The Canterbury Tales Introduction

1. The Canterbury Tales Introduction Snapshot of an Era

2. Please Take Notes: • Use your composition books for notes. • Ask questions if you get confused! • You will need these notes for an upcoming assignment! • PAY ATTENTION – that means No Talking!!!!!

3. Who was Geoffrey Chaucer? • He was the Father of English poetry • Ordinary people in England spoke Middle English, but the more intellectual spoke Latin or French • Chaucer was one of the first authors to write in Middle English • He was successful in this because he was a well-respected government official • Chaucer made the language of Middle English respectable

4. More about Chaucer… • He was born middle class • He became a page to a wealthy family who helped him learn manners and etiquette • He was captured in France during the Hundred Years War • The King paid his ransom because he was related to royalty • He was a Justice of the Peace and later became a member of Parliament

5. Even more Chaucer… • He wrote a great deal despite his governmental responsibility • He influenced by Italian frame poems • Frame Poems: group of characters tell their stories based on similar plots • He wrote Canterbury Tales when he was unemployed for a few years • The stories were never completed, but are still ranked with other brilliant works (24 out of 29)

6. More about Chaucer… • He wrote in iambic pentameter (a 10 syllable line of stressed and unstressed syllables) • Example: “And bathed every veyne in swich licour” • Chaucer is remembered for his spirit and originality of characterization • Chaucer’s 5 Types of Characterization: • TELLING DIRECTLY WHAT THE CHARACTER IS LIKE • DESCRIBING HOW THE CHARACTER LOOKS AND DRESSES • PRESENTING THE CHARACTERS WORDS AND ACTIONS • REVEALING PRIVATE THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS • SHOWING HOW OTHERS RESPOND TO THE CHARACTER

7. The CANTERBURY TALES • Characters are on a religious pilgrimage to Beckett’s shrine • They take place in the Spring and start at the Tabard Inn • The characters sit around the fire and tell their tales • The tales are a representation of every man • Themes include: • The hypocrisy of man; • Morality versus values; • The idea that wealth does not equate to virtue

8. The “Assignment” • Use Chaucer’s 5 Types of Characterization to describe yourself in a 3 - 5 paragraph essay! • Include a drawn picture or sketch of yourself! • You need an Introduction, Body and Conclusion! • Remember the 5 types include: • What the character is like • What the character looks or dresses like • What the character says • What the character thinks • How other people respond to the character

9. The Assignment (contin.) • It must be typed: Times New Roman • 12 point font • Single spaced • 1 page = 500 - 700 words!!! • DUE: MONDAY/TUESDAY • OCTOBER 17-18, 2011 BY 3:30PM