tesolmaster.com The Canterbury Tales Jigsaw Reading Comprehension and Speaking Activity Lesson

The Canterbury Tales

By Geoffrey Chaucer

EFL Materials

Jigsaw Reading Comprehension and Speaking Activity Lesson

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The Canterbury Tales Teachers Notes

Included in this pack is everything you need for a 1:30 hours lesson with a second 1:30 hours

extension lesson.

Part 1 An Introduction to The Canterbury Tales: The Life and Death of Thomas Becket.

Part 2 An Introduction to The Canterbury Tales: Geoffrey Chaucer

Part 3 The Canterbury Tales Jigsaw Reading Speaking and Reading activity

Part 4 The New Canterbury Tales Creative Writing and Role-play Extension Activity



Part 1 An Introduction to The Canterbury Tales: The Life and Death of Thomas Becket.

The Murder of Thomas Becket, 1170

A sword's crushing blow extinguished the life of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, on

a cold December evening as he struggled on the steps of his altar. The brutal event sent a tremor

through Medieval Europe. Public opinion of the time and subsequent history have laid the blame

for the murder at the feet of Becket's former close personal friend, King Henry II.

Becket was born in 1118, in Normandy the son of an English merchant. His family was well off,

his father a former Sheriff of London. Becket benefited from his family's status first by being

sent to Paris for his education and from there to England where he joined the household of

Theobold, the then Archbishop of Canterbury. Becket's administrative skills, his charm,

intelligence and diplomacy propelled him forward. The archbishop sent him to Paris to study

law and upon his return to England made him Archdeacon of Canterbury.

Becket's big break came in 1154, when Theobold introduced him to the newly crowned King,

Henry II. The two hit it off immediately, their similar personal chemistries forming a strong

bond between them. Henry named Becket his Chancellor. Archbishop Theobold died in 1161,

and Henry immediately saw the opportunity to increase his influence over the Church by naming

his loyal advisor to the highest ecclesiastical post in the land. Henry petitioned the Pope who

agreed. There was only one slight hindrance. Becket, busy at court, had never been ordained. No

problem, Becket was first invested as a priest. The next day he was ordained a Bishop, and that

afternoon, June 2, 1162, made Archbishop of Canterbury.

If King Henry believed that by having "his man" in the top post of the Church, he could easily

impose his will upon this powerful religious institution, he was sadly mistaken. Becket's

allegiance shifted from the court to the Church inspiring him to take a stand against his king. In

those days, the Church reserved the right to try felonious clerics in their own religious courts of

justice and not those of the crown. Henry was determined to increase control of his realm by

eliminating this custom. In 1163, a Canon accused of murder was acquitted by a church court.

The public outcry demanded justice and the Canon was brought before a court of the king.

Becket's protest halted this attempt but the action spurred King Henry to change the laws to


extend his courts' jurisdiction over the clergy. Becket vacillated in his support of the king,

finally refusing to agree to changes in the law. His stand prompted a royal summons to Henry's

court at Northampton and the king's demand to know what Becket had done with the large sums

of money that had passed through his hands as Chancellor.

Seeing the writing in the wall, Becket fled to France where he remained in exile for six years.

The two former friends appeared to resolve their dispute in 1170 when King Henry and Becket

met in Normandy. On November 30, Becket crossed the Channel returning to his post at

Canterbury. Earlier, while in France, Becket had excommunicated the Bishops of London and

Salisbury for their support of the king. Now, Becket remained steadfast in his refusal to absolve

the bishops. This news threw King Henry (still in France) into a rage in which he was purported

to shout: "What sluggards, what cowards have I brought up in my court, who care nothing for

their allegiance to their lord. Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest."

The king's exact words have been lost to history but his outrage inspired four knights to sail to

England to rid the realm of this annoying prelate. They arrived at Canterbury during the

afternoon of December 29 and immediately searched for the Archbishop. Becket fled to the

Cathedral where a service was in progress. The knights found him at the altar, drew their swords

and began hacking at their victim finally splitting his skull.

The death of Becket unnerved the king. The knights, who did the deed to curry the king's favour,

fell into disgrace. Several miracles were said to occur at the tomb of the martyr and he was soon

canonized. Hordes of pilgrims transformed Canterbury Cathedral into a shrine. Four years later,

in an act of penance, the king donned a sack-cloth walking barefoot through the streets of

Canterbury while eighty monks flogged him with branches. Henry capped his atonement by

spending the night in the martyr's crypt. St. Thomas continued as a popular cultist figure for the

remainder of the Middle Ages.

