Canterbury Tales Metaphors and Similes Quotes

For certeinly – I sey for no bobance –
Yet was I nevere withouten purveiance
Of mariage, n’ of othere thynges eek.
I holde a mouses herte nat worth a leek
That hath but oon hole for to sterte to,
And if that faille, thanne is al ydo.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. Always with a backup plan in place when it comes to marriage, the Wife of Bath while still married to her fourth husband flirted with Jankin and they agreed to marry when she next became a widow. She explains using one of her domestic metaphors: a mouse’s heart with only one hole to flee to not worth a leek, if that should fail, then all is lost. Her flirtation with Jankin while at the same time complaining about her husband’s adultery makes her a hypocrite.

He was, I trowe, twenty wynter oold,
And I was fourty, if I shal seye sooth;
But yet I hadde alwey a coltes tooth.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. After being married to a succession of old men, the Wife of Bath now claps her eye on and lusts after the young, 20-year-old Jankin, who attends the funeral of her fourth husband. Although at forty she is old to Jankin, she says that she had always a colt’s tooth – metaphor for youthful and lusty desires.

But now kan no man se none elves mo,
For now the grete charitee and prayeres
Of lymytours and othere hooly freres,
That serchen every lond and every streem,
As thikke as motes in the sonne-beem,
Blessynge halles, chambres, kichenes, boures,
Citees, burghes, castels, hye toures,
Thropes, bernes, shipnes, dayeryes –
This maketh that ther ben no fayeryes.
For ther as wont to walken was an elf
Ther walketh now the lymytour hymself.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Tale. Hundreds of years ago in the days of King Arthur elves and fairies roamed Britain, says the Wife of Bath. Now these magical creatures have been replaced by holy friars who have overrun the country and are lurking everywhere. In cities, castles, villages, blessing halls, kitchens, bedrooms, barns and stables. They are, to quote Alison’s simile, as thick as specks of dust in the sunbeam. There is nowhere that Christianity doesn’t reach.

Taak fyr and ber it in the derkeste hous
Bitwix this and the mount of Kaukasous,
And lat men shette the dores and go thenne;
Yet wole the fyr as faire lye and brenne
As twenty thousand men myghte it biholde;
His office natureel ay wol it holde,
Up peril of my lyf, til that it dye.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Tale. The old hag contrasts the so-called noble men to fire as a metaphor to show how a true noble should act. If you light a fire in the darkest house between here and the Caucases Mountains and shut the doors, she says, it will burn as brightly as if 20,000 people were watching it. She is suggesting that some people only do noble deeds when they know others are watching, but were they truly noble they would do these deeds also in private.

Poverte a spectacle is, as thynketh me,
Thurgh which he may his verray freendes see.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Tale. There’s probably something in what the Loathly Lady says when she uses the metaphor that poverty is an eye glass through which one may see your true friends. For a person who sticks by you when you’re poor is the real friend, not the fair-weather variety. A similar theme is echoed in the old blues song, "Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out."

"Shewe forth thyn ers, and lat the frere se
Where is the nest of freres in this place!"
And er that half a furlong wey of space,
Right so as bees out swarmen from an hyve,
Out of the develes ers ther gonne dryve
Twenty thousand freres on a route.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Summoner’s Prologue. In hell the angel asks Satan to lift up his tail and show the friar where the nest of friars is, the Summoner says. Suddenly twenty thousand friars swarm out of Satan’s backside like bees out of a hive, he adds, using a vivid simile. Far from the image of holiness and devotion to God usually associated with friars, here they are savagely satirized and portrayed as mortal sinners destined for hell.

The frere ariseth up ful curteisly,
And hire embraceth in his armes narwe,
And kiste hire sweete, and chirketh as a sparwe
With his lyppes: "Dame," quod he, "right weel,
As he that is youre servant every deel,
Thanked be God, that yow yaf soule and lyf!
Yet saugh I nat this day so fair a wyf
In al the chirche, God so save me!"

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Summoner’s Tale. The Friar embraces Thomas’s wife tightly in his arms, kisses her sweetly and flirts with her. Using a simile, we are told how the Friar chirps like a sparrow to her that he how he had not seen so fair a wife in all the church that day. There is a hint here of the Friar’s sexual interest in Thomas’s wife, forbidden and sinful territory to a churchman who had taken a vow of celibacy.

