theprologue
whensaidwasthismiracle,everyman
assober*was,thatwonderwastosee,*serious
tillthatourhosttojapen*hebegan,*talklightly
andthen*aterst*helookeduponme,*forthefirsttime*
andsaidethus;"whatmanartthou?"quothhe;
"thoulookestasthouwouldestfindanhare
foreveronthegroundiseetheestare。
"approachenear,andlookupmerrily。
nowwareyou,sirs,andletthismanhaveplace。
heinthewaistisshapenaswellasi;
thiswereapuppetinanarmtembrace
foranywomansmallandfairofface。
heseemethelvish*byhiscountenance,*surly,rose
foruntonowightdothhedalliance。
"saynowsomewhat,sinceotherfolkhavesaid;
tel露sataleofmirth,andthatanon。"
"hoste,"quothi,"benotevilapaid,**dissatisfie
forothertalecertescan*inone,*know
eutofarhymeilearnedyore*agone。"*long
"yea,thatisgood,"quothhe;"nowshallwehear
somedaintything,methinkethbythycheer。"**expression,mien
thisprologueisinteres,forthepicturewhichitgivesofchaucerhimself;ridingapartfromandindifferenttotherestofthepilgrims,witheyesfixedontheground,andan"elvish",rose,orratherself-absorbedair;portly,ifnotactuallystout,inbody;andevidentlyamanoutofthen,astheclosingwordsofthehostimply。
referringtothepoetscorpulency。