A Study of The Canterbury Tales

The Journey Begins . . .

In October 1066, a daylong battle near Hastings, England, changed the course of history.

England in the Middle Ages

Feudalism replaced the Nordic social system.

The primary duty of males above the serf class was to serve in the military—Knighthood.

Women had no political rights.

Chivalry and courtly love served as the system of social codes

England in the Middle Ages

Lower, middle, and upper-middle classes developed in the cities.

England in the Middle Ages

The Crusades extended from 1095-1270.They brought contact with Eastern mathematics, astronomy, architecture, and crafts.

England in the Middle Ages

The Magna-Carta defeated papal central power.

England in the Middle Ages

The Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) was the first national war waged by England.

England in the Middle Ages

The Black Death (1348-1349) brought the end of the Middle Ages.

Fleas on rats carried the bubonic plague

which killed thousands of people.

in Europe.

How do the writings of the Middle Ages represent the lives, loves, loyalties, and humor of humanity?

Discover the answer by reading The Canterbury Tales and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Geoffrey Chaucerc. 1343-1400

Considered the father of English poetryWrote in the vernacularServed as a soldier, government servant, and member of ParliamentIntroduced iambic pentameterFirst writer buried in Westminster Abbey

Learn more about Chaucer. Go to. . .http://www.unc.edu/depts/chaucer/index.html

The Canterbury Tales: Snapshot of an Age

It frames a story of characters on a religious pilgrimage to Canterbury.The characters are a concise portrait of an entire nation.The pilgrimage is a quest narrative that moves from images of spring and awakening to penance, death, and eternal life.The characters tell stories that reflect “everyman” in the universal pilgrimage of life.

The Travelers to Canterbury

Working Class

Plowman Reeve HostCook Miller

Haberdasher Dyer Carpenter Weaver Carpetmaker

The Travelers to Canterbury

Professional Class

Military Religious Secular

Knight, Squire, Yeoman

Nun, 3 Priests, Friar, Parson,

Pardoner, SummonerCleric, Serjeant at Law, Merchant,

Skipper, Doctor

The Travelers to Canterbury

Upper Class

Wife of Bath Franklin

Chaucer’s Contemporaries

Chaucer’s Snapshot of the Middle Ages Population

Stylistic ElementsWritten in Middle English verseIt is a frame story – a story that includes, or frames, another story or stories

• Chaucer’s frame is the pilgrimage, which he originally planned as a round trip but remains incomplete

• Within this frame are 24 individual stories the pilgrims tell

It is a series of verse stories told by different pilgrims, from many walks of life, on their pilgrimage to St. Thomas a Becket’s shrine at Canterbury CathedralIt is the most accurate depiction of the life and values of people in Medieval 14th Century England

Stylistic ElementsChaucer uses narrative voice to its fullest potential in this work. While the tales themselves are narrated by different characters, a scribe (who describes himself as not too bright) writes them down, sometimes taking the time to apologize or add to the tale that was just told. This scribe (also called Chaucer) is actually Chaucer’s alter ego, who recites the blithering ballad of Sir Topaz, followed by the Tale of Melibee,* a study in itself.Between the tales the pilgrims tell, and the links between them, Chaucer covers a lot of social and ideological ground inside this structure.

Stylistic ElementsWithin this narrative voice and plot structure, Chaucer himself is doubly – or triply – hidden and can freely criticize or honor the society around him. Why would Chaucer want to shield himself?Chaucer creates a mock-pilgrimage of sorts, and it should be noted that a pilgrimage is considered as Christian allegory for life itself. In the pilgrimage of life you encounter moral difficulties and are tested.

The shrine you head for is HeavenMust be humble and ask God for guidance.

Stylistic ElementsThe Canterbury Tales is written in verse, much of it in iambic pentameter, much of it in heroic couplets. Chaucer also presents an example of almost every popular literary genre in this work: romance, beast fable, fabliaux, saint story, parable, dialectical discourse*, and sermon.His ironic tone is perhaps unmatched in literature, and he uses gentle satire works to reprimand without evisceration. He also tenderly praises humanity with all its foibles. His ability to balance and change the tonal quality of each tale, and manipulate voice is remarkable – especially for a civil servant!

Stylistic ElementsSuperb characterization. The many voices are painted with intensely detailed lines, and each one is unique and realistic. The narrative voice of each character is subtly maintained throughout the tale that each tells, and the qualities of the individual telling the tale are apparent.The Canterbury Tales represents a singular moment of representing psychological reality of character, which Chaucer presents with excruciatingly meticulous accuracy. Not until Shakespeare would this be realized again in the English language.

The NunsShe is the first character to be gently satirized because she does things that nuns are not supposed to do

At the time, nuns were not supposed to go on pilgrimagesShe dresses fashionably and nuns are supposed to dress conservatively

• “Her veil was gathered in a seemly way”

Her mannerisms (the way she speaks, eats, etc) are characteristic of the noble class

• She had “a courtly kind of grace”

Overall, she is gently satirized because she is rebellious in matters of discipline and not moral matters

Works Cited Home

Brown, Ian. “The Green Knight.” 2002. May 16, 2003 <http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/gawmenu.htm>.

“Geoffrey Chaucer.” Elements of Literature Sixth Course. Ed. Robert R. Hoyt. Austin, 1977. T99.Pyle, Howard. “Sir Gawain the Son of Lot, King of Orkney.” 1903. May 16, 2003 <http://wwwlib.rochester.edu/camelot/gawmenu.htm>.

“The Canterbury Tales: A Snapshot of an Age.” Elements of Literature Sixth Course. Ed. Robert R. Hoyt. Austin, 1977. T101-T104.