A Review of The Canterbury Tales: The Physician's Tale

 

Also known as The Doctor's Tale, The Physician's Tale is unusual among The Canterbury Tales in that it has no prologue. The text goes straight into the story. 

I like the last words of The Physician's Tale: 

TherforebI rede yow this counseil take, 

Forsaketh sinne, er sinne, yow forsake. 

The Doctor's Tale is about Virginius, a knight, having been falsely accused of kidnapping a girl. The knight never has the chance to prove his innocence. Furthermore, his daughter was executed because of evil men wishing her dishonor. The judge then planned on killing Virginius before he himself was turned on by the same evil men. 

                                                                   My Analysis: 

The Physician's Tale is about how those who practice evil will in the end be judged for their actions. While we may not always see how others that have done us wrong are punished for what they have done to us, their sin will come back to haunt them. Likewise, our own sins come back to haunt us, and we pay heavy consequences for our wrong choices. This has one of my favorite messages of The Canterbury Tales. A shorter tale, while The Physician's Tale may be for good reason seen as inferior to other Canterbury Tales, its message is nonetheless important still.