the prologue and the tale

The relationship of the Prologue to the Tale: Truth and fiction Within the imagined (by Chaucer) world of the Canterbury pilgrims, we meet various characters who present their "own" fictions. In each case, the tale is in some way a reflection of the teller, and vice versa. While Chaucer portrays the pilgrims initially in set pieces in the General Prologue, we learn more about them as they tell their tales, express opinions and trade insults, …

…doubtless sees that these weaknesses are those of the Wife, as narrator: before this the Pilgrims have had many excellent examples of differing kinds, and many more will follow. Part of the skill and humour of the whole work lies in the exceptions that prove the rule - one of the two tales offered by Chaucer (the pilgrim, supposedly reporting the others' tales) is so tedious he is obliged to give up and try another.