Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" "Character Theme of Canterbury Tales"

The term character can be applied in several ways. It can mean either a physical being, or to their total pattern of behavior. In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, one is used to complement the other. He often uses certain physical characteristics to dictate exactly how the person is going to act*. This is most evident in the Summoner's Tale. The Summoner is ugly, with a scary face, but also turns out to have a very ugly …

…amp;gt;In conclusion, Chaucer effectively sketched the character of the Summoner, using physical traits to attempt to analyze the underlying traits of the character. The reader can become very familiar with who he is (liar, drinker, extortionist) simply by the way Chaucer describes him physically (ugly, large pimples and boils on his face), even though the image is backed up by the character's own actions (drinking, letting young men commit adultery and other sins).