QUESTION:

haucer's interest in the idea of entente is pretty pronounced in the Canterbury Tales, while the idea does not seem to be as interesting to most general readers today.  Write an essay in which you explain why Chaucer devoted so much attention to the idea of "entente" behind speech.

Part IV-Take Home Essay

            Effective teachers know that important concepts need to be repeated. Chaucer, an educator of society, employs this strategy. Throughout The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer devotes excessive attention to the topic of entente for the same reason he concentrates on any other topic--he believes this issue significantly impacts how people function in society. In The Canterbury Tales, he repeatedly shows the negative consequences that result when people take words at face value and fail to examine the entente behind them. Specifically, Chaucer demonstrates the necessity of being able to discern entente by showing that those who lack this skill are perpetually the victims of misunderstandings and manipulation.

             In "The Franklin's Tale," Chaucer shows that misunderstandings result when words spoken in jest are taken literally. In this tale, Dorigene tells Aurelius that she has no intention of being unfaithful to her husband, but then "in pley" she tells him that she will return his love if he can remove all the rocks from Britain's coast (316). Aurelius' subsequent actions show that he takes her words at face value. In such a situation, neither character seems to be completely culpable, just misunderstood. Clearly, Aurelius' failure to interpret rightly and Dorigene's failure to speak clearly compound to form a misunderstanding that could have grievous consequences for them both--lost fortune, marred reputation, and ruined marriage. However, while the potential for loss for all the characters is great, in the end, such consequences are not actualized. Perhaps this is Chaucer's way of showing that while misunderstandings result if one fails to comprehend or convey entente, such mistakes are redeemable if truth is spoken.

            However, the consequences for being unable to discern entente are not always so easily mitigated. In "The Friar's Tale" and "The Pardoner's Tale," Chaucer reveals the most grievous consequence of failing to discern entente--being the victim of manipulation. In "The Friar's Tale," the devil, in disguise as a yeoman, espouses the doctrine of entente to the summoner. When these evil brothers hear a man whose cart is stuck in the mud say he wants the devil to take his cart, the summoner is ready to act on these words. However, the devil reveals that they do not have a valid claim because the man's words are not backed by entente. The devil then explains how to discern entente. He tells the summoner that if he wants to know if the man's words were earnest, he must, "Axe hym thyself... / Or elles stynt a while, and thou shalt see" (1557-58). From these lines, it is clear that true entente is found in two ways, either by confronting the speaker and pointedly asking one to clarify entente or simply by allowing time to reveal true entente. From this detailed analysis of entente, it seems that the devil, an embodiment of evil, has the best grasp on this concept. Perhaps Chaucer's choice to have the devil explain entente is his way of suggesting that corrupt people typically have a keen understanding of entente. This knowledge then gives them the ability to manipulate those who are less discerning. The practice of the pardoner illustrates this concept. He is an expert in using spiritual words to mask his true selfish motives. In the "Prologue to the Pardoner's Tale," the Pardoner says that he "spitte…out venim under hew / of holynesse" (108-9) but confesses that his heart is governed by "yvel entencioun" (95). Clearly, this corrupt clergy understands entente, but his hearers clearly do not. Perhaps with this example Chaucer is suggesting that if society as a whole fails to learn what corrupt men have already mastered, the ability to distinguish between words and entente, they are doomed to live as manipulated victims.

            From the above examples, Chaucer shows the necessity of every member of society being able to distinguish the entente behind the spoken word. From simple misunderstandings to blatant manipulation, the cost of lacking such a skill is high. Chaucer devotes much attention to the idea of entente because he knows that teaching society to examine the true meaning behind words is perhaps the first step in teaching society to think critically, the most needful skill of all.