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Geoffrey Chaucer’sThe Canterbury TalesENG 400: British Literature
Unit I: From Legend to History
Background InformationThe Canterbury Tales
Who Was Geoffrey Chaucer? Geoffrey Chaucer (1343? – 1400)
Born into a middle-class family As a teen, was sent to work in a
royal household Served in the English army Married a lady-in-waiting to the
queen Had a son who married a wealthy
noblewoman, continuing the family’s rise in social class
Chaucer continued . . .
Began writing in his twenties Started out imitating famous poets, but
developed own style as he got older Invented his own poetic form, the
heroic couplet, and used it for The Canterbury Tales heroic couplet: paired rhyming lines
written in iambic pentameter (10 syllables following a light-heavy stress pattern)
Known as the father of English poetry
The Canterbury Tales: Chaucer’s Great Unfinished Work
Written in Chaucer’s later years Narrative poem about members of
medieval society making a pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral (literary epic) Pilgrimage: a long journey to a shrine or holy
place
In 1170, Thomas à Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered while at his evening prayers. He was made a saint in 1173, and his tomb became a popular place for pilgrims to visit.
The Canterbury Tales continued . . .
Characters (pilgrims) tell each other stories to pass time on the journey (pilgrimage)
Reveals details about medieval society Characters come from all classes of society
Stories come from all types of literature
Chaucer planned to write 120 tales (4 tales for each pilgrim) but only completed 24.
The PrologueThe Canterbury Tales
Structure
Frame Story
Social Context
Social Commentary
Structure of The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales consists of A prologue that
introduces the characters and explains how they came to travel together
120 tales told by the pilgrims on their way to and from Canterbury Cathedral (only 24 completed)
The Prologue as Frame Story Frame Story: The Prologue acts as the “frame” that
surrounds and connects the tales told by each pilgrim.
120 Tales:each pilgrim tells his/her stories on the way to and from Canterbury Cathedral
Prologue: acts as the frame that holds the different tales together
The Pilgrims’ Journey
Distance: about 56 miles
Travel Time: at least 4 days
Beginning: The Tabard Inn
Destination: Canterbury Cathedral
Medieval Society
AristocracyStatus based on birth and tradition
(nobles, people with titles)
Upper ClassStatus based on acquired
wealth(plenty of money, but no titles)
Middle ClassStatus based on mastery of a
trade(craftsmen, shopkeepers, etc.)
Virtuous Lower ClassPoor but virtuous
(doing the right thing)
Degraded Lower Class
Those of low manners or questionable morals
Social Commentary in The Canterbury Tales
The pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales come from different levels of society.
The diverse group is brought together by a common goal: the pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral.
Chaucer’s characters are very well-defined and well-developed, each with his/her own flaws and virtues.
Several of the pilgrims represent different types of people from the Church, an important institution in medieval society.
Chaucer’s detailed look at medieval life provides social commentary, or insight into his society, its values, and its customs.
Focus Question: What commentary does Chaucer seem to make about the Church as an institution?
Reading the TextThe Canterbury Tales
Characterization
Vocabulary
Chunking
Questioning the Text
Literary Element: Characterization
Chaucer uses characterization to reveal information about the characters (pilgrims).
There are 2 main types of characterization: Direct: The author presents direct
statements about a character.
Indirect: The author uses actions, thoughts, and dialogue to reveal a character’s traits and personality.
Characterization Practice Are the following statements about
George examples of direct or indirect characterization? Jenny thought that George was the best
brother in the world.
Basketball was George’s favorite sport.
George spent most of his time on the basketball court.
“George!” his mother cried, “are you ever going to clean your room? Something’s growing in there!”
indirect (thought)directindirec
t (action)indirect (dialogue)
The Canterbury Tales Vocabulary
absolution (n)• act of freeing someone of a sin or
criminal charge
commission (n)• authorization; act of giving authority to
an individual or group
garnished (adj)• decorated; trimmed
The Canterbury Tales Vocabulary continued . . .
prevarication (n)• evasion or avoidance of the truth (not
quite lying)
sanguine (adj)• confident; cheerful
solicitous (adj)• showing care or concern; wanting to help
Reading Strategy:Chunking
As readers, we need to break a long text up into pieces to digest and understand them.
Writers break their texts up into digestible pieces by using paragraphs (prose) and stanzas (poetry).
Sometimes, however, we may need to break these pieces into even smaller morsels in order to comprehend a passage. This is called chunking and is a useful strategy for longer and/or more complex texts that convey a lot of information to be organized and understood.
Look for natural divisions between ideas indicated by end punctuation and conjunctions.
Follow your instincts; often you can sense the shift between ideas without quite knowing how.
Chunk #3
Chunk #2
Chunk #1
Reading Strategy:Chunking continued . . .It happened in that season that one day
In Southwark, at The Tabard, as I lay
Ready to go on pilgrimage and start
For Canterbury, most devout at heart,
At night there came into that hostelry
Some nine and twenty in a company
Of sundry folk happening then to fall
In fellowship, and they were pilgrims all
That towards Canterbury meant to ride.
The rooms and stables of the inn were wide;
They made us easy, all was of the best.
And shortly, when the sun had gone to rest,
By speaking to them all upon the trip
I soon was one of them in fellowship
And promised to rise early and take the way
To Canterbury, as you heard me say.
Reading Strategy:Questioning the Text
When you do not understand a long, involved sentence you are reading, repair your comprehension by questioning.
To pull the essential information from a chunk of text, ask the good old standby questions: Who? What? When? Where? How? Why? How?
Once you have most or all of those answers, go back to the text to fill in the details.
Chunk #3:
What?How?Why?
Chunk #2:
Who?
Chunk #1:
When?Where?
Reading Strategy:Chunking & QuestioningIt happened in that season that one day
In Southwark, at The Tabard, as I lay
Ready to go on pilgrimage and start
For Canterbury, most devout at heart,
At night there came into that hostelry
Some nine and twenty in a company
Of sundry folk happening then to fall
In fellowship, and they were pilgrims all
That towards Canterbury meant to ride.
The rooms and stables of the inn were wide;
They made us easy, all was of the best.
And shortly, when the sun had gone to rest,
By speaking to them all upon the trip
I soon was one of them in fellowship
And promised to rise early and take the way
To Canterbury, as you heard me say.
Essential Question NotesThe Canterbury Tales
EQ1: What Is the Relationship between Literature and Place?
Making a nation of an island
A diverse group working toward a common goal
Review textbook page 8.
Timely Events Social TrendsShowing,
Not Lecturing
Rising Middle Class Human Stories
EQ2: How Does Literature Shape or Reflect Society? (Pg. 10)
EQ3: What Is the Relationship of the Writer to Tradition? (Pg. 12)
Chaucer both borrowed from and created new literary traditions.
epic
frame story
wider view of society
heroic couplet / iambic pentameter
traditional types of stories