THE CANTERBURY TALES FLIPBOOK NOTES Tabs The Canterbury

THE CANTERBURY TALES FLIPBOOK NOTES

Tabs: The Canterbury Tales Flibbook 1. Background Information 2. Story Structure 3. Important Literary Terms 4. The Prologue 5. The Pardoner’s Tale 6. The Wife of Bath’s

BACKGROUND INFORMATION § Time Period: April 1330 § Characters: 29 pilgrims are introduced in the prologue who are journeying on a pilgrimage § Pilgrim: a person who journeys to a sacred place for religious reasons § Meeting Place: the Tabard Inn in Southwark, a suburb of London § Destination: the shrine of Saint Thomas a Becket § Number of Tales: each pilgrim will tell two tales on the way to Canterbury and two tales on the way back § Winner with best tale will win dinner at the Tabard Inn § Tales will be judged by the host: Harry Bailey

STORY STRUCTURE Frame Story (Frame Narrative) • • Characterization Chaucer’s 3 rd Person A story within a story An introductory or main narrative is presented to set the stage either for a more emphasized second narrative or a set of shorter stories. The frame story leads readers from a first story into another, smaller one. Direct Chararcterization: the author directly states the traits of the characters Indirect Characterization: through inferences (a conclusion drawn from textual evidence), one learns the traits of a character The Pilgrim’s tales Character’s story within the tale Speech Thoughts Effect on others What does the character say? How do they speak? Actions Looks What does the character do? How do they behave? What is revealed through the character’s private feelings and thoughts? What is revealed through the character’s effect on other people? How do other characters feel or behave in reaction to the character? What does the character look like? How do they dress?

IMPORTANT • Narrative: a type. LITERARY of writing that relates a series of TERMS events • Ballad: a type of narrative poem that tells a story and has a regular pattern of rhythm and rhyme • Allegory: a narrative in which every character and event is a symbol that represents an idea, religious principle, or moral • Fable: a short tale to teach a moral lesson • Satire: sarcasm, irony, or wit used to ridicule or mock—to poke fun of something serious • Parody: is an imitation of a particular writer, artist or a genre, exaggerating it deliberately to produce a comic effect (ex: Saturday Night Live, Scary Movie) • Sarcasm: a sharply mocking or contemptuous remark • Irony: the contrast between expectations and reality • Verbal Irony: when someone states one thing and means another • Situational Irony: a contrast between what is expected to happen and what happens • Dramatic Irony: the readers know more than the characters do

THE PROLOGUE 1. Where does the group gather? 2. Where are they going? Why? 3. Given what you’ve learned about the medieval period, why were the pilgrims so grateful about welcoming spring? 4. How many pilgrims are traveling together? 5. What idea does the Host have to pass the time while the pilgrims travel to Canterbury? 6. How will the Host decide the winner? 7. What will the winner receive?

THE PARDONER’S TALE 1. What is a pardoner? 2. Were all pardoners ethical? Explain 3. Translate “Radix malorum est cupiditas…” from line 8, and then explain what it means. 4. Why does the Pardoner tell his moral stories? Explain how his motive is ironic, or different from what you might have expected. 5. Why does the Pardoner admit his own corruption? 6. Where are three men? What are they doing? 7. What did they hear going through the street? 8. To what plague does the story refer? How many people in Europe were killed by this plague during the mid-14 th century? 9. Many characters in moral stories are allegorical – that is, they stand for abstract ideas, such as virtue and beauty. Identify the allegorical character presented in lines 72 -89. Who fears him? Why?

THE PARDONER’S TALE CONTINUED 11. What do the rioters decide to do? 12. Who do the men meet along the road? How do they treat the person that they meet? What does this reveal about the men? 13. A foil is a character who provides a striking contrast to other characters. In what way does the old man serve as a foil to the three rioters? 14. What purposes do the story of his life and his views about death serve? 15. “It says in holy writ, as you may read, / ‘Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head / And honor it. ’” Explain what these lines mean. 16. Where does the old man tell them to find Death? 17. What do they find there? What is its worth? 18. How do you think the three men will react to the challenge of sharing their treasure? 19. Explain the irony in lines “‘Trust me, ’ the other said, ‘you needn’t doubt / My word. I won’t betray you, I’ll be true. ’” 20. What plan do the two remaining rioters make? 21. Which details in lines 236 -242 tell you that greed is the subject of this moral story?

THE WIFE OF BATH’S TALE 1. What is the Wife of Bath’s physical infirmity? 2. How many husbands did she have throughout her life? 3. Where has the Wife of Bath traveled? What do these destinations have in common? 4. In lines 57 -64, how does the opening of the Wife of Bath’s tale illustrate an extreme case of a man who has no understanding of women? 5. Review the Medieval Code of Chivalry. How does this act conflict with the chivalric code? 6. What did the king plan to do to the knight as punishment for this act? 7. Define implore. 8. What does the queen require of him so that he can avoid the king’s punishment? 9. The knight finds many different opinions on understanding women’s one desire. What are they? 10. The Wife of Bath digresses, or wanders, from her story about the knight in lines 128 -158 to tell the story of King 11. Midas and his wife. What are some of the purposes of this interruption? 12. What is the key to an understanding of women?

THE WIFE OF BATH’S TALE CONTINUED 13. What deal does the knight make with the old woman he meets, and how does he fulfill his bargain with her? 14. What are the knight’s reasons for not being able to love his new wife? 15. What choices does the knight’s wife give him? 16. According to the Wife of Bath, what gives a man the distinction of being a great gentleman? 17. Define gentility. Why does the old lady feel it necessary to explain her ideas about gentility to the knight? 18. What arguments does the old woman use to put the knight to shame? 19. Why does the old woman’s speech (lines 285 -394) go on for so long? 20. The old woman offers a lengthy rebuttal to the knight’s complaints. Why might the narrator place the focus on the old woman and not the knight at this point in the story? 21. Is the old woman helping the knight to gain an understanding that goes beyond “what women most desire”? Explain. 22. When he agrees with her and kisses her, what happens? 23. Reread the last paragraph. What is the Wife of Bath’s attitude toward husbands who are controlling or misers?

THE WIFE OF BATH’S TALE CONTINUED What does the Wife of Bath’s “Prologue” tell us about how marriage affected these opportunities or limitations? In what ways is it an apology or defense of her choices? Use textual evidence to support your answer.

Pilgrim PILGRIMS—FROM Physical/Dress Personality THE PROLOGUE Knight (96) Squire (96) Yeoman (97) The Prioress--Nun (97) Monk (99) Friar (100) Merchant (101) Oxford Ceric (102) Social Class

Pilgrim PILGRIMS—FROM Physical/Dress Personality THE PROLOGUE Sargent at Law (102) Franklin (103) Haberdasher, Dyer, Carpenter, Weaver, Carpetmaker (103) Cook (104) Skipper (104) Doctor (105) Wife of Bath (105) Parson (106) Social Class

Pilgrim Plowman (107) Miller (108) Manciple (109) Reeve (109) Summoner (110) Pardoner (111) Host (113) PILGRIMS—FROM Physical/Dress Personality THE PROLOGUE Social Class