Geoffrey Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales

1. Geoffrey Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales English 12

2. I. The Father of English poetry • He made English “_Respectable_”. • People usually wrote major works in _Latin_ and _French_. • Composed in the vernacular or _in everyday spoken language in London. • Was a well-known government official.

3. II. Early life • Born into a middle class family in the 1340s • Big reader and had legal training • He was a soldier during the 100 Years War. Was captured in _France__. Was important enough to have King Edward pay his ransom.

4. III. Writing • _His government job____ took precedence over his writing. • Wrote about those that had power over him, but his writing was more than an attempt at political advancement ora passing fancy.

5. IV. Italian Connection • Was influenced by _Dante_, _Petrarch_, and Boccaccio_. • Used a framing device within which _the characters tell their tales, and both include tales based on similar old plots__. • Chaucer’s frame tale is a religious pilgrimage in which each traveler is to tell _4 stories_. _2_ going out and _2__ returning. • Never finished the Canterbury Tales.

6. V. Writing form & structure • Used Iambic Pentameter- meter is based 10 syllables, with an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. /u • Example: And bathed every veyne in swichlicour • No more alliteration • Wrote in couplets

7. VI. The Canterbury Tales • The story begins with all walks of life from the Middle Ages carrying out a pilgrimage to the shrine of _Thomas a Becket__. • The pilgrimage takes place during _spring_. This symbolizes _new life and awakening. • The poet-pilgrim narrator starts out at Tabard Inn where he meets _29_ other pilgrims.

8. VI. The Canterbury Tales cont’d. • The host of the Tabard suggests to the pilgrims that they _tell tales to pass the time_. • This sets up Chaucer’s frame story format. • As a pilgrimage story, it is one of the world’s many _quest narratives_. • The pilgrims are in search of _renewal_. • Because they come from all walks of life, they cannot help but represent the “_everyman_”.

9. Literary Terms • Frame Story: a story that contains any number of different stories. • Characterization: creates/reveals the personality of a character. • 5 ways to do this: • Narrator’s description • Physical description • Words/actions of character • Thoughts and feelings of character • How others respond to them

10. Character Chart Physical description Thoughts & actions How others respond Narrator’s description