Spring and Procreation
In the General Prologue, the narrator introduces the concept of tale-telling by establishing how all of the pilgrims are traveling together in the springtime. In the opening lines of the text, the narrator uses the overarching metaphor of spring "impregnating" the winter time with life in order to revive the barren earth, saying, "Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote / The droghte of March hath perced to the roote, / And bathed every veyne in swich licour / Of which vertu engendred is the flour" (GP). Here, the narrator suggests that April showers inseminates the "drought" of March, suggesting that the spring is a time for rebirth, renewal, and fertility.
The Hypocritical Friar
The Friar is one of the most hypocritical and ironically-portrayed characters in the text. In the General Prologue, the narrator uses clothing to insinuate that the Friar will later reveal his duplicity through his tale: "For there he was nat lyk a cloisterer, / With a thredbar cope, as is a povre scoler, / But he was lyk a maister or a pope" (GP). Here, the narrator uses a simile to announce that the Friar was not dressed like a "poor scholar" (as he should be, given his alleged commitment to modesty) but instead adorned like a "pope" or high-ranking official. This simile emphasizes the disparity between the Friar's reputation and actual behavior.
Iron and Gold
In the General Prologue, the earnest Parson inquires, "If gold ruste, what shal iren do?" (GP). The Parson's question is a metaphor in which "gold" represents the church authorities and "iron" represents the parishioners, or common folk. Here, the Parson poses the question of what lies in store for regular people if the "gold" standard of the Church is so easily corruptible.
The Miller's Mouth
The General Prologue is the place in the text where the narrator first introduces all the pilgrims who will eventually tell a tale. The physical descriptions of the pilgrims are integral, as they foreshadow the tale the pilgrim will eventually share and the personality that that pilgrim will likely display. In describing the Miller, for example, the narrator says, "His mouth as greet was as a greet forneys" (GP). Here, the narrator uses a simile to compare the Miller's mouth to a large "forneys" (furnace), suggesting that he will have a lot to say and speak with abandon when the time comes.
Palamon and Arcite
In the Knight's Tale, he describes the brutal and intense fight that happens between Palamon and Arcite, saying, "And as a cruel tygre was Arcite: / As wilde bores gonne they to smyte, / That frothen whyte as foom for ire wood, / Up to the ancle foghte they in hir blood" (Knight's Tale). Here, the Knight uses a series of similes to compare the two knights to tigers and wild boards, emphasizing their wildness as they vie for the lady's affection. These similes also suggests that the Knight himself is familiar with these kinds of wild and dangerous animals, further emphasizing his commitment to his chivalric duty.
