Monday

 Today we are going to finish the prologue and give you some time to finish the notes on the characters. We will also play a review game. Finally we will discuss which characters you should look into for your project.

 
Some stories/characters for you to think about

Friar
Summoner
Miller
Reeve
Knight
Nun's Preist
Shimpman
Squire

A framed collection of stories told by a group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury. Let's look at an introduction

Themes:
Social Class and Convention
Corruption and Exploitation in the Church
Battle of the Sexes (or Old Men and Young Wives, or Who's in Charge?, or What makes a good spouse?)
Lies and Deceit
Courtly Love
What Makes a Good Story?

The are many "types" or "genres" of stories here:
Sermon
Romance Tale
Fabliau
Beast Tale
The Trickster Tricked Tale

Symbols:
Physiognomy
Clothes
Time of Year

The following are tales that you're need to know for the final:

The Pardoner's Tale
The Wife of Bath's Tale
And the tales presented in class


Canterbury Tales

Objective: To Demonstrate a thorough understanding of a character and literary devices used in Chaucer by dressing up as one of the characters from The Canterbury Tales and presenting their story.

REQUIREMENTS:

Part 1: You must dress up as the character as described in the Prologue of the poem (note: you should also read very closely the character’s prologue to their own story for it will give you insight into how the character acts, thinks, and relates to the other characters). As part of the presentation you’ll need to discuss what you are wearing and why (or what it represents)? You will also need to present your character traits. What your character is like—what do they believe, how do think of themselves, how do they act towards others or towards God. You may wish to do some research on your character or your character type (example you might wish to look at Friars and what Friars where about and how they where suppose to act and compare those ideas with how your character acts and believes).

Part 2: You’ll need to present your tale to the class. You can do it in one of two ways: 1) D.I. or Dramatic Interpretation of the story (this means you pick the highlights, write a script based on the highlights and act it out). 2) Rewrite the story in your own words and language and present it as a transcript—meaning you read it, but give a dramatic reading
(not just a reading like we do in class)

Part 3: Teach the class the following: 1) what type of literary tale is your story? 2) What does the tale mean (if anything). Connect the tale to a THEME? What does the tale reveal about you character and who your character is? What—if any—kinds of literary devices does your tale use?

Part 4: Make a brief argument why your character won the bet: Who can tell the best story. 

 

We will read sections of the Canterbury Tales - the Prologue, The Wife of Bath's Tale, and The Pardoner's Tale, and one tale of the student's choice.

Canterbury Tales, “The General Prologue” (35 points)

You will find below all the pilgrims mentioned in “The General Prologue.” Be able to answer the following:

1. How does Chaucer characterize each one?  Offer two details with line numbers to support this (include figures of speech or Cicero’s aspects of characterization).
2. Describe Chaucer’s attitude toward each pilgrim.
3. Rank this person in the chart at the end of this handout.

Pilgrim	Chaucer’s Characterization	Two Details	Chaucer’s Attitude
The Knight		1. 2.
Squire		1. 2.
Yeoman		1. 2.
Prioress		1. 2.
Monk		1. 2.
Friar		1. 2.
Merchant		1. 2.
Clerk		1. 2.
Sergeant-at-Law		1. 2.
Franklin		1. 2.
Haberdasher, Carpenter, Weaver, Dyer, Tapestry Maker		1. 2.
Cook		1. 2.
Shipman		1. 2.
Doctor of Medicine		1. 2.
Wife of Bath		1. 2.
Parson		1. 2.
Plowman		1. 2.
Miller		1. 2.
Manciple		1. 2.
Reeve		1. 2.
Summoner		1. 2.
Pardoner		1. 2.
Host		1. 2.

Best Pilgrims	Worst Pilgrims
1.	1.
2.	2.
3.	3.
4.	4.
5.	5.
6.	6.