The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

1. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer Feature Menu Introducing the Selection Literary Focus: Characterization Literary Focus: Frame Story Reading Focus: Analyzing Style—Key Details Writing Focus: Think as a Reader-Writer

2. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer Chaucer’s Canterbury Pilgrims (1810) by William Blake. Engraving. What moves a hero to act?

3. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer Click on the title to start the video.

4. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Introducing the Selection For the most part, only the light characters travel. Who are you that have no task to keep you at home? —Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

5. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Introducing the Selection Take a Tour If you went on a tour today, what types of people would you meet? Do you think you might come across a “character” or two? Chaucer’s characters are the kinds of people he would have known in real life and observed riding toward Canterbury on the old pilgrimage road.

6. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Introducing the Selection Chaucer used the East Midland dialect of Middle English. This dialect was the most common colloquial language at the time and became the basis for modern English.

7. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Introducing the Selection Twenty-nine pilgrims are on their way to the shrine of Saint Thomas à Becket in Canterbury. The time is April, and the place is the Tabard Inn in Southwark (SUTH erk), just outside London. London Canterbury [End of Section]

8. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Literary Focus: Characterization Chaucer uses indirect characterization when he tells how each character • looks and dresses This yeoman wore a coat and hood of green,And peacock-feathered arrows, bright and keen • speaks and acts Her greatest oath was only “By St. Loy!” • thinks and feels And gladly would he learn, and gladly teach.

9. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Literary Focus: Characterization Chaucer also uses direct characterization, when he comes right out and tells us what a character’s nature is—virtuous, vain, clever, and so on. There was a Friar, a wanton one and merry,A Limiter, a very festive fellow. In all Four Orders there was none so mellow, So glib with gallant phrase and well-turned speech. [End of Section]

10. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Literary Focus: Frame Story A frame story is a literary device that binds together several different narratives. It is a story that contains other stories. • In The Canterbury Tales, the Prologue serves as the frame story. • The Prologue introduces each pilgrim and describes the journey they will all begin the next day.

11. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Literary Focus: Frame Story Following the Prologue, the characters tell their own stories. • The pilgrims’ tales are stories within the frame. • Their individual stories are united by the frame. • Each tale has its own theme that supports the theme of the larger work. [End of Section]

12. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Reading Focus: Analyzing Style: Key Details With twenty-nine pilgrims to introduce, Chaucer couldn’t develop any one character at great length. Instead, he provides a few well-chosen details to make each character stand out vividly.

13. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Reading Focus: Analyzing Style: Key Details Identifying key details about these characters can help you determine what Chaucer thinks about his characters and their experiences. • How do details of dress, appearance, and behavior influence your first impression of each pilgrim? • Note that some details contradict what the characters think of themselves (or want others to think of them).

14. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Reading Focus: Analyzing Style: Key Details Into Action: As you read, use a chart like the one below to note one or two key details about the main characters in the Prologue. Briefly describe what you think each detail emphasizes about the character. What Detail Character Key Detail Emphasizes It tells us he’s a brave man, a strong warrior, and someone of great experience. “He had done nobly in his sovereign’s war / And ridden into battle.” the Knight [End of Section]

15. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Writing Focus: Think as a Reader/Writer Find It in Your Reading Describing each character’s appearance is one method of characterization that Chaucer uses. As you read, consider how Chaucer describes each character’s physical appearance. Make notes on the different types of physical details he provides. [End of Section]

16. Vocabulary

17. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Vocabulary eminentadj.: great; of high standing. benignadj.: kind; gracious. guilen.: sly dealings; skill in deceiving. obstinateadj.: unreasonably stubborn. frugaladj.: thrifty; careful with money.

18. The Lincoln Memorial expresses Americans’ regard for this eminent president. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Vocabulary The word eminent is often used to describe an important person. It comes from a word related to hill, suggesting that an eminent person stands out from the crowd.

19. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Vocabulary “I would like to introduce our eminent speaker,” said the principal. Are people in the audience likely to know who the speaker is?

20. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Vocabulary The word benign comes from a French word meaning “good.” It is related to words like • benefit • benevolent • beneficial Yolanda wore a benign smile as she petted the chick.

21. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Vocabulary If a doctor says a growth is benign,is that good news?

22. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Vocabulary The word guile comes from a French word meaning “trick.” In Aesop’s fables, the fox often succeeds in tricking other animals because it is full of guile.

23. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Vocabulary A person who is full of guile is • trustworthy • easy to fool • skilled at deception

24. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Vocabulary A person who is full of guile is • trustworthy • easy to fool • skilled at deception

25. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Vocabulary Mules are well-known for sometimes refusing to head towards danger, as the mule sees it. People are sometimes said to be “as stubborn as a mule.” Stubborn people could also be called “as obstinate as a mule.”

26. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Vocabulary A obstinate person is • easy to persuade • hard to change • eager to try new things

27. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Vocabulary A obstinate person is • easy to persuade • hard to change • eager to try new things

28. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Vocabulary The word miser comes from a Latin word meaning “pitiful or wretched.” A miser would rather hold on to money than spend it. A related word is miserable.

29. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Vocabulary According to legend, King Midas was rich, but he wanted to be richer. A god gave him the power to turn everything he touched to gold. Of course, this made it hard to eat. So the king was miserable until the god took his golden touch away. Was Midas a miser? [End of Section]

30. The End