Turn to page 102.

Whan that April with his showres soote

The droughte of March hath perced to the roote,

And bathed every veine in swich licour,

Of which vertu engendred is the flowr,

Anticipation Guide

What do you already know about the Middle Ages?

The Westgate is a massive medieval gatehouse in Canterbury, Kent, England

Medieval English Society

1066-1485 The Canterbury Tales

by Geoffrey Chaucer

Chaucer creates characters that help us understand the complexities of this historical time period.

9 Literary Devices

1.) Satire2.) Irony3.) Allusion4.) Couplet5.) Frame Story6.) Dynamic and static characters7.) Allegory8.) Direct and indirect characterization9.) Humor

Characteristics of the text.

Estates Satire- Sets out to expose and ridicule typical examples of corruption at all levels of society.

Satire- writing that ridicules human weakness, vice, or folly to bring out social reform.

Shows absurdities.

It is the reader’s job to untangle the meaning of what is implied…

Class Structure

Feudal group- Fighting each other to get what they want

Ecclesiastical group- People who run the church

Urban group- People out to make money

What determines status?

Birth, wealth, profession, personal ability, etc.

Geoffrey Chaucer(1343-1400)

Father was a middle class wine merchant.

Became a page (servant to a knight) in a royal household as a teenager.

How the text got to us…

“Although he was born a commoner and continued to associate with commoners in his official life, he did not live as a commoner; and although his training and service at court, his wife’s connections, and probably his poetry brought him into contact with the nobility, he must always have been conscious of the fact that he did not really belong to that society of which birth alone could make one a true member.”

(Norton Anthology of English Literature 216)

A pilgrimage from London to Canterbury

The following are techniques used to interpret the text.

This classical piece of literature is layered with complexities that need to be sorted out.

These techniques can help you interpret many different kind of texts… they are not exclusive to just this one.

We will test how effectively they are used.

Physiognomy

A “science” that judged a person’s temperament and character based on his or her anatomy.

The most exaggerated facial features are those of the peasants.

Example: The Miller represents the stereotypical peasant

physiognomy most clearly: round and ruddy, with a wart on his nose, the Miller appears rough and therefore suited to rough, simple work.

Irony

We will be drawing out ironic implications in the text.

Irony- a contrast between expectation and reality, between what is said and what is meant, between what appears to be true and what is really true.

Features of Chaucer’s writing.

Frame story: a plot structure that involves the telling of one or more stories within another story.

Couplet: two lines in poetry that rhyme.

Allegory

A story with two meanings—

Literal and symbolic.

Direct Characterization

Direct- a writer uses words to tell what a character is like.

Example words: sympathetic, kind, ambitious, etc.

Indirect Characterization

A writer lets the reader form opinions by:

1.) describing how a character looks or dresses

2.) using the character’s own words

3.) revealing what the character is thinking or feeling

4.) showing the effect the character has on other people

5.) showing how people react toward the character

6.) showing the character’s actions

We are going to doodle.

http://www.ted.com/talks/sunni_brown.html

1:45

Expert Group Project

Characters that we will explore:

Group 1: KnightGroup 2: NunGroup 3: FriarGroup 4: Oxford ClericGroup 5: FranklinGroup 6: DoctorGroup 7: Wife of BathGroup 8: ParsonGroup 9: Manciple

The Wife of Bath’s TalePages 133-148 in the textbook.

Dynamic and static characters

Dynamic characters- characters that change throughout the story.

Static characters- characters that stay the same throughout the story.

ExampleIn the movie The Titanic…

Rose is a dynamic character.

Cal Hockley,Rose's fiancé, is a static character.

Allusion

Indirect inference to something else.

HumorA quality that makes characters and their situations seem funny, amusing, or ludicrous.

Examples: puns, word play, satire, sarcasm, parody, subtle wit, etc.

Wife of Bath

Theme: Women should have sovereignty over men in marriage.