The Monk carries a number of expensive and flashy items with him on his pilgrimage. These possessions not only contradict a monk's vow of poverty, but also suggest that the Monk has taken donations contributed by rich aristocrats to the monastery for his own personal gain.

A "prelate" is a high ranking clergy member that is supposed to act as an example to all other monks. The narrator calls the Monk a "fine prelate" suggesting he is good at his duties. Since he has just presented a man who loves hunting, seems to not care about his vows, and uses money donated to the monastery to buy material possessions, the narrator changes what it means to be a "fine prelate." This suggests that Chaucer uses this character to critique corrupt church practices.

Since he is a monk, "all his love" should be directed to God. However, the Monk loves hunting more than his vows. This statement further supports the presence of irony earlier in this introduction.

In the beginning of this introduction, the narrator stated that the Monk was a good monk. However, after a description of the Monk's beliefs, he reiterates the statement and follows it with a string of rhetorical questions, each one pointing out the absurdity in the Monk's actions and beliefs. Chaucer's sequencing of lines suggests that this line should be read ironically or sarcastically; the Monk is not progressive but rather defying his calling and vows.

The Monk rejects religious texts that say that monks should not hunt, indulge in food, or leave the cloister. Notice that the Monk's "progressive" disagreement with these religious texts are all told through food metaphors. This could suggest that the Monk is of the body that must eat rather than of the spirit.

A cloister is an enclose walkway generally attached to a church or cathedral. Cloisters were used by monastic orders because they served as a physical barrier between the monks and the lay people. This physical structure metaphorically represented the separation of the monks from the world and worldly practices.

Referring to the Rule as old and too strict is ironic since one of the major tenants of being a monk are strictly following ancient scriptures. The positive words in this description suggest that the monk is progressive to throw away these "old" things. However, this irony suggests that the description is actually a biting criticism meant to point out the Monk's hypocrisy.

Saint Benedict is called the father of Western monasticism. He established the Benedictine Rule in order to regulate how monks behaved in monasteries. These practices consisted of reading, praying and performing manual labor and imagined the monastery as the father and the monks as brothers. Maurice was his disciple who introduced the Rule to France.

This simile compares the bells on the monk's bridle to the bells in a church in order to suggest that they are of equal importance to the Monk. Notice that the description of the Monk's riding gear gets three lines here while the church only gets one. This could suggest that the Monk's riding is more important to him than his calling.

In Chaucer's time, the word "manly" meant two things: personable and virile. Again, these are not traits one would generally assign to a pious monk. However, the narrator states that these qualities make the monk an "able abbot," meaning these qualities make him a good monk. This suggests that the narrator sees all monks as worldly and impious and implicitly acts as a critique of the church.

In these first two lines, the narrator describes the Monk as someone who is allowed to leave the monastery and loved to hunt. These characterizations contradict the typical traits of a monk. Instead, the narrator seems to present characteristics that show church corruption.

"Austin" here refers to Augustine of Canterbury, a Benedictine monk who would become the first Archbishop of Canterbury—an important role in the Anglican Church. Augustine of Canterbury believed that monks should labor in service of the Lord, working in cloisters and on the land to prove their piety. It's clear that the Monk doesn't follow this rule.