1. Background Introduction
Canterbury Tales
By: Geoffrey Chaucer
Background Introduction

2. Before we begin, jot down your thoughts on the following…
Who is the best storyteller you know? What makes this person such a good storyteller?
Think of a person, a person who has a particular job or occupation.
What does this person look like?
How does this person dress?
What personality traits do you associate with this person, as it relates to his or her job?
How does society view this person?

3. Historical Significance:
Published in 1378 by Geoffrey Chaucer
The Tales are incomplete
Chaucer planned 30 pilgrims, 4 tales each
He only got to finish 24 tales
The Tales made vernacular language popular (language spoken by ordinary people, not aristocracy)
Chaucer is considered the “father of English poetry.”
He invented iambic pentameter.
Chaucer was so popular, he is buried at Westminster Abbey with a select few other writers, scientists, and English politicians.

4. The Journey Begins . . .
The Canterbury Tales begins with a prologue (introduction to a literary work)
Narrator (probably Chaucer himself) meets 29 other pilgrims at the Tabard Inn, outside London.
As the pilgrims prepare for their pilgrimage (a journey to a holy place, or a place that is otherwise revered), the Host of the Inn, Harry Bailey, sets a challenge:
Each pilgrim tell two stories on the way to Canterbury and two stories on the return trip. The person who tells the best tale will be treated to a feast hosted by the other pilgrims.
CT is a frame story – a story within a story
The Outer Frame Story: the pilgrims meeting at the inn preparing for a journey to Canterbury; the narrator introduces each pilgrim and gives a brief background
The Inner Frame Story: all 24 stories told by the pilgrims along their journey to and from Canterbury.

5. Snapshots of an Era. . .
In the Prologue, Chaucer sketches a brief but vivid portrait of each pilgrim, creating a lively sense of medieval life.
He uses satire (to make fun of something serious in order to prove a point or to expose human folly and vice) in his descriptions of each traveler
Like sarcasm He says one thing, but means another.
In order to understand Chaucer’s social commentary, we have to “get” the satire.

6. England’s Feudal System
Feudalism - The dominant social system in medieval Europe, consists of the following hierarchy:
Monarch: Top class, ruled their kingdom, divided the land and governed their people.
Lords: Had castles and manors, governed their area and set laws, and raised army.
Knights: Fought wars for their lord and king and competed in many tournaments.
Peasants/Serfs: Grew food for the people, lowest class, provided many services to the above classes, theoretically in exchange for protection.

7. Role of Religion in Medieval England:
Why is religion such a prominent theme in this story?
Religion was extremely important to people in this era because there was so much to be fearful of:
Disease (Black Plague)
Short life expectancy (about 30)
High infant mortality rate
Constant warfare
Religion gave people hope for a better afterlife.
This is why the whole story is about a journey to the Canterbury Cathedral.

8. Types of Satire: Two types of Satire:
1. Juvenalian - After the Roman satirist Juvenal: Formal satire in which the speaker attacks vice and error. Juvenalian satire is harsh, critical, and sometimes controversial.
2. Horatian - After the Roman satirist Horace: Satire in which the voice is indulgent, tolerant, amused, and witty. The speaker gently ridicules the absurdities and follies of human beings. Horatian satire is light, funny, and meant to get a laugh.

9. Juvenalian Satire:

10. Horatian Satire:
“You spend thousands of dollars and the best years of your life going to college so you can be considered good enough for a job you hate for a boss who doesn’t care about you, so you can be paid money which doesn’t exist in order to buy stuff you don’t need to impress people you don’t even like.”

11. Satiric Norm:
Chaucer creates SATIRIC NORMS to help us see his criticism better.
A SATIRIC NORM is a character that represents the perfect ideal.
We can then see how BAD everyone else is by comparing them to this Satiric Norm, sort of like a “foil.”

12. The Prologue.
In the “Prologue,” Chaucer examines three segments of Medieval England:
1. The Old Feudal order – these are all of the pilgrims associated with the feudal class system (a hierarchy involving a wealthy landowner , down through the peasants who work for him).
Knight, Squire, Yeoman, Plowman . . .
2. The Merchant Class –the rising middle class of the time; towns and cities were emerging , so skilled workers were needed:
Merchant, Man of Law, Guildsmen, Cook . . .
3. The Ecclesiastical (Church) Class – all of the members of the church. Chaucer is most critical of this segment of society.
Prioress, Monk, Friar, Pardoner . . .

13. A Literary Tour. . .
Chaucer uses the popular genres of his time when he creates the inner stories of the various pilgrims:
Romances (tales of chivalry)
The Wife of Bath’s Tale
Fabliaux (short, bawdy, humorous stories)
The Miller’s Tale
The stories of saint’s lives, sermons
The Parson’s Tale
Allegories (narratives in which characters represent abstractions such as Pride or Honor).
The Pardoner’s Tale
Chaucer wrote much of the Tales using his own form, the heroic couplet, a pair of rhyming lines with five stressed syllables each.

14. Literary Analysis Characterization
Direct characterization presents direct statements about a character, such as Chaucer’s statement that the Knight “followed chivalry, / Truth, honor. . . .”
Indirect characterization uses actions, thoughts, and dialogue to reveal a character’s personality. By saying “he was not gaily dressed,” for instance, Chaucer suggests that the Knight is not vain and perhaps takes the pilgrimage seriously enough to rush to join it straight from battle.

15. Literary Analysis
Each character in The Canterbury Tales represents a different segment of society in Chaucer’s time. By noting the virtues and faults of each, Chaucer provides social commentary, writing that offers insight into society, its values, and its customs. While reading, try to figure out how Chaucer felt about his contemporary society.

16. Canterbury Cathedral