Practical Class 1

“The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer

We are all pilgrims, and all of us have many tales to tell,

some finished and others still in the making.

Geoffrey Chaucer

I. Geoffrey Chaucer – “father of English literature”

Read biography of Geoffrey Chaucer. Find out what was happening in the country while his life?

What postures did Chaucer take during his life? What places did he visit and what celebrities of his time did he meet?

Find names of his main literary works and read what these books are about.

Formulate main achievements of Chaucer. Why is he called “father of English literature” and “father of English language”?

To test your knowledge of this man you’ll participate in a short quiz.

II. Work with text and its parts The General Prologue

Read “Prologue”. You may read it in Russian and use quotes in Russian while discussion.

Make a list of characters – in Russian and in English. Define the new words.

Knight – Рыцарь

Yeoman – Йомен (свободный хлебопашец, обязанный службой своему сюзерену, которого он сопровождал на войну)

Squire – Сквайр (oруженосец)

Prioress – Аббатиса

…

Make notes concerning character's clothes, appearance, behaviour etc.

Questions for discussion:

Get ready to discuss “General Prologue”. The following link may be useful to answer some questions:

http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Literature/Lets-Get-General-With-Geoffrey-304465.html

• During the 14th century, what type of institution had the greatest influence over the people of England?

• Is Chaucer's "General Prologue" organised into a kind of hierarchy? Explain. Who is presented as the most honest and moral of Chaucer's pilgrims? Which is the most corrupt?

• According to what you have read, what qualities is Chaucer intolerant of? Use specific examples. Does Chaucer make allowances for human imperfection?

• There are Seven Deadly Sins. Enumerate them. Find characters from “The Canterbusry Tales” who may be associated with some of these sins. Prove your opinion with quotes.

Direct and indirect characterization.

Define these types of characterization. Choose 1-2 examples of each type from “The Canterbury Tales”. The following link may be useful:

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson800/Characterization.pdf

• How does Chaucer use physical description to show his attitude towards the characters? Be ready with the quotes to describe each pilgrim. Which pilgrims are not described?

• What interesting facts about Medieval Times have you known from “Prologue”? Name at least 3 things.

P.e.: the library of an educated person consisted of only several books. Oxford Clerk’s library included 20 books and Chaucer’s library included 60 books.

Creative Task (extra task*)

If Chaucer was writing The Canterbury Tales now, what is one “character type” he’d be sure to include? Consider what this character type looks like as well as his/her positive and negative personality traits.

Just as Chaucer was known for his use of indirect characterization, be sure to utilize both direct and indirect characterization in the character sketch.

Before telling her story Wife of Bath proclaims some kind of confession. Compose a “confession” for one of the modern characters.

“Tales” as an encyclopedia of genres

Read the following tales: Knight’s Tale. Miller’s Tale. The Wife of Bath’s Tale. Pardoner’s Tale. Clerk’s Tale.

You may read them in Russian and use quotes in Russian while discussion.

Read the following article :

http://voices.yahoo.com/analyzing-chaucers-genres-canterbury-1331307.html?cat=38

Read Knight’s Tale and Miller’s Tale.

Remember what “courtly love” cult means. How is this cult presented in the tale of Knight?

Find the examples of knighthood behaviour in the Knight’s tale. How does Knight fir the image of an ideal representative of his social class?

Define the chivalric romance and enumerate its features.

Explore the sources of Knight’s Tale. Compare Knight’s tale with chivalric romances and other genres of courtly literature.

How do you think why Miller’s tale follows Knight’s tale? Do these stories have anything in common?

Can we suppose there are characteristics of chivalric romance in Miller’s Tale?

What kind of imagery does Chaucer use to describe Alison? Is she a well-rounded character or a type? Why?

Is there any relationship between the Miller's appearance and the content of his tale?

Who is the winner in "The Miller's Tale"?  Justify your answer.

Style

Analyze Knight’s and Miller’s speech. Make a list of words and word-expressions which indicate that these characters are representative of different social classes. What are main stylistic devices which help them sound different?

Read prologue to Wife of Bath's Tale

According to the anti-feministic theologians in the medieval church, what are the characteristics of women?

What metaphor does Wife of Bath use to describe the situation when man and woman are put together?

Why does Chaucer have such a long detailed prologue for the Wife of Bath?

What is special about the Wife of Bath's appearance and personality? Is there a connection between her personality and the story?

Read Wife of Bath's Tale

In Wife of Bath's Tale, what is the point of telling us at the beginning of the story about the supernatural creatures and their disappearance later?

What is Bildungsroman? Can we somehow name the story “Bildungsroman”?

What do you think about Chaucer's arrangement of the change of the old wife's appearance and the happy ending? Explore the sources of this story. In particular, pay attention to legends about Sir Gawain in Arthurian cycle.

How does Chaucer use humor in the tales of the Miller and the Wife of Bath? Is there any difference in how he uses it in the two?

Read Clerk's Tale

Read the 10th chapter of Giovanni Boccaccio's novel «The Decameron». Compare it with the story told by Clerk. Compare two images of Grisilde. What do you think about her relations with her husband and her opinion concerning marriage?

How is the Clerk like Grisilde?

How is this Tale a reaction to the Wife of Bath?

How and where do we recognize the Clerkness of the Clerk?

What Biblical parallels do you see?

What other than Marriage is this tale about?

How is this tale both pro and anti woman?

Does Walter’s behavior seem consistent throughout?

When do you begin to doubt Walter’s judgement?

What qualities do you value in Grisilde and why?

Are Chaucer's ideas up-to date?

Read Pardoner's Tale

Look at the pardoner’s portrayal in the General Prologue and compare it to what we know about him from his prologue and story. Is the Pardoner concerned about outward appearance? What type of image does he like to project?

Look at the Friar in the prologue and his tale and contrast him with the Pardoner.

Find a few modern examples of pardoner types. How are they like the pardoner? How far can you take the comparison? Look for the most extreme examples.

How does his prologue to his tale differ from the tale itself?

Discuss the image of death in the Pardoner's Tale and prologue.