2. Literature in the Middle Ages Because each and every one of you wants to know!

3. Literary Elements- some new and some reminders… Fabliaux- short, bawdy, humorous stories. Allegories- stories with a literal and symbolic meaning. Satire- a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.

4. You would think they’d know these by now… Direct Characterization- provides direct information about a character. Indirect Characterization- uses thoughts, actions and dialogue to reveal a characters personality. Heroic Couplet- two lines written in iambic pentameter that have end rhymes.

5. More elements to know… Social Commentary- offers insight into society, values and its customs. Through the descriptions of the characters, the stories they tell and their interaction the reader can develop a deeper understanding of the Middle Ages

6. Cautionary tales Stories designed to warn against certain behaviors or situations Fable- brief stories with morals at the end Parable- stories that parallel a more general lesson about morality

7. Exemplum– (Latin for example) Illustrating the main point of a story with specific examples that prove some moral rule Medieval clergymen would use an exemplum to illustrate a point in his sermon

8. Stories within the Story Frame- a narrative device presenting a story or group of stories within the frame of a larger narrative. The frame provides continuity for the group of stories. The pilgrimage in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales is the frame unifying the stories told by the pilgrims. The Canterbury Tales is a frame story.

9. Geoffrey Chaucer Born a merchant’s son as a part of the middle class. While serving in the Army he was kidnapped. The King paid the ransom to free him and he then had to marry a Lady in Waiting to the Queen. Influenced to write Canterbury Tales from a pilgrimage to Canterbury. Wrote 24 tales, but believed he intended to write 120. Devout Catholic, but still recognized the corruption that was occurring in church.

10. More Chaucer… Known as the father of English Poetry His work provides the best insight there is into 14th Century England

11. The Canterbury Tales Poem Setting- late 14th century, Tabard Inn and the road to Canterbury Prologue of The Canterbury Tales is satire of Estates, especially to the clergy.

12. So what is this story about? At the Tabard Inn the narrator joins a company of twenty-nine pilgrims. The host suggests that the group ride together and tell stories. Each pilgrim will tell two stories on the way to Canterbury and two on the way back. Whomever he judges to be the best storyteller will receive a meal at Bailey’s tavern.

13. These jokers tell stories? Prologue- gives the characterization on all the pilgrims that are going to Canterbury. The tales that follow the prologue are each character’s story that he or she is telling in the contest. Each of these are within the LARGER FRAME of the Canterbury Tales itself.