The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer 1340 s

The Canterbury Tales by: Geoffrey Chaucer 1340 s (ish) - 1400 1

Middle Ages • Emperors became more like kings • Feudalism: involuntary peasant labor on lands not their own • personal bonds and personal law beginning to replace impersonal law common to large expanses of territory • Medieval Guilds (exclusive, regimented organizations) • The Catholic Church would provide spiritual and moral direction, as well as leadership and material support, during the darkest times of the early Medieval period. Feudalism: The Middle Ages’ social order 2 *Christianity provided the basis for a first unified religion common to most of the continent. Crusades: Popes, kings, and emperors unite and defend Christendom

Feudalism-- A system of loyalties and protections Emperors granted land to nobles in exchange for their loyalty. These nobles would have peasants/serfs work the land for them on their land because: Peasants could no longer count on the Roman army to protect them. German, Viking and Magyar tribes overran homes and farms throughout Europe. Serfs would often have to work three or four days a week for the lord as rent. They would spend the rest of their week growing crops to feed their families. Other serfs worked as sharecroppers. A sharecropper would be required to turn over most of what he grew in order to be able to live on the land. 3

Important Events… l 100 Years War with France § l Peasants’ Rebellion (remember Robin Hood) § l The underprivileged lived a life of unhappiness, turmoil, and hunger. Corruption in the Catholic Church § l Many deaths and strife throughout England Many followers began to lose some faith. Power struggle between Pope and King § This aided to the faith lose throughout the land. And, of course…. 4

Important Events… THE BLACK DEATH! Between 1349 and 1350, England lost nearly half its population to the Black Death. ACK! I got the Black Death from the rat! It was easy to catch, painful to have, and deadly almost all the time. Technically, you got it from the fleas ON the rat… that jumped off and bit you, so you know. Don’t blame the poor rat. 5

Chaucer’s Language l l Father of English Poetry The Canterbury Tales is considered Chaucer’s masterpiece l l Chaucer was the first writer to use English in a major literary work He spoke Middle English § § A mixture of Old English (Anglo-Saxons) and Old French (Normans) Middle English differs from Modern English in the pronunciation of the words ples: am x e e m o s at k o o l s ’ t e L 6

Chaucer’s Language: The Shift Middle English Sounds like Modern y, i "myne, sight" "meet" e, ee "me, meet, mete" (close e) "mate" e "begge, rede" (open e) "bag" a, aa "mate, maat" "father" u, ou "hus, hous" "boot" o, oo "bote, boot" (close o) "oak" o "lof, ok" (open o) "bought" Vowels shifted upwards; vowel that was pronounced in one place in the mouth would be pronounced higher up in the mouth People used to spell words how they sounded, but now they had a more standardized written/spoken language 7 Now: to the story…

The Canterbury Tales Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote That slepen al the nyght with open ye When April with its sweet-smelling showers Those that sleep all the night with open eyes The droghte of March hath perced to the roote, (So priketh hem Nature in hir corages), Has pierced the drought of March to the root, (So Nature incites them in their hearts), Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages, And bathed every veyne in swich licour Then folk long to go on pilgrimages, And bathed every vein (of the plants) in such And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes, liquid And professional pilgrims (long) to seek Of which vertu engendred is the flour; foreign shores, By the power of which the flower is created; To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes; To Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth (go to) distant shrines, known in various When the West Wind also with its sweet breath, lands; Inspired hath in every holt and heeth And specially from every shires ende In every holt and heath, has breathed life into And specially from every shire's end Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende, The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne Of England to Canterbury they travel, The tender crops, and the young sun The hooly blisful martir for to seke, Hath in the Ram his half cours yronne, T o seek the holy blessed martyr, Has run its half course in Aries, That hem hath holpen whan that they were And smale foweles maken melodye, seeke. And small fowls make melody, Who helped them when they were sick. The Canterbury Tales is written in Middle English. Click the star to hear a sample. 8

Canterbury Tales Chaucer writes the tales around 1386 But the He depicts a 14 th century Cha 14 th c plag u England populated by peasants, ue, cer liv entury ed w in w reb ellio tradesmen, knights, and clerics, n, a as one hich nd c o orru f most of whom appear to be ptio n. healthy and well fed. Wait! No we’re not! We are off on We are so our pilgrimage! healthy and well Hurray! fed and happy! Was that a rat? ! Did I just get the plague? I think I hear a rebellion! Let’s move! 9

