Canterbury Tales Metaphors and Similes Quotes

Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote The droghte of March hath perced to the roote - Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales

Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halve cours yronne,
And smale fowles maken melodye,
That slepen al the nyght with open ye
(So priketh hem nature in hir corages),
Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue. The beautiful opening lines describe the setting and plot of the poem’s frame story. It is spring, nature is reawakening, and the people of English go on pilgrimages to Canterbury to pay respects to and seek help from Saint Thomas Becket. The springtime, birds singing and flowers are symbols of spiritual rebirth but also of sexual awakening. Sexual desire and courtly love are strong themes throughout the poem. In the opening lines the basic metaphor is a sexual one, April impregnating March with rain to bring forth from the barren winter earth the vegetation of spring.

A Monk ther was, a fair for the maistrie,
An outridere, that lovede venerie,
A manly man, to been an abbot able.
Ful many a deyntee hors hadde he in stable,
And whan he rood, men myghte his brydel heere
Gynglen in a whistlynge wynd als cleere
And eek as loude as dooth the chapel belle.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue. Not the usual Monk this man. Rather than leading the spartan life associated with monks, he enjoys a life of extravagence. He enjoys hunting and owns many excellent horses. When he goes out riding you can hear his bridle jingling as loud as the chapel bell. In the Monk, Chaucer is satirizing hypocritical religious figures who are meant to live a monastic life of hard work and doing without, but instead are in the lap of luxury and idleness.

He yaf nat of that text a pulled hen,
That seith that hunters ben nat hooly men,
Ne that a monk, whan he is recchelees,
Is likned to a fissh that is waterlees –
This is to seyn, a monk out of his cloystre.
But thilke text heeld he nat worth an oyster.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue. The Monk is a corrupt character. When he should be studying, praying or reading religious texts, he prefers to skip all that and go hunting instead. It is ironical that the spiritual practices referred to here, which he is meant to follow, he just denounces and dismisses. Chaucer uses the simile fish out of water to describe the Monk being shut away in a monastery.

Somwhat he lipsed, for his wantownesse,
To make his Englissh sweete upon his tonge;
And in his harpyng, whan that he hadde songe,
His eyen twynkled in his heed aryght
As doon the sterres in the frosty nyght.
This worthy lymytour was cleped Huberd.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue. Friar Hubert is very aware of the power of delivery in his speech and song, when trying to get cash out of people. He adds a little lisp to make his English sweet on his tongue. His eyes also twinkle like stars in the frosty night (simile) during his performance. If he were in America today, he could be a successful televangelist.

She koude muchel of wandrynge by the weye.
Gat-tothed was she, soothly for to seye.
Upon an amblere esily she sat,
Ywympled wel, and on hir heed an hat
As brood as is a bokeler or a targe;
A foot-mantel aboute hir hipes large,
And on hir feet a paire of spores sharpe.
In felaweshipe wel koude she laughe and carpe.
Of remedies of love she knew per chaunce,
For she koude of that art the olde daunce.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue. The final lines describing the Wife of Bath are very sexually suggestive. She is gap-toothed, sits easily on her horse, wears a wimple overskirt over her broad hips, and sharp spurs on her feet. She is able to give first hand advice on matters of love, Chaucer tells us, going on to describe her sexual expertise with a dance metaphor: For she knew the old dance of that art.

This Pardoner hadde heer as yelow as wex,
But smothe it heeng as dooth a strike of flex;
By ounces henge his lokkes that he hadde,
And therwith he his shuldres overspradde;
But thynne it lay, by colpons oon and oon.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue. The Pardoner is repugnant in appearance. His hair is long, greasy, limp and "yelow as wax." It hangs like a clump of wax in small strands down to his shoulders. This negative description of him foreshadows the kind of unscrupulous personality that we will come to learn learn this corrupt seller of Church pardons has.

So muche sorwe hadde nevere creature
That is, or shal, whil that the world may dure.
His slep, his mete, his drynke, is hym biraft,
That lene he wex and drye as is a shaft;
His eyen holwe and grisly to biholde,
His hewe falow and pale as asshen colde,
And solitarie he was and evere allone,
And waillynge al the nyght, makynge his mone.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Knight’s Tale. After Arcite is released from prison by Theseus on condition he never returns to Athens, he sinks into a state of lover’s melancholy in Thebes. Separated from Emily, he cannot sleep, eat or drink. He is as pale as cold ashes (use of simile). While he has his freedom, he is unhappy because he is unable to exist or function without his love.

Ther nas no tygre in the vale of Galgopheye,
Whan that hir whelp is stole whan it is lite,
So crueel on the hunte as is Arcite
For jelous herte upon this Palamon.
Ne in Belmarye ther nys so fel leon,
Ne of his praye desireth so the blood,
As Palamon to sleen his foo Arcite.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Knight’s Tale. There are graphic similes to describe the fierceness of the battle between the two knights in the tournament. Arcite is said to be as fierce as a tiger towards a huntsman if her cub is stolen from her. Palamon is said to be as bloodthirsty towards his rival as a lion that is hunted or maddened with hunger.

But of hir song, it was as loude and yerne
As any swalwe sittynge on a berne.
Therto she koude skippe and make game,
As any kyde or calf folwynge his dame.
Hir mouth was sweete as bragot or the meeth,
Or hoord of apples leyd in hey or heeth.
Wynsynge she was, as is a joly colt,
Long as a mast, and upright as a bolt.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Miller’s Tale. Using a succession of similes, the narrator compares Alison’s voice to a swallow’s song, says that she could skip and play like any kid or calf following its mother, has a mouth as sweet as ale or apples, and is skittish as a spirited colt.

