1. Style of dress in the 1300s indicated your social status.
Rich
Middle-Class
Poor

2. The Canterbury Tales Reveal Fashion “Laws”
Fashion choices show a character’s...
Personalities
Position on the Social Ladder
Attempts at modesty or deception
No matter what you wear, or when you live, your clothes say a lot about…
who you are
where you fit in
what you aspire to be.

3. Direct Characterization
Direct Statements about the character
EX. He was “a great stout fellow big in brawn and bone.”

4. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Literary Focus: Characterization
Chaucer uses indirect characterization when he tells how each character
looks and dresses
This yeoman wore a coat and hood of green, And peacock-feathered arrows, bright and keen
speaks and acts
Her greatest oath was only “By St. Loy!”
thinks and feels
And gladly would he learn, and gladly teach.

5. Indirect Characterization
Doesn’t use Direct Characterization.
Implied Characterization Uses…
Actions (What they do)
Thoughts (What they think)
Dialogue (What they say)
Reactions (How others react to the character)

6. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Literary Focus: Characterization
Chaucer uses indirect characterization when he tells how each character
looks and dresses
This yeoman wore a coat and hood of green, And peacock-feathered arrows, bright and keen
speaks and acts
Her greatest oath was only “By St. Loy!”
thinks and feels
And gladly would he learn, and gladly teach.

7. A Prologue
a separate introductory section of a literary or musical work.

8. The Prologue in The Canterbury Tales…
Establishes a Frame Story
A Frame Story is a literary technique that creates a story within a story
An introductory or main narrative is presented for the purpose of setting the stage for a more emphasized second narrative

9. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Frame Story
A frame story is a literary device that binds together several different narratives. It is a story (or stories) within a story.
In The Canterbury Tales, the pilgrims’ journey is the outer story.
The tales the pilgrims tell are stories within a story.
The tales themselves also have thematic unity.
[End of Section]

10. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
Twenty-nine pilgrims are on their way to the shrine of Saint Thomas à Becket in Canterbury.
The time is April, and the place is the Tabard Inn in Southwark (SUTH erk), just outside London.
London
Canterbury
[End of Section]

11. The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Reading Skills: Analyzing Style: Key Details
Chaucer had twenty-nine characters to introduce, so he couldn’t develop any one character at great length. Instead, he provided a few well-chosen details that would make each character stand out vividly.

12. The Prologue begins in The Spring
Imagery and Themes of the First 18 Lines
The Prologue begins with references to beginnings
Many images of rebirth and renewal
April itself is often presented as a time of rebirth
Spring is the perfect time to start a pilgrimage

13. The Characters The Knight The Squire The Yeoman The Nun (Prioress)
The Monk
The Friar
The Merchant
The Oxford Cleric
The Sergeant at the Law
The Franklin
The Tradesmen - The Haberdasher, The Dyer, The Carpenter, The Weaver, The Carpet-maker
The Cook
The Doctor
The Woman of Bath
(The Wife of Bath)
The Parson
The Plowman
The Miller
The Manciple
The Reeve
The Summoner
The Pardoner
The Host

14. The Characters
Some Characters are idealized meaning some appear “perfect” examples of their type
These characters highlight behaviors that should be copied.
Some characters are frauds and con artists who show some of the typical examples of their type.
These characters highlight behaviors to be avoided.