t the Nun's Priest to the foreground for this purpose. The company and its host perceives the Nun's Priest as a person with a much lighter disposition. However, the host is also careful to specify the company's requirement for a new tale: light heartedness should predominate: "Come near, you priest, come hither, you Sir John,Tell us a thing to make our hearts all glad;Be blithe, although you ride upon a jade.What though your horse may be both foul and lean?If he but serves you, why, don't care a bean;Just see your heart is always merry. So." The host here emphasizes that apparent poverty should not be as important as appreciating the things that are indeed in the possession of the individual. Lightening the emotional and mental mood of the company is far more important at this stage than physical suffering.
             Humor here is therefore meant to serve the function not only of balance, but also of relief. The Monk's and other more serious tales is therefore balanced by the promise of laughter in the tale of the Nun's Priest.
             Student: Very well, I can see the necessity of balance and a relief of the gloomy mood imposed by the Monk. I am however intrigued by the juxtaposition of humor and the more serious physical suffering and deprivation not only of the company, but also of the characters in this particular tale. The example of the Nun's Priest's horse that you mention seems to serve the purpose of symbolizing physical lack and suffering. Furthermore, even though he does promise to tell a humorous tale, the Nun's Priest also begins in rather gloomy tones with his description of the widow: "A widow poor, somewhat advanced in age,Lived, on a time, within a small cottage". These lines focus on her appearance and her physical surroundings, while the Nun's Priest also mentions her deprivation in terms of fine dining a little later in the tale's beginning: "Right sooty ...