Kimpel, Ben. “The Narrator of the Canterbury Tales.”

Kimpel, Ben. “The Narrator of the Canterbury Tales.” ELH: A Journal of English Literary History 20.2(1953):77-86.

Kimpel examines the personality and role of the narrator of the Canterbury Tales as well as whether he should be viewed as Chaucer inserting himself into the story. Kimpel argues that the role that the narrator plays within the prologue is one of necessity and that we can glean little information about his personality from his remarks. He goes on to argue that very little evidence of the narrator’s personality exists throughout the rest of the tales, with the possible exception of the prologue. He notes that many critics are troubled by an apparent tension between the personality they believe is apparent in the general prologue and that shown in prologue to the tale of “Sir Thopas.” He concludes by saying that the narrator does not exhibit a strong enough personality to be seen as playing an important role in the Canterbury Tales and that there is certainly not enough evidence to present a link between Chaucer and the narrator.

Available on JSTOR.