Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer
Journal Prompts
• Describe a situation in which you and
your family/friends tell stories. What
kind of stories do you tell?
• Why do you think we tell stories? What
do our stories say about us?
• What is your favorite family or friend
story, or story about you that your
family or friends tell?
• Part 2: While people don’t tend to go on
pilgrimages today, we do travel a lot.
Perhaps the best modern-day equivalent
might be the road trip. Describe a road
trip or other journey you’ve taken with
a group of people. Did you get to know
the other people with you better? Is
there something particular about travel
that reveals people’s characters?
Character Types
• In “The Prologue,” Chaucer makes use
of various character types, such as the
selfless hero, the honest common man,
the cheerful innkeeper, who were
probably familiar to members of
Medieval English society, to tell his tale.
• Imagine that you are writing a similar
tale about contemporary, local life.
Where would your characters journey to
and why? Describe four or five
character types you would use and their
characteristics.
• We have seen in the “General Prologue” of The
Canterbury Tales a cross-section of Chaucer’s medieval
English world. From the Knight to the Miller and every
person in between, his speaker introduces us to the
different characters that comprise his society.
• In the spirit of “the General Prologue,” write a description
about another student in the class.
• Include an introduction of the student (who he/she is,
what he/she does…); physical description; and character
traits.
• You are allowed to poke fun and speak admiringly, but
don’t write anything mean-spirited.
• If you don’t have enough to say, do a selfcharacterization: how would your peers describe you?
Society
• Society may change with the
times, yet people remain pretty
much the same.
• Discuss whether or not you agree
with the above statement; explain
and give examples.
• What can you infer about Chaucer’s
feelings toward the clergy? Did he trust
them? Do you think he was too harsh in
his criticism? What do you think he
would suggest that a good clergyman
do for people? Use details from the
poem to support your answers.
•
• The adjective Chaucerian is often used
to describe an earthy zest for life. In
what ways is the tone of this poem
“Chaucerian”? Support your ideas with
examples from “The Prologue.”