References:

Abbot, Edwin A., St. Thomas of Canterbury (1898); Compton, Piers, The Turbulent Priest (1964);

Hollister, Warren C., Medieval Europe: a short history (1975)

How To Cite This Article:

"The Murder of Thomas Becket, 1170" EyeWitness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (1997).



Part 2 An Introduction to The Canterbury Tales: Geoffrey Chaucer 1343-1400

Chaucer lived in exciting times - the Black Death and the Peasant's Revolt occurred in his lifetime. He was

also jailed for debt, fined for fighting and accused of other crimes and in between all this he found time to

write.

Geoffrey Chaucer was born in 1343 to a wealthy father, one of the major merchants of the City of London,

who also had court connections. The books Chaucer wrote tell us that he went to school, and since St.

Paul's was the nearest to his home it is likely that he went there. The main subject at school would have

been Latin - some masters made the pupils speak only Latin while at school! There would also have been

some arithmetic. Books were scarce - Chaucer would have learnt by writing down what the master said

then learning it by heart.

In 1368 Chaucer was made an Esquire in the King's household. Chaucer would have enjoyed the

ceremonial and entertainment side of court life as well as the administrative side. When not on diplomatic

missions to Florence and Milan, often for many months, Chaucer would have read and written, perhaps

holding readings of his own works. He wrote the Book of the Duchess - a poem for the dead wife of John

O'Gaunt at this time.

In 1377 Chaucer was given a house in Aldgate rent free and was made Comptroller of Customs and

Subsidy of Wools, Skins and Hides in the Port of London - a prestigious post. For the next ten years there

are records of his being sent abroad, but he was probably much occupied with the duties of his post. He still

had time for writing, though, and wrote many works during these years. In 1385 Chaucer moved to Kent

and Was made a Justice of the Peace and Knight of the Shire. It is in Kent that he began work on his

Canterbury Tales - his best-known work. Chaucer was next Clerk of the Kings works and then sub forester

for one of the King's forests. Finally in 1399 he leased a house in the garden of Westminster Abbey and

there in 1400 he died. He was buried in the Abbey, which shows his popularity with the King, for this was a

privilege normally reserved for royalty.



The Knight's Tale

The Knight's Tale is a story of love, rivalry and chivalry, set in the glorious days of Ancient Greece.

Duke Theseus was the ruler of Athens, a state at War with Thebes which was ruled by King Creon. The battles

between the two states were long, fierce and bloody, with over two thousand men fighting hand to hand and sword to

sword Two young men were captured by the Athenians, and taken to Athens, where they were locked up in the prison

tower of Duke Theseus' palace. These two young men were Arcitc and Palamon; they were cousins and devoted

friends. They whiled away the tedious days in their prison tower by talking about past adventures, and taking turns to

look out of the narrow arrow slit which was their only window. They were able to see into the palace garden, where

one day Duke Theseus' young sister in law Emily came to gather flowers. Emily was so beautiful "that both young

men immediately fell in love with her. They began to quarrel, for the first time in their lives, about who .had seen her

first and who loved her best.

Soon after this Arcitc was released and was sent into exile. He returned secretly to Athens under a false

name so that he could be near his fair Emily. One day, Palamon escaped and stumbled across Andre in the forest. The

two men fell on each other and fought like wild beasts. Duke Theseus, who was out hunting in the forest, found the

two men fighting and dragged them apart. When he heard the reason for their quarrel, Duke Theseus was lenient. He

gave them one year-to gather one hundred men at arms to take part in a tournament to prove the extent of their love.

The two men agreed to this, and in one year they returned, having gathered the cream of fighting men for the struggle.

Before the battle the two men prayed to the ancient gods, as was the custom before a tournament. AH Athens was

there to see the outcome, but the most interested of these was, of course, fair Emily. What was to be her fate?

A fierce battle ensued. At last Arcite emerged as the winner of the tournament and fair Emily. But, as he

galloped around the tournament field in victory, the god Saturn intervened and brought him crashing to the ground.

With his last breath Arcite begged Emily to love Palamon instead.



The Knight's Tale Reading Comprehension Questions

From the text what do you think these word/phrases mean. Look-up Vocabulary in your dictionaries or ask

your teacher to help. You must be able to explain in English to your classmates.

