The Importance of Stories (The Canterbury Tales)
Stories are something that people interact with just about every day. Whether we hear a story on the news, tell another person about a past experience, or even sit down to watch a silly movie, each of these experiences involves a story in one way or another.
Stories are important to our lives. They can help teach us important things about past history, help us learn about certain morals, inform us of those who have lived before us, or simply entertain us. However, the possibilities are endless. Stories surround our daily lives and help us to go deeper, beyond just superficial matters. From a young age, children are read fictional stories to help teach them what is right and wrong. This only continues as they move on to school where the power of stories is used to implement important ideals such as our nation’s histories and teach about the lives of some very prominent figures of history. Even as one gets older, the power of story allows one to relay what they have learned in their life. The point is, no matter one’s age, stories are relevant. They allow us to learn in a unique way, a way that no other form of literature can.
Most stories follow a similar plot line. There is an introduction where characters may be introduced and a setting is described. There may even be a protagonist and antagonist at play within the story. Then, there is some type of rising action followed by a climax where the action is the greatest and the character(s) face some type of monumental decision. Finally, there is falling action and at a certain point after, the story comes to a close. However, in recent years, some authors and film writers have begun to steer away from this typical storyline as a way to change what is expected and create something that is more exciting and different from the typically followed formula of events.
In my opinion, however, The Canterbury Tales does follow a somewhat traditional plot line. The poem starts off by providing the reader with a sense of the time and setting. Following this, there is an introduction of a variety of characters where the reader gets a short, detailed overview of the character. In the Tales, the writer chooses to introduce each of the characters at once starting with the Knight and ending with Summoner. This literary choice follows the pattern of what’s to be typically expected in a story. In recent years, some writers chose to only introduce certain characters towards the middle of a piece or even at the end in order to create a suspenseful end and leave the audience craving the next installment. Though The Canterbury Tales follows a traditional storyline, the attention to detail within the story does catch the reader’s attention and forces them to want to keep reading.
Overall, the power of story is one that is simply immeasurable. Stories allow us to express ourselves in ways we sometimes think to be impossible while allowing us to uniquely learn both about ourselves and the world around us.
