Which Of The Canterbury Pilgrims Tells Two Tales?

Ironically, the only one of Chaucer's characters to tell two stories is Chaucer himself – or rather, the persona he adopts in the Tales. As the narrator of the Tales, he is described by other characters as shy, awkward and dull, and has to be bullied into speaking at all. When he does start, he embarks on a peculiar poem called "The Tale of Sir Thopas." Sir Thopas, a handsome man with a "seemly nose," overcomes a giant, returns home for a feast and spends five verses getting dressed for a tournament (this is a parody of epic vrse in which the hero's armour is often described at length.) We are then promised a love story, but the poem continues to ramble on so vaguely (and comically) that in the end the Host (who organises the pilgrimage) interrupts him in disgust. He refuses to listen to any more "doggerel," so Chaucer meekly offers the "Tale of Melibee," a lengthy and moralistic prose narrative which the Host approves of.