English 404-Pine
Knight’s Tale Essays
50 Points
30 people began a pilgrimage to Canterbury in April. To pass the time, they decided to play a story-telling game.
Each pilgrim was to tell four tales total—two on the way to Canterbury and two on the way back. The winner
would receive an expensive dinner, paid for by all of the others. The pilgrims drew straws to choose the order
in which they would tell their tales, and the knight drew the shortest straw.
We are going to watch the movie, A Knight’s Tale, which is loosely based on Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. It still
contains many themes and ideals that were important in medieval society—some of which are still important
today, and the movie does make a comment on people from all parts of English society, just as Chaucer’s work
does.
Your assignment is to write an essay on one of the following prompts. Make sure that you include specific
details from the film and that you back up your ideas. This paper should be 2-3 double-spaced pages in length
with a Times New Roman or Comic Sans font size of 12.
1. Chivalric love is a main theme of this story. How do you see examples of chivalry in the relationship between
William and Jocelyn? What do you think constitutes chivalric love? What do you see is the difference between
chivalric love and romantic love?
2. Fate is a large part of medieval life. What effects of fate do you see in this film?
3. In medieval England, social status and rank are very important in everyday life. There are some things a
person is obligated to do because of his/her social rank, and some things a person is forbidden to do because of
his/her social rank. How do you see examples of this in A Knight’s Tale?
4. An anachronism is something out of place in time. During A Knight’s Tale you might observe many
anachronisms. How do you feel they affect the story? Do you think they add to the plot, or do they detract
from it?
5. The role of women in medieval society is an issue in The Canterbury Tales. In what ways do you see women
portrayed in A Knight’s Tale?
6. If you do not like any of these topics, you may choose your own. To avoid headaches later, please clear your
topic with me before you write your paper.
This paper will be due______________________________________________.
This paper is worth 50 Points
25 Points—Focus and Organization(focus, support, paragraphing, length, style)
25 Points—Grammar/Usage(punctuation, diction, agreement, sentence structure, spelling)
A Knight’s Tale Paper
Organization (25 Points)
 Paragraphing
 Focus
 Support
 Clear Intro, body, and conclusion
 Meets length/style requirements
Conventions/Usage (25 Points)
 Punctuation
 Diction
 Agreement
 Sentence Structure
 Spelling
 Other
A Knight’s Tale Paper
Organization (25 Points)
 Paragraphing
 Focus
 Support
 Clear Intro, body, and conclusion
 Meets length/style requirements
Conventions/Usage (25 Points)
 Punctuation
 Diction
 Agreement
 Sentence Structure
 Spelling
 Other