Here we are concerned with Chaucer’s use of humanism in his ‘Prologue to the Canterbury Tales’. Humanism means “Man’s concern with man as an object of contemplation.”

Throughout the prologue, Chaucer has adopted humanistic attitude towards his characters. Chaucer has never looked down upon any of his characters throughout ‘The Prologue’. Rather he has touched them with a bit of humour. Chaucer uses the formula of redeeming features wherever he dares to expose the malpractices of the evil doers.

Neither did he idealize the best characters nor abhorred the evil doers. It was due to his humanistic attitude that he casted a healthy glance on the beautiful flowers growing on one side of the road as well as looked on the rubbish lying on the other side. Let us examine his characters in the light of this yardstick.