Medieval/Canterbury PLC Descriptions
The following are descriptions on how to complete the assignments in the B and A level sections of the PLC that were noted as “See Handout”.
Part B-
The Life of Becket.
Find out more about Thomas â Becket and his shrine at Canterbury. Present your findings in a biographical essay on Becket's life, achievements, and the importance of his shrine as a place of pilgrimage.
Part A-
Analyze a Character: Analyze a character from “The General Prologue” to The Canterbury Tales. After reading Chaucer’s description of your character, tell if Chaucer is satirizing this character that is, poking fun, of the character or holding the character up as a model or example. You will put this information on a PP slide.
How to accomplish the main assignment:
 identify o the character’s actions (as described by the narrator) o the character’s words (as relayed by the narrator if there are any) o the narrator’s direct comments (adjectives) that describe character’s physical appearance, personality, or emotional/mental state
 infer (figure out, speculate on, guess, draw conclusions about) o what the character’s actions and words really tell you about the character o what then narrator’s direct comments really tell you about the character
 identify and pay close attention to metaphors/similes and other figurative language used to describe the character and infer what those metaphors/similes and other figurative language tell you about the character
 pay close attention to when the narrator seems to be exaggerating (hyperbole) features and characteristics of the character (this may be an indication of satire)
 pay close attention to when the narrator is being ironic (saying the opposite of what he means – similar to sarcasm) and what this irony suggest about the true qualities of the character
 pay close attention to the notes in the margins of the text
 look up any words for which you do not know the meanings or whose meanings do not make sense in the context of the passage
 determine whether the character under analysis is an archetype or a stereotype or perhaps both: o archetype - A pattern or model that serves as the basis for different, but related, versions of a character, plot, or a theme. In this case you’re looking for a model character. The knight, for example, is the model of a hero. o stereotype - A generalization about a person or group based on appearance, ethnicity, age, gender, profession, etc... o bottom line: It’s not always a huge difference between a stereotype and archetype.
Stereotypes tend to be more narrowly drawn (and are often based on negative assumptions about a group of people based on race, ethnicity, or some other characteristic). o If Chaucer seems to be poking fun at a character, it’s quite possible the character is a stereotype: Identify a modern stereotype comparable to this medieval stereotype.

Medieval/Canterbury PLC Descriptions
 respond to whether you think the narrator is satirizing/poking fun of this character (character type) or holding this character type as a model
Characters
Knight-
Pardoner-
Host-
Reeve-
Nun-
Summoner-
Wife of Bath-
Skipper and Doctor-
Merchant and Cleric-
Friar-
Monk-
Parson-
Squire and Yeoman-
Plowman and Franklin and Guildsman-
Manciple-
Lawyer and Cook- Miller-
Analyze a Concept: Analyze an important concept from the time. Students will choose and analyze one item below to determine relevance to The Canterbury Tales and the time period. You will then put the pertinent information on a PP slide to present.
Chivalry-
Feudal System-
Chaucer and Prologue-
Concepts
Courtly Love-
Church System-
Literature in MA-
7 Deadly Sins and Virtues-
Knights-
Lang. & Educ.-
This is your chance to be creative and decide how YOU would have written The
Canterbury Tales. You will write a “General Prologue” and one tale for one of your “General
Prologue” characters. You can create whatever types of pilgrims and tales that you want- use your imagination! Have fun with this! Stay decent!
Requirements for the “General Prologue”:
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You must identify a context and destination for your trip (it does not have to be religious). o Why are these people together? o Where do these people meet and where are they going? Why?
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You must create a description for 4 modern-day pilgrims
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Each description must be at least 15 lines long (include physical description, personality description, things that this person does, etc.- it shouldn’t be hard to come up with 15 lines)
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You must create your prologue in a style similar to Chaucer’s heroic couplets ( rhyming
AABBCCDDEE...
)

Medieval/Canterbury PLC Descriptions
Requirements for the tale:
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Choose ONE of your pilgrims. Your group must write a tale that your chosen pilgrim would tell. o This tale should be at least 2 but no more than 4 pages long o Typed, double-spaced, 12 point font o Your tale does not have to be written in the AABBCC rhyme scheme o Include a prologue of at least ½ page to set up this pilgrim’s tale (this ½ page is included in the 2-4 pages requirement)