He ne hadde for his labour but a scorn.
And thus she maketh Absolon hire ape,
And al his ernest turneth til a jape.
Ful sooth is this proverb, it is no lye,
Men seyn right thus, "Alwey the nye slye
Maketh the ferre leeve to be looth."
For though that Absolon be wood or wrooth,
By cause that he fer was from hire sight,
This nye Nicholas stood in his light.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Miller’s Tale. The Miller speaks about Alison’s two admirers. Absolon is the distant lover who tries to woo her by singing to her outside her window, but she and Nicholas make him into a fool and a joke by laughing at him. Nicholas is the lover closer to Alison, so if Absolon was crazy with love Alison would not notice him, because he was so far from her sight Nicholas "stood in his light" and cast him in the shadow, metaphorically speaking. The proverb suggests the nearby lover has the advantage over the distant one.

As any pecok he was proud and gay.
Pipen he koude and fisshe, and nettes beete,
And turne coppes, and wel wrastle and sheete;
Ay by his belt he baar a long panade,
And of a swerd ful trenchant was the blade.
A joly poppere baar he in his pouche;
Ther was no man, for peril, dorste hym touche.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. The miller Symkyn is a fighting man not to be tangled with, judging from this description of him. He always carries a very sharp sword and dagger on his person and is also skilled in wrestling and shooting. There is a good use of simile when he is said to be proud and gay as a peacock.

Paraventure in thilke large book
Which that men clepe the hevene ywriten was
With sterres, whan that he his birthe took,
That he for love sholde han his deeth, allas!
For in the sterres, clerer than is glas,
Is writen, God woot, whoso koude it rede,
The deeth of every man, withouten drede.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. This foreshadows that the Sultan’s love for Constance will end in his death – "That he for love sholde han his deeth." The Man of Law suggests that when a person is born, their fate and death is written in a metaphorical book in heaven by God.

For as the lomb toward his deeth is broght,
So stant this innocent bifore the kyng.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. Using the simile of a lamb being brought to slaughter, the Man of Laws tells his fellow pilgrims how the innocent Constance is falsely accused before the king of murdering the constable’s wife Hermengild. The knight whose lustful advances inspired by Satan that Constance spurned actually slit Hermengild’s throat. And in his desire for revenge he left the bloody knife by Constance’s bed to implicate her.

I nyl envye no virginitee.
Lat hem be breed of pured whete-seed,
And lat us wyves hoten barly-breed.
And yet with barly-breed, Mark telle kan,
Our Lord Jesus refreshed many a man.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. It is Alison’s strong belief that her sexuality is a gift from God and she will use it as often as she can. Virginity represents perfection, let the virgins be bread of pure wheat-seed, the Wife of Bath says using a metaphor. But she does not envy virginity and is happy for wives like her to be called barley bread, another metaphor. Jesus refreshed many a man with the cheaper, simpler barley bread, likely a reference to the miracle of the loaves and fishes.

And whan that I have toold thee forth my tale
Of tribulacion in mariage,
Of which I am expert in al myn age –
This is to seyn, myself have been the whippe –
Than maystow chese wheither thou wolt sippe
Of thilke tonne that I shal abroche.
Be war of it, er thou to ny approche.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. After the Pardoner interrupts Alison, worried because he is about to be married, he is told by her to shut up and have another drink. Using the metaphor of a cask of wine for marriage, the Wife of Bath says that when she, an expert on the tribulation in marriage, has told her tale, then will he be able to make up his own mind on whether sip from that cask or not.

And if that she be foul, thou seist that she
Coveiteth every man that she may se,
For as a spanyel she wol on hym lepe,
Til that she fynde som man hire to chepe.
Ne noon so grey goos gooth ther in the lake
As, seistow, wol been withoute make.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. Referring to ugly women as dogs, the Wife of Bath says that an ugly woman is viewed as coveting every man she sees, leaping on them like a spaniel until she finds some man to take her. Ugly women may lack mates, but they have passion and desire a mate. No drab grey goose goes to the lake to be without a partner, Alison says, using an animal metaphor to make her point.

Thou liknest eek wommenes love to helle,
To bareyne lond, ther water may nat dwelle.
Thou liknest it also to wilde fyr;
The moore it brenneth, the moore it hath desir
To consume every thyng that brent wole be.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. Her first three husbands would compare women’s love to hell or barren land, the Wife of Bath complains to them. They also compared it to Greek fire that never goes out, the more it burns the more it desires to consume everything that can be burned (the burning fire is used as a metaphor). Did her husbands actually say that? No they didn’t, she later confesses she made it all up to keep them in check!

Atte ende I hadde the bettre in ech degree,
By sleighte, or force, or by som maner thyng,
As by continueel murmur or grucchyng.
Namely abedde hadden they meschaunce:
Ther wolde I chide and do hem no plesaunce;
I wolde no lenger in the bed abyde,
If that I felte his arm over my syde,
Til he had maad his raunson unto me;
Thanne wolde I suffre hym do his nycetee.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. The Wife of Bath boasts how she achieved sovereignty over her husbands and got what she wanted by using trickery, force and continuous complaining. This extended to the bedroom where Alison would scold and withhold sex from her husband. That is, until he (metaphorically) paid his ransom to her, only then she would let him have his pleasure. Anyone can profit and everything is for sale, says Alison, who will sell her body to satisfy her greed for money and material things.
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