The Canterbury Tales Born around 1343 in London Son of a middle class wine merchant Became a page in the royal household when he was a teenager Mundane jobs BUT he was exposed to proper speech manners and the ID: 781104
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Slide1
Mrs. PostinEnglish IV
Geoffrey Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales
Slide2Born around 1343 in LondonSon of a middle- class wine merchantBecame a page in the royal household when he was a teenager.Mundane jobs
BUT- he was exposed to proper speech, manners, and the shortcomings of the upper-class.
Geoffrey Chaucer
Slide3In his twenties, Chaucer was appointed as a court official, and he continued to hold government posts for the rest of his life.Throughout his life Chaucer held posts as:
SoldierCourtier (often in company of royalty, wanting favor)Royal emissary to Europe (representative of government)
Controller of Customs
Justice of the Peace
Member of Parliament
Geoffrey Chaucer
Slide4At one point, while Chaucer was at war, he was kidnapped by the French and was ransomed for 16 pounds (about $25)! Side-note: 16 pounds was almost
8x the average yearly wages of a laborer at the time!Chaucer served at the courts of three reigning monarchs.
Geoffrey Chaucer
Slide5Needless to say… he was a pretty important person!
But why are we studying him?
Geoffrey Chaucer
Slide6Because he was the Father of English Poetry!!Geoffrey Chaucer
Slide7Chaucer made the English Language of the time (Middle English) respectable. Most literary works of the time were written in Latin or French.English was considered the language of the “common people.”
This is why Geoffrey Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales helped to solidify English as the national language.
Geoffrey Chaucer
Slide8Through Chaucer’s traveling as a diplomat, he became fluent in Latin, French, and Italian in addition to English.In Italy he was introduced to Giovanni Boccaccio who wrote the Decameron.
Chaucer was an admirer of Boccaccio and copied some of his style for his Canterbury Tales… Specifically using a “Frame Story” (story within a story)
The Canterbury Tales
Slide9Written at the end of the 14th Century, The Canterbury
Tales depicts Medieval life at the time. The Canterbury Tales is a frame story which includes a Prologue and then various addition tales that complete the work. Chaucer first sets up the frame (The Prologue) and then proceeds to tell the story in numerous tales.
The Canterbury Tales
Slide10The Canterbury Tales were never completed.Chaucer originally wanted to have 120 tales included with The Prologue.
At his death, Chaucer had completed 24 tales. The Canterbury Tales
Slide11Chaucer had the idea to bring together 29 characters on a Pilgrimage to St. Thomas Becket’s Shrine.Who remembers the story of St. Thomas Becket?Henry II (fought with him over church’s rights)
Religious DifferencesMurder in the Church (killed by 4 knights; cut off top of head)Martyr- holy
blood (Declared by Catholic church 1173)
200
th
year anniversary of his death happened during Chaucer’s lifetime
The Prologue
Slide12By placing his characters on a Pilgrimage to Becket’s tomb, Chaucer enables us to see a wide variety of medieval lifestyles and classes.
Which we will discussChaucer writes The Prologue in Iambic PentameterWhich is what?
10 syllable line stressed then unstressed
What other famous British Poet used this?
The Prologue
Slide13The Prologue begins in “ High Style,” describing Spring in a romantic way, then digresses to more realistic and natural verse.
The Prologue