Number of Lines

The following table lists the number of lines in each section of The Canterbury Tales

The Prologue – 858 lines

THE KNIGHT

The Knight’s Tale – 2250 lines

THE MILLER

The Miller’s Prologue – 78 lines

The Miller’s Tale – 668 lines

THE REEVE

The Reeve’s Prologue – 66 lines

The Reeve’s Tale – 404 lines

THE COOK

The Cook’s Prologue – 40 lines

The Cook’s Tale – 58 lines

THE MAN OF LAW

Introduction to the Man of Law’s Tale – 98

The Man of Law’s Prologue – 35

The Man of Law’s Tale – 1064

THE SHIPMAN

The Shipman’s Prologue – 28

The Shipman’s Tale – 434

The Shipman’s Epilogue – 18

THE PRIORESS

The Prioress’s Prologue – 35

The Prioress’s Tale – 238

CHAUCER

The Prologue to Sir Thopas – 21

Sir Thopas – 207

The Prologue to Melibeus – 48

Melibeus – n/a

THE MONK

The Monk’s Prologue – 102

The Monk’s Tale – 776

THE NUN’S PRIEST

The Nun’s Priest’s Prologue – 54

The Nun’s Priest’s Tale – 626

The Nun’s Priest’s Epilogue – 16

THE PHYSICIAN

The Physician’s Tale – 286

The Physician’s Epilogue – 42

THE PARDONER

The Pardoner’s Prologue – 134

The Pardoner’s Tale – 640

THE WIFE OF BATH

The Wife of Bath’s Prologue – 856

The Wife of Bath’s Tale – 408

THE FRIAR

The Friar’s Prologue – 34

The Friar’s Tale – 366

THE SUMMONER

The Summoner’s Prologue – 44

The Summoner’s Tale – 586

THE CLERK

The Clerk’s Prologue – 56

The Clerk’s Tale – 1156

THE MERCHANT

The Merchant’s Prologue – 32

The Merchant’s Tale – 1174

The Merchant’s Epilogue – 22

THE SQUIRE

The Squire’s Prologue – 8

The Squire’s Tale – 664

The Squire’s Epilogue – 36

THE FRANKLIN

The Franklin’s Prologue – 20

The Franklin’s Tale – 896

THE SECOND NUN

The Second Nun’s Prologue – 119

The Second Nun’s Tale – 434

THE CANON’S YEOMAN

The Canon’s Yeoman’s Prologue – 166

The Canon’s Yeoman’s Tale – 762

THE MANCIPLE

The Manciple’s Prologue – 104

The Manciple’s Tale – 154

THE PARSON

The Parson’s Prologue – 74

The Parson’s Tale – n/a

Chaucer’s Retraction – n/a 

In comparison, William Shakespeare’s shortest play, The Comedy of Errors, has around 1756 lines, the longest, Hamlet, has around 4042.