The Canterbury Tales Final Assessment
Choose one of the following assignments to complete for a final 60% grade on The Canterbury Tales. Include a
Works Cited .
Reflections of Medieval Society
You have studied several selections from Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. Incorporate your knowledge
into a clear, well-substantiated essay to explain how Chaucer reflects the social ideals of Medieval Society. In your
essay, consider the pilgrim’s occupation, rank, and class in society. What do their characters reveal about the part
of society they represent? Include information from The Prologue about three of the pilgrims (the one you were
assigned and two more, one of which may be the Cook or the Pardoner). Be sure to include the diction, detail,
imagery, syntax, and tone Chaucer uses when he describes each pilgrim. Also, explain how the pilgrims are related
to the tales they tell. How are the pilgrims’ social stations, interests, and attitudes toward life reflected in their
tales? Also, include the theme of each pilgrim’s tale and explain how this creates irony or satire. Finally,
incorporate into your essay what critics have to say about your character’s tale. Be sure to include a Works Cited.
The Art of Storytelling
In Chaucer’s time, the way an ordinary person was most likely to encounter a story was through oral narratives.
Make a list of all the ways that you could read, see, or hear a story today. Then, retell your assigned pilgrim’s tale
using one of these modern methods. Once you have done that, write an essay to explain the story’s modern form’s
advantages and disadvantages in conveying the following:
 How the tale reflects the social ideals of Medieval Society
 Chaucer’s style (including diction, detail, imagery, syntax, and tone)
 Irony and satire and how it relates to the teller through the theme
 How the pilgrim’s social station, interest, and attitude toward life is reflected in his/her tale
On the Road Again
The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written as if they were told by pilgrims on their way to a holy site.
Read Sir Walter Raleigh’s poem “The Pilgrimage,” A Distant Mirror (p. 197), and “In the Footsteps of the Faithful”
(p. 198-199). Compare and contrast these pieces of literature with Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. Include
information from The Prologue and your assigned pilgrim’s tale to compare and contrast the following about the
literature:
 Author’s style, audience, and purpose
 How a historical setting can change over time
 Clothing
 Modes of travel
 Reason for traveling
 Food and lodging
The Secret is in the Allusion
The Canterbury Tales includes many allusions to people, places, and events. Create a three-column journal to
analyze the allusions from The Prologue and your assigned pilgrim’s tale in The Canterbury Tales. In the first
column, write and document the quote that includes the allusions; in the second column, explain the allusion; in
the third column explain the purpose of the allusion in the text. Write a paper to analyze how these allusions help
to characterize your assigned pilgrim and explain how they contribute to Chaucer’s satire and irony.
Chaucer’s Pilgrims Today
In 1809, the English poet and artist William Blake made the following observation: “Chaucer’s pilgrims are the
characters which compose all ages and nations. . . . Some of the names or titles are altered by time, but the
characters themselves forever remain unaltered.” How are Chaucer’s characters timeless and universal? Write an
essay and support your thesis with details from The Prologue and your assigned pilgrim’s tale in The Canterbury
Tales. Compare these details with modern-day examples from the news, pop culture, literature, art, and/or music.
Cite at least three different modern-day examples and explain how these examples provide social commentary.
Framing it Up
Choose an example of a frame tale, such as A Thousand and One Nights or Decameron. Compare and contrast the
purpose, structure, and style of the frame tale with The Canterbury Tales, and write an essay to explain which
characters seem to best exemplify medieval society. Consider the following:
 The conflicts faced by the characters, as well as their goals and motivations
 The physical descriptions of the characters, their professions, their behavior, and any direct commentary
on their values
 Details about the communities in which they lived
 The tone displayed in the selections, and in particular the sense of humor