Wednesday, November 27, 2013

How would you describe the Reeve in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer?

The Reeve is one of the characters Chaucer describes in detail during the General Prologue of The Canterbury Tales. Physically, Chaucer says the Reeve is "a slender, choleric man" (1) whose legs are "very lean" (5). As such, we can imagine that the Reeve is generally skinny and slight. More importantly, it seems the Reeve is a capable and skilled professional. "Well could he manage granary and bin" (7), Chaucer says, and "no man ever found him in arrears" (16), which suggests the Reeve is more than able to manage the well-being of his property. Finally, it appears the Reeve is somewhat sensitive as well, as he is personally offended by the Miller's (admittedly offensive) tale, and concocts a story about a cuckolded miller in retaliation. The impression we are left with, then, is a somewhat severe-looking, successful, and moody man, and certainly one of the more serious pilgrims in Chaucer's band.  

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