1. The Canterbury Tales
By Geoffrey Chaucer

2. Chaucer’s background Born into middle class family in 1340s
Had legal training, read a great deal, well trained in courtly manners
Traveled to France for 100 Years’ War, captured, king helped pay some of his ransom – clearly influenced by French poets
Traveled to Italy in 1370s – clearly influenced by Italian poets Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio
Died around 1400, first to be buried in “Poet’s Corner” in Westminster Abby

3. Canterbury Tales
Clearly influenced by Boccaccio’s Decameron in which a group of people who fled Florence during plague tell stories  Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales features a religious pilgrimage to Canterbury, featuring a wide cast of characters who are all meant to tell stories on the way to, and the way home from Canterbury
Father of English poetry – wrote in the “vernacular” (everyday language spoken in London)
Reflected a positive outlook on life, optimism, faith, and joy all stood out in Chaucer’s work, during a rather dark time in Europe’s history
Departure from alliteration of old English – now using iambic pentameter for meter
( u ⁄ ) – two syllables - unstressed, stressed --- this is one iamb, or one iambic foot
Poetry or music with five iambic feet in a line is iambic pentameter
Chaucer also used rhyming couplets – end rhyme in every pair of lines
See example pg. 99

4. Canterbury Tales Snap-shot of Middle Ages society
However, as a work filled with satire, it shouldn’t be taken as a completely accurate view of Middle Ages society
Variety of characters, coming from all classes and all walks of life – “everyman” representation
The five main categories/groups:
the church
lesser nobility
laborers
greedy professionals
dishonest business people
Pg. 103 elements of characterization (direct and indirect)

5. Canterbury Tales
Set in Spring – new life, awakening (the Easter season in Catholic Church)
Pilgrimages:
trips to famous churches and holy sites throughout Europe
these sites held pieces of saints’ and martyrs’ body or hair, remnants of their clothing/possessions, and sometimes stones and rubble from other holy sites
popular practice for all classes – a religious obligation if affordable
Canterbury one of most popular sites in England to visit because of Thomas á Becket
Prologue – quote pg. 101
“Frame story” – the pilgrimage is the frame for the entire set of tales, and tales themselves have thematic unity

6. Key questions/ideas
Look for example of courtly love/chivalrous romance
Chaucer's view of religion and the Catholic Church
Where did Chaucer come up with the ideas for these stories?
Look for “irony” in the tales – discrepancies between what one expects to happen, when actually the opposite takes place
In what ways does Chaucer “satirize” the characters and their professions/roles in medieval society?