O stormy peple! Unsad and evere untrewe!
Ay undiscreet and chaungynge as a fane!
Delitynge evere in rumbul that is newe,
For lyk the moone ay wexe ye and wane!
Ay ful of clappyng, deere ynogh a jane!
Youre doom is fals, youre constance yvele preeveth;
A ful greet fool is he that on yow leeveth.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. The Clerk is angry and critical of the local people for switching their loyalties from Griselda to her younger replacement. He labels them false, delighting in rumors, their constancy proving evil. And he uses a number of similes to describe them as changing like a weather vane, and like the moon ever waxing and waning.

Ye archewyves, stondeth at defense,
Syn ye be strong as is a greet camaille;
Ne suffreth nat that men yow doon offense.
And sklendre wyves, fieble as in bataille,
Beth egre as is a tygre yond in Ynde;
Ay clappeth as a mille, I yow consaille.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. Chaucer’s Envoy gives this health warning for wives after the misfortunes of submissive Griselda in the Clerk’s Tale. Be ready to do battle for you are as strong as a great camel, he urges arch-wives, using a colorful simile. And he tells slender wives who are feeble in battle to be fierce like an Indian tiger and wag their tongues like a windmill, using two more expressive similes.

Ne dreed hem nat; doth hem no reverence,
For though thyn housbonde armed be in maille,
The arwes of thy crabbed eloquence
Shal perce his brest and eek his aventaille.
In jalousie I rede eek thou hym bynde,
And thou shalt make hym couche as doth a quaille.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. Following the Clerk’s Tale the "Envoy de Chaucer" advises wives to neither fear husbands nor do them reverence. For though their husbands may be armed in mail, the arrows of their shrewish eloquence will pierce his breast, he says. And he advocates wives use jealousy as a weapon to make their man cower like a quail. There is nice use of metaphor and simile in this passage, a passage worthy of the Wife of Bath!

"Lordynges," quod he, "in chirches whan I preche,
I peyne me to han an hauteyn speche,
And rynge it out as round as gooth a belle,
For I kan al by rote that I telle."

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Pardoner’s Prologue. When the Pardoner preaches in church he speaks out in a loud and impressive voice and knows it all by rote, he tells the pilgrims with a touch of arrogance. So he doesn’t preach from the heart, but his preaching is rhetorical, and his focus is on style and delivery over substance and sincerity. He is a performer. A metaphor decribes how the Pardoner rings his sermon out as round as goes a bell.

I stonde lyk a clerk in my pulpet,
And whan the lewed peple is doun yset,
I preche so as ye han herd bifoore
And telle an hundred false japes moore.
Thanne peyne I me to strecche forth the nekke,
And est and west upon the peple I bekke,
As dooth a dowve sittynge on a berne.
Myne handes and my tonge goon so yerne
That it is joye to se my bisynesse.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Pardoner’s Prologue. The cynical Pardoner prides himself on his theatrical air that he employs to preach his false stories to the uneducated people. Using a simile, he likens himself to a dove sitting atop a barn, stretching forth his neck to peer down at the people, hands and tongue working so quickly that it’s a joy to see him in action. You nearly admire how skilled this conman is at suckering money out of the faithful – in the name of religion! As well as greed, he is guilty of another of the Seven Deadly Sins here – pride!

And right anon thanne comen tombesteres
Fetys and smale, and yonge frutesteres,
Syngeres with harpes, baudes, wafereres,
Whiche been the verray develes officeres
To kyndle and blowe the fyr of lecherye,
That is annexed unto glotonye.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Pardoner’s Tale. After enjoying eating, drinking and gambling to excess, we don’t have to wait too long for the girls to make an entrance to spice things up for the young debauchees. But why is it that girls who dance, sell fruit and wafers, and perform music, get the rap for stoking the (metaphorical) fire of lechery in the young men, to join onto their gluttony? OK, they’re graceful and slim, but that’s no justification for the Pardoner to portray them as the Devil’s officers and temptresses.

