Directions: Refer to your notes from last class to answer the following questions.  Write three facts about Geoffrey Chaucer from your notes given to you last class.  Why was Chaucer’s book, The Canterbury Tales, so important? How was it different from other books during that time?  What is a frame narrative?

Introduction

 Born around 1342 AD (exact date not known)  London  Got job as page in the royal household  Only a teenager  Father was middle class wine merchant; had connections  Well-educated  Promoted; got to travel  Worked a lot but also wrote a lot  C. Tales is his masterpiece  1 st major work in English  Portrayed people of all social standings

 Frame Narrative  Several small stories in a larger one  Used many stories he had heard before  Stories told and retold  Focus was on storyteller’s skill  Used everyday people  Didn’t just write about heroes or royalty.  Characters from all stations in society:  From Feudal System Knight, Squire, Franklin, Plowman, Miller, Reeve  In Religious Life Nun, Monk, Friar, Cleric, Parson, Summoner, Pardoner  In rising middle class Merchant, Sergeant at the Law, Five Tradesmen, Cook, Skipper

 14 th century  Pilgrimage to Canterbury  Journey had been made for 200 years.  Worship the shrine of St. Thomas Becket.  200 year anniversary of his death.  Pilgrimage for several reasons.  Religious devotion, pray for miracles, adventure, change of scenery.  Pilgrims banded together.  Safety (robbers and roads)  Chaucer died before completing C. Tales.  Not sure the exact order.

 Today a two-hour drive.  Then, several days.

 Rhyme: pattern of rhymes between lines of a poem or song.  Meter: recurring pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in lines of a set length.  Iambic Pentameter: 5 unstressed, 5 stressed

It happened in that season that one day 20 In Southwark, at The Tabard, as I lay Ready to go on pilgrimage and start For Canterbury, most devout at heart,

1. The Knight 2. The Nun (Prioress) 3. The Monk 4. The Friar 5. The Franklin 6. The Doctor (Physician) 7. The Wife of Bath 8. The Parson 9. The Summoner 10. The Pardoner

Directions: Look up each of the following characters in your textbook and read a description of them. 1.) Write down a thorough list of their personality traits. 2.) Describe their trade/job/what they do. 3.) What they are known for. The Squire The Yeoman The Merchant The Oxford Cleric The Lawyer The Guildsmen The Cook The Skipper The Plowman The Miller The Manciple The Reeve The Host