosen profession took a long time to reach the highest rank (i.e. knight) , so both of them chose to pursue careers as it were which required a lot of hard work and dedication. From this one could therefore infer that both the Clerk and the Squire showed a degree of dedication to their chosen lifestyle. As mentioned earlier in the essay, the Squire is described as “servysable” (Chaucer 54) and similarly, the Clerk is said to be glad to teach “and gladly wolde he… teche” (Chaucer 60). Both of them are willing to serve others if the situation should arise. 

Through this comparison of the two characters, the Squire and the Clerk, we can see that the initial impressions we get from Chaucer’s descriptions are not always to be taken at face value. Whilst two characters may seem extremely different, on opposite ends of a scale almost, it is always possible to find some similarities and some common ground between the various characters, as exemplified in the comparison of the portraits between the Squire and the Clerk.

List of works cited

Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales. Ed. R.T. Davies. London: George G. Harrap & Co., 1953. Print.

Chaucer, Geoffrey. The General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales. Ed. James Winny. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965. Print.

L. D. Benson. Chaucer: “The General Prologue – an interlinear translation.” FAS Academic Technology Group. President & Fellows Harvard University, Apr 8, 2008. Web. Mar 30. 2010.