After 24 years...Spitting Image set to return

The Canterbury Tales is a witty and compelling social satire which leaves nobody unscathed. It is also sometimes referred to as an "estates satire", focusing its deprecation on the three estates: the Catholic clergyReligious officials who lead activities for worshippers, especially in the Christian church. , the aristocracy, and the peasantry. In the first category are characters such as the Parson, Nun, Second Nun, Pardoner, Friar and Monk; in the second is the Knight, who belongs to the nobility; and the third contains characters such as the Plowman and Wife of Bath.

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Chaucer may choose a pilgrimage as the setting for his famous tales, but his depiction of religion is by no means uniformly positive. His Pardoner and Summoner, both associated with the Church, are both portrayed as greedy and corrupt. His Monk and Prioress are both frivolous and undevout and, despite having supposedly eschewed earthly pleasures, partake in personal luxuries. The only character who seems truly dedicated to her faith is the Second Nun. The Canterbury Tales was written during a tumultuous social and political period which marked a growing disillusionment with the church, as much malpractice and corruption on the part of the clergy began to come to light.

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The Canterbury Tales was never finished, as Chaucer died before he could complete his ambitious plans, but it is still called his magnum opusThe most important, or best work, an artist, composer or writer has ever produced. . The tales, vast in both scale and scope, celebrate the art of storytelling and convey moral parables, life lessons, epic tales, petty social concerns and more over the course of their 17,000 lines. The range of the tales is astonishingly wide: they each take on a believably separate tone, with piousnessDevoutly religious. set against bawdiness, foolishness against eruditionHaving great knowledge or learning. , and wit against vulgarity. Equally inspired is Chaucer's idea of using a pilgrimage to collect tales spanning such a diverse range of society, with people from social groups that would not often be brought together. The result is an animated and heterogeneousMade up of different or diverse parts. panorama which both rouses the imagination and offers keen insights into society in the late 14th Century.

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Accurate or not, Chaucer's Wife of Bath has become synonymous with a brand of proto-feminism, with various critics labelling her views on gender as "radical" and "subversive." She has had "housbondes... fyve", starting at the age of twelve, and sees herself as the authority on the vices of men and wilesClever or devious tricks used to persuade people to do something. of women. She is also a clear favourite of Chaucer, as one of the most fleshed-out characters, and she is the only secular female voice in the stories. She speaks openly about sex, partakes in bawdy humour and rejects double standards. Her tale subverts the gendered tropes of much medieval literature: she tells of a Knight who is tasked with discovering what it is that women most desire. For a long time unsuccessful, he decides to ask an elderly woman, who tells him that the answer is sovereigntyThe authority of a state to govern itself, or sometimes another state. over their husbands. This answer being accepted, she forces him to marry her in return. However, he is horrified by her looks, and so she asks him to choose between having a beautiful but disloyal wife, or an aged but faithful one. Having internalised her lesson, he tells her that she has sovereignty and can choose for herself. Pleased that he is treating her as an equal, she chooses to become both beautiful and faithful, and the Wife of Bath ends her tale by celebrating women's autonomyThe right to make your own decisions. and wishing for all women to be blessed with such submissive husbands.

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Many of the pilgrims tell stories related to companionship or fraternity, including the Knight's tale, the Pardoner's tale and the Miller's tale. Each of them presents friendship or company threatened by some kind of moral dilemma, often pitting platonicLove or emotion that is not romantic or sexual. love against romantic love. But, more broadly, we might comment on the companionship demonstrated by the pilgrims on their travels. Initially challenged to tell their tales for the meagre prize of a meal, their bond escalates into camaraderieFriendship and trust among people who spend a lot of time together. through sharing their prologues and stories.

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