How many tales and pilgrims are there in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales?

Correct option is D

Explanation:

The correct answer is 31 pilgrims and 24 tales.   

In Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, there are 31 pilgrims, including Chaucer himself, who is one of the pilgrims. While 29 pilgrims are mentioned at the start, 31 pilgrims are involved in the journey and storytelling as Chaucer often includes himself as a character in his own work. However, out of the 31 pilgrims, only 24 tales are completed in the text.

Each pilgrim tells one tale in the journey to Canterbury, except for Chaucer and the Host (the innkeeper) who are supposed to tell additional tales, but Chaucer never completed these.

Information Booster:

The 31 pilgrims represent various social classes, professions, and types of people, including clergy, nobility, merchants, peasants, and even scholars.

The 24 tales vary greatly in content, from romances, fables, and allegories to fabliaux, sermons, and satirical tales.

Chaucer’s intention was for each pilgrim to tell two tales (one on the way to Canterbury and one on the return), but he only managed to complete 23 tales.

The pilgrims’ stories reflect medieval life, religious practices, and social structures in 14th-century England.

The General Prologue of The Canterbury Tales introduces each of the 31 pilgrims and provides insight into their professions, social status, and personality traits.

The tales were meant to be a narrative framework for the journey to Canterbury, but Chaucer’s death left many intended stories untold.