1. rivalry 2. chivalry 3. vanity

4. devoted 5. immediately 6. quarrel

7. tedious 8. stumbled 9. intervened

1) Where is the Knight’s tale set?

2) What is the Knight’s tale about?

3) Who are the Characters in the Knight’s tale? List and describe each one.

4) The Moral of the story: Does the Knight’s tale teach us anything? If so what?

You should now be able to retell the Knight’s story to someone in the class that has not read the story.

Once you have heard their story discuss which one you liked best and any similarities or differences they had.



The Miller's Tale

The Miller tells a very different story of love! His tale is set at Osney Mead in Oxford, where there lived

a carpenter called John with his pretty wife Alison. She was a flirty little thing, much younger than John, and she

attracted a great deal of attention from the local young men! To tell the truth, she led them on a little more than she

should have done, but most of the time she was only joking. Absalom, the parish clerk, took Alison quite seriously

though, and was prepared to elope with her if she ever said yes. Now living in John's house was a lodger called

Nicholas; John, who was a jealous husband, trusted Nicholas for he thought Nicholas was an educated, religious

man. But together Nicholas and Alison - who was smitten with the young lodger - hatched a plot to escape the

jealous eyes of John. Nicholas locked himself in his room for several days, until John grew worried about him When

he received no answer to his hammering on the door, he leaned against the wood and broke the door down . . .

Nicholas was sitting bolt upright in bed, with staring but unseeing eyes and was making a strange humming sound.

John shook Nicholas and he came out of his 'trance'. 'Oh John,' he said, I’ve had a vision. The end of the world is

coming and there is only one way we three can be saved! There will be a great flood and we must follow the

example of Noah...' He told the carpenter he must build three large barrels, one for each of them, made watertight

and stocked with food. These were to be hung from the ceiling until the floods came, and then, at a given sign, they

were to be cut down and the three of them would float until the flood subsided.

John took this warning very seriously and set about his task. He worked so hard on his barrel building that

he fell asleep exhausted in one of the barrels, and was oblivious to the fact that Nicholas and Alison were upstairs

kissing and holding hands and giggling about the trick they had successfully played on him

Then the two young people were disturbed by a tap on their window “Alison, it's me, Absalom. Come

on, look out of the window and give me a kiss!' Alison giggled, and for a joke raised her skirts and pushed her rear

through the window to meet Absalom's waiting lips! Absalom heard the stifled laughter of the two lovers and

guessed he'd been made a fool of, so he crept off to the blacksmith's and returned with a red hot ploughshare. He

called again for a second kiss, and this time Nicholas decided to stick his rump through the window . . . to be

branded by a hot iron! AAAGH!' he yelled Water, WATER ! John heard the commotion, as Nicholas had yelled

loudly enough to wake the dead. He thought the flood had arrived, leapt into his carefully prepared barrel and cut the

ropes that held it to the ceiling.



The Miller’s tale Reading Comprehension Questions



1. a miller 2. flirty 3. elope

4. jealous 5. smitten 6. hatched a plot to escape

7. to have a vision 8. commotion 9. pushed her rear through the window

1) Where is the Miller’s tale set and what is it about?

2) Who are the Characters in the Miller’s tale? List and describe each one.

3) What happens to them?

4) Is there a hero in this story?

5) The Moral of the story: Does the Miller’s tale teach us anything? If so what?

You should now be able to retell the Miler’s story to someone in the class that has not read the story.




The Nun's Priest's Tale The Nun's Priest's Tale is a story of vanity, set in a farmyard in the country, where there lived

Chanticleer, the cockerel. He was indeed a fine specimen, with a large scarlet comb-crest, glossy tail

feathers and a magnificent voice. He was very popular with the hens of the farmyard, and had a harem

of seven wives. But the fairest of these was Pertelot; her plumage was almost as bright as that of

Chanticleer, and her voice was sweet and gentle. The two of them often sang together in the farmyard.

Early one April morning Chanticleer woke from a terrible dream; he told Pertelot about it. I was

attacked,' he said 'by a ferocious beast, a little like a dog but with a reddish coat and pointed ears. And

the teeth! It was truly a terrible beast'

'Shame on you' said Pertelot You are the king of this farmyard, nothing could hurt you here. You've

been eating too much; what you need is a laxative, and then you'll get a good night's rest!' But Pertelot

was wrong, for amongst the cabbages, biding its time, was the very nightmare creature of Chanticleer's

dream ... Russell the fox. 'Sing to me' said Russell "Dear Chanticleer, your father's voice was like heaven

to me. Pm sure you can sing as beautifully as he.' So Chanticleer preened himself and began to sing.

