The Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer
The “Father of English Poetry”
takes a “picture” of
Medieval England
Chaucer’s biography
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1343? – 1400
Born to middle-class merchant
Worked as a page in King Edward III’s court
1359 – captured in France – POW – King Ed paid 16
pound ransom (huge!)
• 1366 – married lady-in-waiting, Philippa Pan! (3 kids)
• Jobs – controller at customs, justice of the peace,
member of Parliament, diplomat in Italy and France,
supervisor of construction – Tower of London and
Westminster Abbey, forester of King’s forest
• Buried – Poet’s Corner, Westminster Abbey
The Canterbury Tales
the Prologue
• Frame story – a pilgrimage to Beckett’s tomb in
Canterbury (Who’s he?) 50 miles SE of London
• “9 and 20” pilgrims – Tabard Inn, Southwark
• The beginning – read page 95
• 24 tales completed out of projected 120
• Pilgrims from 3 main segments of Medieval
society – ecclesiastical, feudal, urban
• Your presentations will try to describe both what
each person was like and what Chaucer was
trying to say about Medieval society
The Presentations
• 1. Perform Chaucer’s poetic description from the
Prologue
• 2. Describe the character in your own words –
appearance, personality, status, etc.
• 3. What historically do we learn from Chaucer’s
portrayal?
• 4. Is Chaucer’s portrayal positive, negative, or
balanced (neutral)?
• 5. Provide useful notes to the class
The Prologue Characters
(italicized in text pgs.96 – 115)
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Knight
Squire
Yeoman
Nun*
Monk*
Friar*
Merchant
Oxford Cleric
Sergeant at the Law
Franklin
Guildsmen
Cook
Skipper
Doctor
Woman from Bath*
Parson
Plowman
Miller
Manciple
Reeve
Summoner*
Pardoner*
Homework during the Prologue
Presentations
• Read “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale” pg. 119
• Read “The Pardoner’s Tale” pg. 141
• Test on Prologue characters and 2 “Tales”
follow – Source for much of the test will be
the notes provided by the presentations