Geoffrey Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales
10
Geoffrey Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales English 12
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Geoffrey Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales. English 12. I. The Father of English poetry. He made English “_ Respectable _”. People usually wrote major works in _ Latin _ and _ French _. Composed in the vernacular or _ in everyday spoken language in London. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transcript of Geoffrey Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales
Geoffrey Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales
English 12
I. The Father of English poetryHe made English
“_Respectable_”.
People usually wrote major works in _Latin_ and _French_.
Composed in the vernacular or _in everyday spoken language in London.
Was a well-known government official.
II. Early life
Born into a middle class family in the 1340s
Big reader and had legal training
He was a soldier during the 100 Years War. Was captured in _France__. Was important enough to have King Edward pay his ransom.
III. Writing_His government
job____ took precedence over his writing.
Wrote about those that had power over him, but his writing was more than an attempt at political advancement or a passing fancy.
IV. Italian ConnectionWas influenced by _Dante_, _Petrarch_,
and Boccaccio_.Used a framing device within which _the
characters tell their tales, and both include tales based on similar old plots__.
Chaucer’s frame tale is a religious pilgrimage in which each traveler is to tell _4 stories_. _2_ going out and _2__ returning.
Never finished the Canterbury Tales.
V. Writing form & structureUsed Iambic Pentameter- meter is based 10
syllables, with an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. /u
Example: And bathed every veyne in swich licour
No more alliterationWrote in couplets
VI. The Canterbury TalesThe story begins with all walks of life from
the Middle Ages carrying out a pilgrimage to the shrine of _Thomas a Becket__.
The pilgrimage takes place during _spring_. This symbolizes _new life and awakening.
The poet-pilgrim narrator starts out at Tabard Inn where he meets _29_ other pilgrims.
VI. The Canterbury Tales cont’d.The host of the Tabard suggests to the
pilgrims that they _tell tales to pass the time_.
This sets up Chaucer’s frame story format.
As a pilgrimage story, it is one of the world’s many _quest narratives_.
The pilgrims are in search of _renewal_. Because they come from all walks of life,
they cannot help but represent the “_everyman_”.
Literary TermsFrame Story: a story that contains any
number of different stories.Characterization: creates/reveals the
personality of a character. 5 ways to do this:
Narrator’s descriptionPhysical descriptionWords/actions of characterThoughts and feelings of characterHow others respond to them
Character Chart
Physical description
How others respond
Thoughts & actions
Narrator’s description
