The Canterbury Tales: Write Your Own Prologue
Introduction
In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer introduces the reader to various groups of people. From laborers, to
religious men and women, to members of the aristocracy, his tales present an accurate description of humanity – not
only from the medieval period, but also from today.
During the medieval period of England’s history, there were certain professions that emerged in every
village. Based on your skills and preferences, what would you have been well-suited to do in Chaucer’s time? Which
of his characters would you most likely have been?
The Task
Most of Chaucer’s medieval travelers are identified by career. Your task is to join these travelers and
introduce yourself by writing a section of the prologue about your character.
The Process: Exploring the Web, Creating a Product
Using the information you will gather below, role-play one of the characters in Chaucer’s group. Write an
introduction of yourself, what you do for a living, and indicate what has made you take this pilgrimage. This writing
assignment should take the form of a 16-line verse in Chaucerian style.
1. Complete the personality and skills test at http://www.cmi-lmi.com/kingdomality.html to determine which
profession fits your skills. In your notes, include three skills that this profession requires.
2. Research the role of your profession in the medieval time period. Consider his/her clothing, responsibilities,
and role in the community. Use the following websites for your research:
http://www.members.tripod.com/~hkcarms/occ.html
http://www.medieval-life.net/life_main.htm
http://www.castles-of-britain.com/castle32.htm
3. Using your “Kingdomality” character and your research, prepare your prologue.
4. Take a look at the sample on the back of the sheet for help.
Assessment (100 points total)
You will be graded on your ability to represent your character effectively in a stanza that:
 Includes at least 2 direct characterizations and 2 indirect characterizations
http://www.fictionfactor.com/guests/characterization.html(20 points)
 Accurately reflects the chosen occupation (20 points)
 Includes personal experiences, events, and physical descriptions (20 points)
 Uses rhyming couplets (pairs of lines that rhyme) (20 points)
 Is 16 (or more) lines (20 points)
The English Hag
An ancient English teacher joined our band,
A crusty pen of red clutched in her hand
Each mile that we rode. Five feet in height,
Half-blind eyes ‘neath frizzled head of white.
Her back a sloping hill made bent by books
In dozens, pounds of papers. Dour looks
Cut down each soul who dared to mispronounce,
Mispunctuate or scoff at words. She’d pounce
On those who could not name a verb or noun,
So we ignored her every scold and frown.
So many plays and novels in her head
She struggled to recall all she had read.
But ask her of the ones she used to teach,
They numbered thousands, but she remembered each.
This teacher said her name was Madalaine;
So facile with her words, she loved our game.