T he C anterbury T ales T he P rologue

1. TheCanterbury TalesThe Prologue Geoffrey Chaucer Translated by NevillCoghill

2. Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400) • Considered the Greatest English poet • Son of a merchant, page in a royal house, soldier, diplomat, and royal clerk Chaucer saw quite a bit of the medieval world. All these occupations make it easy to understand his dramatic use of the merry crowds he saw on the Canterbury road. • It provides the best contemporary picture we have of fourteenth England.

3. Background for Understanding • Pilgrimage: long trips to holy places • Pilgrimages were popular in medieval Christianity. Every year, pilgrims would travel great distances, sometimes as far as Rome or the Holy Land (the modern Middle East). • Some to ask for divine assistance, such as miraculous cure, or to give thanks for that already received, or to show devotion.

4. Canterbury • Canterbury is a town about fifty miles southeast of London • This was a major destination for Pilgrims

5. Cathedral in Canterbury • The Cathedral in Canterbury was the site of Archbishop Thomas A. Becket’s murder in 1170 • Days after his murder and 3 years before he became a saint, people began to visit the cathedral to pay their respects

6. Canterbury Tales • Canterbury Tales is a Frame tale • Frame tale: larger story inside of which are many smaller stories • Rather than epic heroes, Chaucer used real people for the characters • Members of the feudal system: Knight, Squire, Yeoman, • People in religious life: Nun, Monk, Friar, Cleric, Parson, Summoner, Pardoner • The rising middle class: Merchant, Sergeant at the Law, Five Tradesmen, Cook, Skipper, Doctor, Wife of Bath, Manciple, Host, Miller, Reeve, Franklin, Plowman

7. Takes place during 14th century on a pilgrimage to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral • Chaucer chose to write the tales in Middle English rather than in French or Latin, which were considered to be the literary languages, suggesting that he wrote these tales for the general population instead of the ruling classes • In “A Knight’s Tale” Chaucer makes a call to the people “those of you not seated on cushions,” concern for the commoner

8. The pilgrimage is like a holiday or vacation throwing all these different people together • People took these pilgrimages for many reasons; to show devotion to something, a vacation, etc. • People would band together on these journeys for safety. • Today these trips would be a two-hour drive, but back then the trip would take days. Along the way the people would stay in inns with complete strangers.

9. Vocabulary • Social commentary: (noun) the act of rebelling against an individual or group of people by rhetorical means; the act of expressing an opinion on the nature of society • Social commentary: any forms of communication; speeches, writing, TV, radio, etc. • Sermons describing social ills • To Kill a Mockingbird; racism, gender stereotypes • Michael Moore’s films: Fahrenheit 9/11, Sicko • Talk shows • Blogs • Music • Newspaper editorials

10. Examples of Social Commentary • “Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor.” ― James Baldwin • “Everyone in life has a purpose, even if it's to serve as a bad example” ― Carroll Bryant • “Just because all the rats are gone doesn't mean I trust the rattlesnake that got rid of them.” ― John Steiner • “A public outcry usually masks a private obsession.” ― Eric Schlosser, Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market

11. Rhetorical (adj): effective or persuasive writing; esp. the use of figures of speech like irony, metaphors, figurative language, etc. • Irony (n): the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect • Irony: using words to express the opposite of what is literally said. “Ho that’s bad.” When you mean it’s good. • Situational irony: readers expect one thing but get surprised by its opposite • Writer might create a firefighter, yet who, for the thrill of extinguishing fires, sets them deliberately

12. Metaphor (n): a figure of speech concisely comparing two things, saying that one is the other • Satire (n): a type of writing that pokes fun at people, their weaknesses, institutions, and social conventions • Satire takes different forms: it can be moralistic (teaching a moral lesson) and indignant (insulting), or it can be gentle and elicit laughter to make a point • Jonathan Swift: A Modest Proposal; famine, suggests selling children as food to make money

13. Characterization Characterization: the act of creating and developing the personality of a character • Direct characterization: direct statements about character • Ex: The knight was chivalrous, truthful, and honorable. • Ex: My student is bright, clever, and amazingly smart. • Indirect characterization: When the character’s personality is revealed through his or her actions, thoughts and words • Ex: The knight was not gaily dressed. • In this sense, the indirect detail implies something further. If the knight was not gaily dressed it implies he is modest and humble. • Ex: My student didn’t take any notes and slept all through class. • Implies that the student was tired and lazy and no interest in the class content for the day.