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The Canterbury Tales. Review Notes. The General Prologue. 29 pilgrims arrive at the Tabard Inn in Southwark to embark on a journey to Canterbury to see the shrine of Thomas Beckett. They travel in the month of April.
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The Canterbury Tales Review Notes
The General Prologue • 29 pilgrims arrive at the Tabard Inn in Southwark to embark on a journey to Canterbury to see the shrine of Thomas Beckett. They travel in the month of April. • The Canterbury Tales represents an example of a frame story because you have stories within the main story. • The Host travels with the pilgrims to keep them in line and to judge the stories that they tell. Each pilgrim has to tell 2 stories on the way to Canterbury and 2 stories on the way back. • Each story must have general pleasure and have a moral!! • The winner of the best story will receive a dinner paid by all!
More Information • There are only 2 females in the General Prologue: The Nun/Prioress and The Wife of Bath. Reflect on what Chaucer could be saying about the role of women. • The Knight and the Squire are related/father and son. • The Parson and the Plowman are related: brothers • Each pilgrim represented one of the three major classes in Medieval Society: The Feudal system, the church, and the City.
The Feudal System • Knight, Squire, Yeoman, Franklin, Plowman, Reeve, Miller
The Church • Prioress/Nun • Monk • Friar • Oxford Cleric • Parson • Summoner • Pardoner
City • Merchant • Lawyer • Guildsmen • Cook • Skipper • Wife of Bath • Doctor • Manciple
More Information • Chaucer thinks highly of the Oxford Cleric, the Parson, Knight, and the Plowman. • He gives you positive and negative examples of the pilgrims from each class. • Chaucer spends a lot of time using sarcasm to make a point about the medieval time period and the problems he saw within it. • Chaucer values honesty, modesty, simplicity, indifference to money, and piety. • He condemns cheating and fraud.
7 Deadly Sins • During this time period, people were concerned with the 7 deadly sins and a lot of these sins are represented through the pilgrims. • Pride • Lust • Avarice (Greed) • Anger • Gluttony • Envy • Sloth
Themes • The Hypocrisy of religion • Appearance versus reality • The nature of sin and its effects on an individual