Suddenly, as quick as lightening, a fox leapt out of the cabbage bed, grabbed the cock by its neck and

ran off. All hell broke loose. The woman that owned the farm yelled, and gave chase. Hens squawked

and dogs barked. Chanticleer squawked and spluttered and soon managed to gasp “What a clever

animal you are. Can you hear all that commotion behind us? I bet you could turn round, put your tongue

out at your pursuers, and they still wouldn't catch you.'

He's right' thought the fox, and turned round to put out his tongue at the people chasing him. As soon as

Chanticleer felt the fox's jaws relax, he summoned all his energy and escaped, flying to the top of a

nearby tree! 'Damn!' said the fox I’ve been tricked, I shouldn't have believed his flattery. Chanticleer, I

meant you no harm. Come down from your high perch and give me a song with your beautiful voice.'

'Oh no! Said Chanticleer, I’ll not fall for flattery again' 'And I should know better when to hold my

tongue,' said the fox, ruefully.



The Nun’s Priest’s tale Reading Comprehension Questions



1. a Nun 2. a harem 3. vanity

4. squawked and spluttered 5. all hell broke loose 6. flattery

7. a laxative 8. commotion 9. ferocious

1) Where and when is the Nun’s tale set?

2) What is the Nun’s tale about?

3) Who are the Characters in the nun’s tale? List and describe each one.

4) The Moral of the story: Does the Nun’s tale teach us anything? If so what?

You should now be able to retell the Nun’s Priest’s story to someone in the class that has not read the story.




The Pardoner’s tale

The tale told by the Pardoner has a sting in the tail! He tells of three young men, sitting in an ale house

after a long (drinking session. They heard, through a drunken haze, the sound of the church bell tolling.

"Who are they burying?' one of them asked. 1 believe it's an old friend of yours,' said the pot boy 'carried off

by the Black Death, like every man, woman and child in yonder village 'Carried off where?' another asked,

what right has this Death to come and take people away? Let's hunt out Death and kill him'

Yes! Cried his two companions "Let's kill Death!” and lurching to their feet, they, staggered out of the ale

house to track down this mystery person. Soon they saw an old man, bent double with age. Why hasn't

Death carried you off? They asked. You're old; he should have taken you by now"

I know, replied the old man, I want to go, but Death won't take me. But I can tell you where to

find Death. Follow that crooked path and you will find Death under the tree. The three young men followed

the old man's instructions, and reached the tree, brandishing their weapons, looking for Death. All they saw

was a large pot of golden florins -treasure! All thoughts of hunting down and killing Death were forgotten,

as the three planned what to do with the treasure.

They decided that they could not move it until nightfall, and the youngest was sent to the nearby

town to buy food and wine to sustain them during their wait. While he was gone, the other two plotted to

kill him, on his return, with their swords; after all treasure divided two ways was better than treasure divided

three ways! Unknown to these two traitors, the youngest had a similar plan... Whilst he was in the town he

bought poison from an apothecary, pretending he needed to kill some rats. He carefully poured this poison

into two of the three wine bottles he had bought, marking the safe bottle so he knew which one to drink

from himself. He then returned to the other two, who were lying in wait for him

The two jumped out from behind a hedge, and killed the youngest. It was such an unexpected

attack that there was hardly a struggle. Thirsty work,' said one of the murderers, reaching for one of the

unmarked bottles of wine...

Later, Death returned to collect his treasure, leaving the three bodies of the young men to be picked

clean by the crows. Indeed they did find Death, up that path and under that tree.



The Pardoner’s tale Reading Comprehension Questions



1. A pardoner 2. The black-death 3. lurching

4. brandishing 5. An apothecary 6. to be picked clean by crows

1) What is the Pardoner’s tale about?

2) Who are the Characters in the Pardoner’s tale? List and describe each one.

3) What are they doing at first, who do they go looking for and why?

4) Where do they look for him

5) What do they find instead?

6) What happens to the men

7) The Moral of the story: Does the Pardoner’s tale teach us anything? If so what?

