The Canterbury Tales Syllabus
Session 1
Journal: Should religion be tied to Politics?
Responding to Becket, through the Historical and People Lenses
Homework: Bring in a picture of yourself dressed differently from the way you usually dress to come to school.
You may wish to bring in a picture of you in a work or sports uniform, or one of you dressed up for a special
occasion, or dressed for the beach.
Session 2
Introduce Frame Story
Introduce Tone
Analyzing the Setting Through Elements of Style
Session 3
Introduce Irony
Direct and Indirect Characterization of the Narrator
What is the primary purpose of The Prologue?
(Choose a pilgrim)
Journal: How would you best describe the narrator in the Prologue from The Canterbury Tales? Use specific
examples to explain your answer.
Session 4
Introduce iambic pentameter
Characterize the Pilgrims Through Elements of Style
Journal: Before you read about your pilgrim, view the various illustrations throughout the selection. Many of
these illustrations appeared in the first printings of The Canterbury Tales. Describe the appearance of your
pilgrim in the illustration. If there is not a picture of your pilgrim, or if you would like to see an additional
picture, a good website is www.canterburytales.org.
Session 5
Introduce Satire
Chaucer’s social commentary
Characterize assigned pilgrim with elements of style
Journal: Do writers influence social trends or just reflect them? Explain how Chaucer’s description of a pilgrim
reflects the social ideal of the pilgrim’s class and/or occupation. Then describe how such a description might
influence readers to think in a certain way about people in their society who share the same positions and/or
occupations as the pilgrim. Use details from the poem to support your response.
Session 6
The Company We Keep
Journal: Chaucer presents a wide range of characters – good, evil, and many in between. Work with a partner to
create a written conversation that might take place during a meeting between your two assigned pilgrims.
Consider these questions: Are the characters similar or different? What would each character think of the other?
How and why might they express their opinions? What would they reveal about their work, their families, their
lives, their faith, and their hopes?
It has been said that one can tell a lot about a person from the company he or she keeps. Consider which
characters Chaucer has grouped together, such as the Summoner and Pardoner; the Sergeant at Law and the
Franklin; the parson and his brother, the Plowman; the Knight, the Squire, and the Yeoman; and the guildsmen and
their Cook. Analyze the group that your assigned pilgrim is in. Why did Chaucer group these characters? What, if
anything, do we learn about these individuals from the company that they keep?
Session 7
Journal: Consider the many characterizations of the men and women associated with the church in The Prologue
from The Canterbury Tales. From these portraits, what conclusion might you draw about Chaucer’s attitude
toward the Church and/or religious practitioners? Present your conclusion and support it with evidence from
The Prologue.
“A Company of Sundry Folk” Pilgrim Sketch (Refer to handout)
Read Chaucer’s description in The Prologue of your assigned pilgrim.
Complete a Character Analysis graphic organizer on your pilgrim
Complete a Social Commentary graphic organizer on your pilgrim
Become your pilgrim! (Refer to the Pilgrim Sketch graphic organizer)
Session 8
Journal: If you were going to create a present-day version of The Canterbury Tales, what people, values, and
failings would you include? Why? Imagine that you are a pilgrim going to Canterbury. You might be the Student,
the Teenager, or the Twenty-First-Century Traveler. Choose a role and then write an introduction of your
character using Chaucer’s style.
Read the tale your assigned pilgrim tells
Analyze the tale using Analysis of A Canterbury Tale handout
Present your tale to your group and explain how your pilgrim’s tale is related to your pilgrim
Session 9
Research your pilgrim and his/her tale
Session 10
Modern-Day Pilgrim Sketch and Narrative
Session 11
Final Analysis Paper