Geoffrey Chaucer and The Caterbury Tales

1. Geoffrey Chaucer and The CaterburyTales

2. Geoffrey Chaucer c.1343-1400 Sohnof a wine-merchant Hereceived a goodeducation: hestudied the classics, law, theology, astronomy and medicine Hewasa royalservant: hewas in the service of Elizabeth of Ulster, Edward III’s daughter-in-law Hewasa soldier: hejoined the armytofightagainst the Frenchduring the HundredYears’ War Hetravelled a lotasdiplomat Hewas the first poettobeburied in WestministerAbbey, in the Poets’ Corner

3. The literaryperiods • Chaucer’s literary production can bedivided in threeperiodsaccordingto the maininfluences on his production: • The FRENCH PERIOD: hewrotepoemsmodelled on French romance style like The Romauntof the Rose, aboutcourtly love; • The ITALIAN PERIOD: hewroteallegoricalpoemsinspiredbyBoccaccio and Dante’s works. • The FINAL PERIOD or ENGLISH PERIOD: from 1387 onwards, Chaucer workedexclusively on hismasterpiece: The Canterbury Tales

4. The Canterbury Tales:The characters Itisanestates satire itsatirizes/mocks/criticizes the abuses and exaggerationsof the threeestates* The charactersbelongto the threeordersof society*THE NOBLES, THE CLERGY and THE PEASANTS The characters are stereotyped(the monk and his strong faith; the knight and hisvalues code..) butthey emerge alsoasindividualswiththeirownpersonality, lifestyle, experiences(realisticdetails, life-likedialogues and psychologicalcharacterisation)

5. Plot Cycleofstoriestoldbydifferentnarratorswithin a frameworkdescribed in the GeneralPrologue The narrator meets 29 pilgrims at the TabardInnin London and travels with them to the shrine of St. Thomas Becket in Canterbury. The hostof the Innsuggeststhateachpilgrimshouldtelltwostorieson the way to Canterbury and two on the way back; the best storytellerwillwin a free supper at the inn.

6. Why a pilgrimageto Canterbury? Canterbury Cathedralis the shrineof Thomas Beckett, England’s first martyr; Taking a pilgrimagewas common in Chaucer’s day; People went on a pilgrimagetoaskforhealing or forgivenessofsinsbutalsotosocialise

7. The language During the Middle Agesthreelanguageswerespoken in England: Frech (spokenby the Norman aristocracy); Ango-Saxon (spokenby the natives) and Latin (spokenby the Church). By the timeChaucerwrote The Canterbury Tales, English slowlybeganto re-emerge. • English replacedFrenchas the languageofeducation in the localschools; • English wasbecoming the languageof the government; • A lotofliteraryworkswerewritten in English

8. Thanksto The Canterbury Talesthe Middle English became the standard literarylanguage. Whatwasprecisely the languageusedbyChaucer? The East Midland dialectspoken in London. Thisdialectgraduallybecame a standard languagebecauseitwas a verysimpledialect in termsofgrammar and syntax and itwas the dialectusedby the aristocratic and literarycirclesof the country.

9. Whyis The C. Talesanallegorical work? The pilgrims’ journeyfrom London to Canterbury represents the journeyfromEarthtoHeaven. When the journeybegins, wehave a sinfulgroup of pilgrims with vices and dirtysecrets. Theirpilgrimageismeant to be a journey of repentance, so that by the time theyreach Canterbury, theywill be clean of theirsinstelling the stories. Thus in thisallegory, the tavernrepresents the sinful life on Earth,while Canterbury represents the sinfree life in heaventhatall people are tryingtoreach.

10. To sum up… Was Chaucer exclusively a poet in hislifetime? Whatabouthiseducation? What are the literaryperiods of Chaucer’s production? WhyisThe Canterbury Talesdefinedas an estates satire? How are the charactersdescribed? Whatis the framework of The Canterbury Tales? Whyis the Canterbury Cathedralthe destination of thispilgrimage? Whatis the languageused by Chaucer in the C. T.? Whatis the allegoricalmeaning of The Canterbury Tales?

11. April sweetshowers

13. Reading comprehension • How opens the GenaralPrologue? Which season isdescribed? • Whichelementsannounceitsarrival? • How wouldyoudescribe the languageused?