The Canterbury Tales

Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, a framing story, was composed in Middle English between 1387 and 1400. The journey to Thomas Becket's shrine in Canterbury, Kent, serves as the narrative's framing element. The Tabard Inn in Southwark, which is across the Thames from London, is where the 30 pilgrims who make the pilgrimage congregate. They agree to participate in a storytelling competition while they are on the road, and Harry Bailly, the host of the Tabard, will serve as the competition's master of ceremonies. In the "General Prologue," concise yet vivid portraits of the majority of the pilgrims serve as introductions. Short dramatic moments (referred to as links) presenting spirited dialogues, typically involving the host and one or more of the pilgrims, are interspersed between the 24 tales. The return voyage from Canterbury is left out, and some of the pilgrims don't share any stories, hence Chaucer did not finish the entire plot for his work.