Irony In Chaucer's The General Prologue

The pilgrimage and all that it entails is a combination of a sincerely devout journey as well as a pleasure trip. The choice of a pilgrimage for a framework for his collection of short stories also allowed Chaucer to accomplish one more very unusual thing: the storytellers, the pilgrims, because of their interests as people, often overshadow the stories that they tell.
The General Prologue, known as the gallery of portraits, makes full use of the little human affectations and pretentions. Chaucer’s method of selection appears to have been a collection of characters which stand out as archetypes of fourteenth century England and as individuals. The secret of Chaucer converting stereotypical characters into living individuals is hidden in the pregnant phrase, a brief comment touching upon universal human actions or attitudes, which brings to the reader a host of associations based on his personal experiences. The outlines of his portraits Chaucer

The description of the Prioress and the tale that follows uses ambiguous language and uses irony to criticize society. The Prioress is an indistinct voice but a voice which is accepted in the fourteenth century. We are exposed to a senior female religious who expresses herself within the semi constrained frame of religiosity but who revels in her conventional good looks and aristocratic ways. The greater part of the Prioress’ tale tells us about her ideal, Mother Mary, the virgin and the mother. Through this depiction, Chaucer captures the poetic intensity of medieval adoration for Mother Mary. The mother in the story is a virtuous woman revering in her faith in the Virgin Mary. Her state is described as close to Mary as possible; she is free from her sexual duties and has the past experience of Virginity besides being a devoted mother to an only