You should now be able to retell the Pardoner’s story to someone in the class that has not read the story.




The Wife of Bath’s Tale

The Wife of Bath, an experienced woman if ever there was one, tells a story which lets men know

what women most desire! Her tale is set in the glorious days of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The

hero of the story is a young knight who, whilst walking through the forest, forced his attentions on a beautiful young

girl. The knight was summoned to the Round Table to answer for his actions; the penalty for his dishonourable

behaviour was death! Queen Guinevere took pity on the young knight and offered him the chance of a reprieve. 'Since

this young man seeks to understand the nature of women,' she said, 'let him find the answer to this riddle - What is it

that a woman most desires?'

The knight was sent off to roam the land for a year and a day, to find the answer to this question. At

first he thought the task would be easy; however as he asked more and more women he began to despair of ever

getting the right answer every woman seemed to want something different! The months passed and the time drew

nearer when the knight must return to the court of King Arthur. If he did not find the solution to the riddle soon tile

knight knew he would be returning to certain death. Then, when his time was nearly up and the knight was wearily

returning to Camelot, he rode through a forest glade, where he saw 24 maidens dancing in a ring. All of a sudden

these maidens vanished, leaving only an old wizened woman, hideous to behold. She asked him what he was seeking,

and when he told her she cackled and said I can tell you the answer to that my boy, but you must promise me

something in return.' The knight was so grateful that he rashly promised she should have whatever she wanted. The

old hag whispered into his ear, and the knight rushed off to tell the answer to Guinevere.

At Camelot the hall was crowded with people who wanted to hear whether the young knight had returned with the

answer, or whether he was still to die for his misbehaviour. The knight dropped to his knees before Guinevere. 'My

Lady he said I have the answer to your question. What women most desire is to have their own way in everything in

a word, sovereignty over men!

Guinevere was amazed. This was indeed the right answer, but she could not believe that a man had managed

to work this out for himself. She was right, for as soon as the knight had received his pardon, the old woman

appeared, demanding that he should pay his debt to her. The knight was horrified when he heard that what she wanted

was to marry him! But, in front of everyone at King Arthur's court there was no choice but to agree; when they were

married, the old woman offered the knight a choice. Would you rather have me as your wife old, ugly and faithful to

you, or would you rather I was young, pretty and attractive to other men?' she asked. The knight could not decide, so

he said I don't mind my love you choose, my dear at that there was a sudden transformation of the old woman. She

changed from a toothless old hag into a beautiful young girl. 'You gave the right answer,' she said, You remembered

that women like to have, their own way. And as your reward you will have a young, pretty and faithful wife!'



The Wife of Bath’s Reading Comprehension Questions



1. summoned 2. dishonorable 3. to forced his attentions on

4. a reprieve 5. a riddle 6. an old hag

7. to be hideous to behold 8. sovereignty over men 9. wearily

1) When and where is the wife of Bath’s tale set?

2) What is the wife of Bath’s tale about?

3) Who are the Characters in the wife of Bath’s tale?

4) The Moral of the story: Does the wife of Bath’s tale teach us anything? If so what?

You should now be able to retell the wife of Bath’s story to someone in the class that has not read the story.




Part 4: The New Canterbury Tales Creative Writing and Role-play Extension Activity

The Tramp or Beggar’s Tale: Characters

1) The Beggar

2 ) A Rich Man

3) An Old Lady

4)

The Moral: Never Judge a book by its cover

The Actor’s Tale: Characters

1) A Movie Star

2) A little boy

3) His Mother

4)

The Moral: Be Careful of Vanity

The Gangster’s Tale: Characters

1) The Gangster

2) A Shopkeeper

3) A person in the shop

4)

The Moral: Live by the sword, die by the sword

The Fireman’s Tale: Characters

1) A Cook

2) A boy

3) The boy’s friend

4)

The Moral: If you play with fire, you will get burned


The Teacher’s Tale: Characters

1) The teacher

2) A student

3)

4)

The Moral: Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer

The Mother’s Tale: Characters

1) The Mother

2) A little boy

3) A Monster

4)

The Moral: Never Cry Wolf

The Farmer’s Tale: Characters

1) An old woman

2) A Genie

3) A Rabbit

4) A Young man

The Moral: Be careful what you wish for

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tesolmaster.com The Canterbury Tales Jigsaw Reading Comprehension and Speaking Activity Lesson