The Canterbury Tales

Brain Teaser On a sheet of paper write down what comes to mind when you hear the word: PILGRIM No idea is too small or too silly. What do you picture? Do you think of a certain time period?

Brain Teaser SHARE: What did you come up with? How many of you said: The Mayflower? Thanksgiving? Travelled to America from England?

Brain Teaser On the same sheet of paper, write what you think the definition of a pilgrim is. SHARE- What did you come up with? A pilgrim is defined as: 1. a person who journeys, especially a long distance, to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion 2. a traveler or wanderer, especially in a foreign place 3. an original settler in a region

Brain Teaser So why when we think about pilgrims do we picture the people associated with Thanksgiving and coming to America? Did they come to America out of religious devotion? Was America a sacred place to them? Were they travelers in a foreign place? Were they original settlers in America?

The Canterbury Tales - Intro The pilgrims in the Canterbury Tales fit into definition #1. They are on a pilgrimage, or a long journey to a shrine or holy land that holds religious importance for them. Can you think of any modern day pilgrimages? The Canterbury Tales are a collection of stories from these pilgrims while they are on their pilgrimage.

The Canterbury Tales - Author Perhaps we should start with the author of the Tales. Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400) When he started The Canterbury Tales he intended to write 100. He was only able to complete 24 in his lifetime. He came from a family that believed it wasn’t WHAT you knew but WHO you knew. So he made a lot of noble and upper class connections. Could explain his mannerly approach in his writing.

The Canterbury Tales Just as the pilgrims in the tales vary widely, The Tales offer a wide variety of reading. The tales and the pilgrims show the infinite variety of human nature. Most will offer a moral of the story at the end. The pilgrims all tell tales as part of a competition to help pass the time on their long journey.

The Canterbury Tales So where in the world is Canterbury and why would you take a pilgrimage there? The pilgrims are on their way to the shrine of Thomas a Becket at the cathedral in Canterbury. Becket was appointed the Archbishop of Canterbury by Henry II In the 1160s, a series of conflicts ensued between Becket and Henry II for the control of the church. Henry mentioned he wondered if anyone could get rid of Becket, and some of his knights thought that was a job offer for them to murder him. They did. He was made a saint in 1173 and the tomb became a popular destination for pilgrims. Henry the VIII destroyed the shrine later on

The Canterbury Tales The Tales begin with the Prologue In the prologue the narrator, presumably Chaucer himself, introduces you to 29 pilgrims near the Tabard Inn in London. To make the journey more interesting one of them proposes a story telling competition.

The Canterbury Tales The tales were revolutionary. In the tales Chaucer perfected a new poetic form The meters and sound effects of Old English poetry no longer suited the changing English Language. The Canterbury Tales are written in Middle English He adapted French poetic forms to the English of his day. He wrote most of The Tales in his own form, the heroic couplet, a pair of rhyming lines with five stressed syllables each (iambic)

The Canterbury Tales The tales are an example of a frame story. A frame story is story within a story. The prologue serves as the frame, the tales themselves are the picture inside that frame. Chaucer mastered the art of both Direct and Indirection Characterization

The Canterbury Tales REMEMBER? Beowulf was written in ________ English. OLD The Canterbury tales are written in ___________ English. MIDDLE

The Canterbury Tales Old English was impossible for us Modern English readers to read. Very few words were even recognizable. Middle English though should be easier for you. It will be challenging but together we will get through it. Don’t get frustrated, just do your best. We have weeks to read the whole prologue and the tales. Let’s try!

The Canterbury Tales Volunteer? Read this

The Canterbury Tales How long did it take? Are you confused? See if this helps! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE0MtENfOMU That was only the first stanza. There are 20 more pages of the prologue alone! Feeling overwhelmed? GOOD NEWS! It has been translated for you in your literature book.