Canterbury Tales Th e s tyl e… There are two key literary techniques Chaucer incorporates: 1) A Frame Tale – a story that provides a vehicle, or frame, for telling other stories (More details on next slide. ) *The voice of the poet-pilgrim himself, Chaucer – introduces us to other pilgrims *The person of “The Host” of the Tabard Inn *The conversations that occur between the tales, among the Host and the pilgrims, and the pilgrims themselves 2) An Estate Satire – a literary technique used to highlight the foibles of a society and its particular people in the hopes of exacting some sort of change; it is sarcastic and sometimes often biting *Prioress, Monk, Friar, Clerk, Parson, Summoner and Pardoner (with the Clerk and Parson being exceptions) have lives that seem to be very removed from what might be expected in people of their calling 10 *Chaucer’s commentary on how he views the religious system of the medieval time period

The Canterbury Tales Th e s tyl e… Keep in mind with a framed story: a group of smaller works are put together in a framework. Each has a relationship to others. The piece is hooked together with important themes. To use such a diverse group of narrators, whose stories are interlinked by characters talking with each other, revealing much about themselves Characters tell the stories in forms appropriate to them, using different *Yes, that means poetry. verse forms. * Thus, theme of the pilgrimage = life means that the hardship of pilgrimage = hardship of life We experience all the various “hardships” of life through this work. 11

The Canterbury Tales Chaucer intended that each pilgrim should tell two tales on the way to Canterbury and two tales on the way back. Th e s et- up … A group of thirty people travel as pilgrims to Canterbury (England) to see the shrine of Sir Thomas Beckett. He never finished this large task… Only twenty-four tales were composed before Chaucer's A rich, tapestry of death in 1400. medieval social life combines elements of all classes, from nobles to workers, from priests and nuns to drunkards and thieves. The pilgrims, who come from all layers of society, tell stories to each other to kill time while they travel. P. S. They meet at the Tabard Inn The Canterbury Tales has been passed down in several handwritten manuscripts. Thus, scholars are uncertain about the 12 order of the tales.

The Canterbury Tales l Th e s et- up … The pilgrim’s occupations reflect different aspects of the 14 th century society l Feudal System l l Religious Life l l Knight, Squire, Yeoman, Franklin, Plowman, Miller, Reeve Prioress (Nun), Monk, Friar, Clerk, Parson, Summoner, Pardoner Trades and Professions l Merchant, Sergeant of Law, Five Tradesmen, Cook, Skipper, Doctor, Wife of Bath, Manciple, Host 13

The Canterbury Tales Th e s tor y… 1) General Prologue consists of character sketches of each member of the group that is going to Canterbury, as described by the narrator. (1 st person speaker) Some believe that the narrator IS Chaucer… I’ll leave that up to you. The fiction suggests that Chaucer is an observer of the scene, who accurately records the appearance, the stories and the conversations of the company. He is not responsible for what is said, nor how it is expressed. 2) This was a familiar and fairly popular journey. People did combine with strangers into traveling companions for safety. (Highly unlikely that such a varied group as Chaucer describes would have existed) Each character is described as a representative of his or her own social group, which covers the social spread of 14 th-century England (No representatives of either the aristocracy or the true peasantry, an unskilled land-worker) 14

Th l l l l The Canterbury Tales e L it. Te rm s… Fable – teaches by providing a moral at the end Parable – a brief story that parallels a more general moral lesson Exemplum – a specific example of a general rule: it is supposed to prove a point by showing the truth of some moral rule Verbal Irony – exists when a person says one thing while meaning another Situational Irony – exists when the outcome of a situation is opposite of what someone expected Dramatic Irony – occurs when the audience or reader is aware of something that the character does not know Direct Characterization – writer telling the reader what the character is like (i. e. , stupid, silly, kind) Indirect Characterization – writer shows the reader what the character does, says, thinks, or feels and allows the reader to draw their own conclusions about what the character is like 15

Questions? You will need to know this information. muhahaha! 16