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Dreams In The Priest's Tale

Decent Essays

Medieval people were deeply interested in dreams and visions. Dreams were an essential part of daily life, and people speculated about what they dreamed about. They took from bible stories to speculate what those dreams were about. Because of this, the medieval Dream Vision flowered from the period, as people generally accepted that dreams could convey wisdom and knowledge to the reader. The Nun’s Priest Tale by Chaucer is a prime example of this genre, as it reinforces the importance the dreams and how ignoring the dreams could have dire results.
The importance of some people’s dreams caused them to change their former ways of life, often helping them in the long run. In 1149 an Irish Knight goes to Cork, and after a large meal, collapsed …show more content…

While Chanticleer is talking to Pertelote about how the dreams he believes are true, he eventually thinks otherwise. Chanticleer says that “woman is man’s joy and happiness, for when I feel at night your gentle side,. . .I am so filled with joy and happiness / that I defy all visions and dreams” (Chaucer 211). Because of Pertelote, Chanticleer takes no warning to the possibility that what he dreamed might happen in the future. Pertelote did not say anything about it, except that she said Chanticleer should go back to sleep and not worry about what was to come, “And fear no dream!” (Chaucer 207). Pertelote influenced Chanticleer to disregard the dream and go back to sleep. And because Pertelote makes a big deal about living in the moment, and not worrying what was to happen in the future, Chanticleer’s dream becomes reality -- a fox appears about a month later, who tricked Chanticleer into giving the fox an opportunity to strangle him: “[He] began to crow as loud as ever he could. And Mister Russell Fox at once leapt up, And took hold of Chanticleer by the throat, and bore him on his back towards the wood” (Chaucer 215). His dream becomes true all because he became ignorant about a small dream he once had. If he had paid attention to the dream, all of this would have been

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