O dronke man, disfigured is thy face,
Sour is thy breeth, foul artow to embrace…
Thou fallest as it were a styked swyn;
Thy tonge is lost, and al thyn honeste cure,
For dronkenesse is verray sepulture
Of mannes wit and his discrecioun.
In whom that drynke hath dominacioun
He kan no conseil kepe; it is no drede.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Pardoner’s Tale. When the Seven Deadly Sins are represented as animals, gluttony is symbolized as a pig. The Pardoner uses the simile here of the slaughtered pig, staggering and falling after havings its throat cut, to depict the drunken man. And it’s not a pretty picture: face disfigured, breath that stinks, reason gone, no care for honor or discretion, and can keep no secret. Could the Pardoner, with his taste for regular wine and ale himself, be speaking from personal knowledge here?

Ther cam a privee theef men clepeth Deeth,
That in this contree al the peple sleeth,
And with his spere he smoot his herte atwo,
And wente his wey withouten wordes mo.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Pardoner’s Tale. The servant boy metaphorically describes Death as an unseen thief who is slaying all the people of the country – the tale is set in the time of the Black Death. The boy speaks of how Death used his spear to strike the heart of the three revelers’ friend in two, and went his way without more words.

Ful many a mayde, bright in bour,
They moorne for hym paramour,
Whan hem were bet to slepe;
But he was chaast and no lechour,
And sweete as is the brembul flour
That bereth the rede hepe.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Tale of Sir Thopas. Many young maids while in their bed-chamber passionately dream of Sir Thopas, when it would be better for them to sleep. But he remains chaste and is no lecher, being as sweet as the dog rose that bears the red hip (simile), we learn. Chaucer is using parody here to mock traditional romance stories of the time.

His coomb was redder than the fyn coral,
And batailled as it were a castel wal;
His byle was blak, and as the jeet it shoon;
Lyk asure were his legges and his toon;
His nayles whitter than the lylye flour,
And lyk the burned gold was his colour.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Nun’s Priest’s Tale. The magnificent rooster Chauntecleer is quite the dandy. In his physical description the same words could be used to describe a noble knight or warrior. We get splendid similes like "batailled as it were a castel wal," "fyn coral," "asure," "burned gold," "lily flour, "as the jeet it shoon." The vain and handsome Chauntecleer is brilliantly detailed: fine coral comb battlemented like a castle wall, azure legs, lily white spurs, bill shining like jet stone, and plumage of burnished gold. He is the very image of a royal rooster.

This Chauntecleer, whan he gan hym espye,
He wolde han fled, but that the fox anon
Seyde, "Gentil sire, allas, wher wol ye gon?
Be ye affrayed of me that am youre freend?
Now, certes, I were worse than a feend,
If I to yow wolde harm or vileynye!
I am nat come youre conseil for t’ espye,
But trewely, the cause of my comynge
Was oonly for to herkne how that ye synge.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Nun’s Priest’s Tale. Pretending to be his friend, sneaky Russell the Fox lies and smooth talks the rooster. He tells him he is not there to do him harm or villany, but to hear him sing. The smart Fox employs a simile to overstate the quality of Chauntecleer’s voice in a bid to dupe the easily flattered rooster. As merry as has any angel in heaven, he describes his voice. He appeals to Chauntecleer’s ego and pride. The rooster’s vanity and gullibility ensures that he doesn’t flee, as he should, and instead falls into the Fox’s trap.

"Almyghty Lord, O Jhesu Crist," quod he,
"Sower of chaast conseil, hierde of us alle,
The fruyt of thilke seed of chastitee
That thou hast sowe in Cecile, taak to thee!"

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. When Pope Urban is confronted with Valerian’s desire to be baptized into Christianity, he says that the shepherd of us all Jesus Christ sowed the seed of chastity in Cecilia. He describes Valerian as the fruit of that seed. There are a number of metaphors used in this passage.

"Youre myght," quod she, "ful litel is to dreede,
For every mortal mannes power nys
But lyk a bladdre ful of wynd, ywys.
For with a nedles poynt, whan it is blowe,
May al the boost of it be leyd ful lowe."

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. When Cecilia is brought before the prefect Almachius she is unafraid and defiantly refuses to acknowledge men’s earthly authority. When he asks her does she not take heed of his power, she replies that his might is very little to fear. Every mortal man’s power is nothing but only like a bladder full of wind, she says using a simile. For with a needle’s point, when it is blown up, all the arrogance of it comes down.
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