“Prologue” to

The Canterbury Tales

Purpose

Spring – rebirth, Pilgrimage to Canterbury

Pay homage to the martyr Saint Thomas a Becket

Tales characters create to pass the time

Purpose

Characters = various aspects of society

Presented in order of their rank

Each pilgrim tells four stories

Terms

Satire – a humorous writing or speech intended to point out errors in order to reform human behavior or human institutions.

Physiognomy - the art of determining character or personal characteristics from the form or features of the body, esp. of the face. (dictionary. COM)

Terms

Frame structure & Frame Tale – a story that provides a vehicle for the telling of other stories

Characterization – the use of literary techniques to create a character. Indirect & Direct?

Irony – a difference between appearance and reality.

Setting & Narrator

Southwark, The Tabbard Inn

29 travelers

Narrator (+ 1) – meets travelers and will go on pilgrimage with them

Offers descriptions of each of the travelers

Setting & Narrator

Will be repeating the tales of everyone

Going to speak plainly

“The word should be as cousin to the deed” – Narrator quotes Plato

Knight

An honored fighter…he always wins

Dress – shabby and stained

Sin?

Squire

Son of the Knight

20 yrs. Old

Danced, wrote poetry, sang

Lover (“He slept as little as a nightingale”

What is his motive for following his father?

Sin?

Yeoman

With the Knight and the Squire

Dress of the forester – bright green, geared up for hunting

Sin?

Nun, Prioress

Mother Superior; had another Nun and 3 PriestsFeigned knowing French – knowing French would mean having statusHow did she eat?Courtliness – politely or flatteringlyCounterfeit courtly grace - clumsyPhysical Features – fat, uglyJewelry – bright and expensiveAmor vincit omnia – Love conquers allSin?

Monk

Hunting regularly

Strict with his religious duties? - “took the modern world’s more spacious way”

Sin?

Friar

Wanton – extravagant, unrestrained

“knew taverns”

“giving each/Of his young women what he could afford/Her” – fascinated with women (lustful)

Good beggar

Where is the money going? = Sin?

Merchant

Stately, rich in dress

“In solemn tones, he harped on his increase/Of capital” – talked about all of his assets (money)

“none knew he was in debt”

Sin?

Oxford Cleric

Very skinny…sickly, weak

Couldn’t work in Church or outside of Church

What did he actually do with his time?

What should he be doing?

Sin?

Sergeant at the Law

Lawyer

“He was less busy than he seemed to be” – feigning being busy…why?...sin?

Franklin

Landowner; dressed well (colorful)Dagger and purse – some sort of threatening natureWhat is the contrast that exists in this character?If he’s a social-climber, what’s his sin?

Guildsmen

Tradesmen

What are their aspirations? – to be aldermen

Tools were all polished, perfect, and matching

Wives – stately airs; showing off their place at Church

What is their sin?

Cook

Are the foods listed difficult recipes?

Ulcer – disgusting element to someone that makes delicious foods

He is not so appetizing to see = irony

Sin?

Skipper

Captain of a shipEnjoyed drinking – “Many a draft of yellow and red/He’d drawn at Bordeaux”“The nicer rules of conscience he ignored” – what does this mean?Harsh and unforgiving - “He sent his prisoner’s home; they walked the plank” – What is “home” here?Sin?

Doctor

Guile – slyness & cunning“….each make money from the other’s guile” – who were all the people involved in the guile?Did not read Bible – what is the irony in his attendance on this particular trip?“Gold stimulates the heart, or so we’re told./He therefore had a special love of gold.”What are the Doctor’s vices (bad habits/sins)?

Wife of Bath

Excellent seamstress

What would upset her at the altar? What would she do if she didn’t get her way?

Men? – plenty of experience!

Gap-teeth – gluttonous

Self-proclaimed “love doctor”

Parson

Poor

Knew and taught the Bible

“Nay rather he preferred beyond a doubt/Giving to poor parishioners round about/Both from Church offerings and his property” – Where would he get the money from to give to the poor?

Parson

“This noble example to his sheep he gave/That first he wrought, and afterwards he taught;/And it was from the Gospel he had caught/Those words, and he would add this figure too,/That if gold rust, what then will iron do?”

What is the Parson’s ideal in this passage?

What literary device does he use to portray it?

“Christ and His Twelve Apostles and their love/He taught, but followed it himself before”

Plowman

Worked in fields: tilled soil, planted corn, made manure, dug ditches

“….and, as prompt as any,/He paid his tithes in full when they were due/On what he owned, and on his earnings too”

What is his sin?

Miller

Stout and red-headed

“His was master-hand at stealing grain” - How would he steal it?

Sin?

Manciple

Victuals – food supplies

Illiterate – can’t read

Gifted at the market

How does Chaucer compare the Manciple to the men that he works for (lawyers)?

Sin?

Reeve

He was in charge of the farming of his landowners

He was knowledgeable in every aspect of his job and could not be swindled

Had his own staff of riches; How did he use them? (How was his lord involved?)

Sin?

Summoner

Ugly – “His face on fire…/for he had carbuncle. His eyes were narrow…/Black scabby brows he had, and a thin beard./Children were afraid when he appeared”; puss-filled pimples

Drunk & loud

Lines 660-663 – How does Chaucer describe this man’s talents?

Summoner

“Why he’d allow-just for a quart of wine-/any good lad to keep a concubine [(whore)]/A twelvemonth [(year)] and dispense [(to grant exemption from a law or promise)] him altogether!”

“He knew their secrets, they did what he said.” - Blackmail

Pardoner

Stringy, blonde hair; hare-like eyeballs“He’d sewed a holy relic on his cap;/His wallet lay before him on his lap” – What do you think this juxtaposition means?“For in his trunk he had a pillow-case/Which he asserted was Our Lady’s [Mary’s] veil” – What is the truth about the relics?Taught lessons well!

Host

Delicious food and amenities

Fair, fun man

Comes up with the contest

Acts as their “Governor”

Contest

– Two stories there– Two stories back– Best tale (good morality and pleasure) gets a

free supper– Host = judge (will join the pilgrimage)– Don’t play by rules = paying for expenses on

trip (everyone’s)– Draw straws to see who goes first - Knight