The Canterbury Tales · Chapter
The Nun's Priest's Tale explained
The Nun's Priest tells a beast fable about Chanticleer, a proud rooster, who is tricked by a flattering fox and nearly eaten, but escapes through his own quick thinking.
What happens
The Nun's Priest tells a beast fable about Chanticleer, a proud rooster, who is tricked by a flattering fox and nearly eaten, but escapes through his own quick thinking. The tale explores themes of pride, flattery, and the nature of dreams and prophecy.
Themes in this chapter
Fortune and Providence
Chanticleer's dream and the fox's attack raise questions about fate, free will, and divine providence.
Sin and Redemption
Chanticleer's pride and susceptibility to flattery lead to his downfall, but he redeems himself through cleverness.
Characters to notice
- The Nun's Priest
The narrator of the tale, a humble priest who tells a lively beast fable.
- Chanticleer
The proud and handsome rooster whose dream of a fox leads to his near-capture.
- Partelote
Chanticleer's favorite hen, who dismisses his dream as a sign of cowardice.
Key passages
“A poor widow, somewhat advanced in age, lived in a small cottage beside a grove, standing in a dale.”
An elderly widow lived in a humble cottage in a valley near a forest.
Opening setting of the tale.
“His comb was redder than fine coral, and battlemented like a castle wall; his bill was black and shone like jet; his legs and toes were azure; his nails whiter than the lily flower; and his feathers shone like burnished gold.”
Chanticleer's comb was bright red and jagged, his beak black and glossy, his legs blue, his nails white, and his feathers golden.
Detailed description of Chanticleer's appearance.
“For ever the latter end of joy is woe; God knows that worldly joy is soon gone.”
Joy always ends in sorrow; worldly happiness is fleeting.
Moral reflection on the transience of happiness.