Further Commentary on the Nun's Priest

“The Nun’s Priest’s Tale” is certainly one of the funnier tales. There is a very interesting juxtaposition between the qualities fitting an elaborate fable, such as humor and morality, and the elusive “other quality” the reader recognizes as depth. This “meaning”: the debate on the significance of dreams, the irony of the choice of tale teller, and/or the conflict between Chauntecleer and Pertelote is concealed beneath a simple type of tale, the fable. This is a literary device used by Chaucer with the fabliaux and the knightly romance as well. He plays with the reader’s idea of what to expect from a tale that seems familiar and predictable.
From the handout distributed on Monday, we can see the variety of meaning attached to the story of the fox and the cock. According the Ann Payne in Medieval Beasts, the fox is symbolically the deceitful Devil and the cock is symbolic of hope and optimism. The fable’s moral end both warns of false flattery and praises cunning. The joining of the beast epic characteristics and the heavier undertone at the end is characterized in the Nun’s Priest’s reaction to his tale’s receptions. R.T. Lenaghan wrote in “The Nun’s Priest’s Fable” that “Chaucer's speaker meets the objection that his tale is frivolous by enjoining the good men who object to heed the moral. He does not, it should be noted, specify precisely what that moral is. He affirms his general seriousness simply and pleasantly. As a result, although only a hundred lines back he was making an elaborate joke and only twenty-five lines ago he was putting morals in the mouths of the cock and the fox, his devout conclusion is now entirely credible” (302).
Essentially, the Nun’s Priest somehow manages an inoffensive, enjoyable, mirthful tale that also contains a legitimate moral and much interesting discourse. In class many of us pointed out the possible meanings of Chauntecleer and Pertelote’s arguments. It is, as Professor Wenthe suggested, often difficult to remember the the main characters are animals. Not only are they animals, but a cock and a hen which neither by their typical position in our minds as stupid nor their actions seem respectable. This assumption is corrupted again and again as while reading the wide-ranging thoughts of Chauntecleer the responses and his favored swevening partner one forgets these are animals. Only with the introduction of the fox does the plot seem to suit animals and our preconception of moralistic fables. This conclusion rejects the distinction of the tale as a fable, even an elaborate or exemplary one. Unlike Chaucer’s use of the fabliaux, with which he employs conventions of the genre, the fable-like characters and structure are secondary to the themes and discussion within the tale.

The final forty or so lines of “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale” offer a final useful message: be vigilant, be wary, keep your eyes open and your mouth shut. This man barely mentioned by Chaucer the pilgrim in “The General Prologue” manages to end the lengthiest fragment of the Tales with the mirthful and yet impressive story the Host has been asking for.

Lenaghan, R.T. “The Nun's Priest's Fable”. PMLA 78:4. (Sep., 1963): 300-307. Modern Language Association. JSTOR. 08/04/2009. .