The Canterbury Tales

By by

Geoffrey Chaucer

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Read and take notes on page 86

England’s first great poet

1343-1400

Began writing The Canterbury Tales around 1387 following the death of his wife,Philippa Roet

Mother - a member of the English court.Father - a wealthy wine merchant in London

Education – well educated and reared in high society- studied law

Held a variety of jobs and was well traveled

Knowledge of people is reflected in the tales

Prologue- describes the people who will be making the pilgrimage (journey)

penance or spiritual renewal

Frame story – story within a story

A whole range of people from all walks of life. A Knight to a Plowman

Look at the map on page 1175- Tabard Inn to Canterbury Cathedral to the shrine of Sir Thomas a Beckett

Iambic pentameter – the natural rhythm of language unstressed – stressed syllables pentameter- how man iambs?

Figure it out……..

The distance from London to Canterbury is 55 miles.

The Pilgrims’ pace- slightly faster than walking 4-5 mph

8 hours of travel per day

2 days at the shrine

How long will the trip take?

A religious pilgrimage assumes a festive atmosphere like going on a vacation.

What story would you tell for entertainment?

According to Chaucer, literature was supposed to be entertaining and morally instructive.

The instruction was through the morals which taught people how to live properly.The entertainment was in the storytelling.

Satire_

The Canterbury Tales is a reflection of life and times in the Middle Ages.

An anthology of the popular genre of the Middle Ages. The stories representThe literary tastes of different social classes

Through the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer presents ideas on love, death, humor, and faith.

→ Learn more about the medieval period→ Will meet a whole range of people→ Will learn about different genre from the anthology

• If you could take a vacation or go on a journey when you get “spring fever,” where would you go?

The classes…..

Medieval society made distinct divisions between the social classes:

Chaucer described his characters.. “According to degree…”

Interior groupings (refer to handout)

Characterization- the process of revealing the personality of the character

Indirect: What the character says•What the character looks like- general appearance and clothing•Inner thoughts of a character•What other people say about the character•What the character does

• Direct:• The writer tells what the character’s

personality is like