Bartow High School/Summerlin Academy
Summer Reading Assignment: English IV Honors – 2017-2018
Assignment due date: August 28th/29th
Weight: 25% of 1st quarter grade
Introduction
The Canterbury Tales is one of the best-loved works in the history of English literature. Written in Middle English, the
story follows a group of pilgrims who are travelling the long journey from
London to Canterbury Cathedral. Setting off from a London inn, the innkeeper suggests that during the journey each
pilgrim should tell two tales to help pass the time. The best storyteller, he says, will be rewarded with a free supper on his
return.
Chaucer introduces us to a vivid cast of characters, including a carpenter, a cook, a knight, a monk, a prioress, a
haberdasher, a dyer, a clerk, a merchant and a very bawdy miller. These characters come from all corners of 14th century
society, and give Chaucer the chance to speak in many different voices. Some of the characters' tales are humorous, rude
and naughty, while others are moral and reflective.
The pilgrims' stories are in various genres, including chivalric romance, Arthurian romance, satire, beast fable, fabliau,
and exemplum (an exhortation on morals and religion.) The Canterbury Tales opens with a general prologue introducing
the storytellers after they have gathered at the inn. In prologues between the tales, the travelers comment on a tale just
completed or introduce a story about to be told. Sometimes they also make general observations.
The Canterbury Tales has one overall narrator, Chaucer himself in the persona of the first pilgrim, who presents his
account in first person point of view. Chaucer then allows the pilgrims to narrate their tales. They tell them in third person
point of view. Between their stories, Chaucer resumes his narration, reporting the discourse of the pilgrims and the words
of the innkeeper, Harry Bailey, when he introduces the next storyteller. Thus, The Canterbury Tales consists of stories
within a story.
Scholars label as frame tales literary works that present a story (or stories) within another story. The inner story is like a
painting on a canvas; the outer story is like the frame of the painting. In The Canterbury Tales, the inner stories told by the
pilgrims form the images on the canvas; the outer story told by Chaucer forms the frame. The frame tale was not unique to
Chaucer. Among other literary works with this format were The Thousand and One Nights, a collection of tales (authors
and dates of composition not established) from India, Persia, Arabia, and Egypt, including the famous stories about
Aladdin, Ali Baba, and Sinbad the Sailor
One of the reasons Chaucer is so important is that he made the decision to write in English and not French. In the
centuries following the Norman invasion, French was the language spoken by those in power. The Canterbury Tales was
one of the first major works in literature written in English. Chaucer began the tales in 1387 and continued until his death
in 1400. No text in his own hand still exists, but a surprising number of copies survive from the 1500s. This suggests the
tales were enormously popular in medieval England.
1
Coghill, Nevill, Introduction to The Canterbury Tales
The Assignment
While you are strongly encouraged to purchase a copy of Nevill Coghill’s The Canterbury Tales at your local bookstore,
all of the required reading documents will be on the school’s website for you to download and print. You MUST have a
printed copy of each of the reading assignments to turn in with your annotations, whether it is the actual book or copies.
The assignment requirements are as follows:
1. Print and Read “How to Mark a Book” by Mortimer Adler. This article will explain to you the ‘how’s’ and ‘why’s’ of
annotation. Use this as your guide for annotating your reading.
2. Print and Read the Annotations Rubric. This is how your annotations will be graded throughout the year.
3. Print, Read and Annotate “The Prologue”
In all literature there is nothing that touches or resembles the Prologue. It is the concise portrait of an entire nation, high
and low, old and young, male and female, lay and clerical, learned and ignorant, rogue and righteous, land and sea, town
and country, but without extremes. Apart from the stunning clarity, touched with nuance, of the characters presented, the
most noticeable thing about them is their normality. They are the perennial progeny of men and women. Sharply
individual, together they make a party.1
4. Print and Complete the Character Analysis Chart.
Using your annotations, complete the chart for the Pardoner, the Wife of Bath, and the Merchant. Select three additional
characters, one feudal, one religious, and one middle class and fill in the chart for those characters, as well.
5. Print, Read and Annotate “The Pardoner’s Prologue” and “The Pardoner’s Tale”
“The Pardoner's Tale" is an example of an exemplum (plural, exempla), a short narrative in verse or prose that teaches a
moral lesson or reinforces a doctrine or religious belief.
6. Print, Read and Annotate “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue” and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”
"The Wife of Bath's Tale" is an example of an Arthurian romance, a type of work in which a knight in the age of the
legendary King Arthur goes on a quest and learns a valuable lesson.
7. Write an Essay on ONE of the following topics.
Please type the essay in 12 point, Times New Roman font and double-space it. The length requirement is 500-600 words.
It must contain properly cited textual evidence to support your thesis. This will be printed out and turned in with your
annotated book or print outs and your character analysis chart.
A. “The Prologue” to The Canterbury Tales is a snapshot of society in Chaucer’s day. Based upon the pilgrims
who are presented, describe the rising middle class of 14th Century England, In the essay, include the variety
of occupations, the degree of wealth, the level of education and the beginnings of political power represented
among the pilgrims.
B. Compare and contrast the lessons presented in The Wife of Bath’s Tale and The Pardoner’s Tale. Address the
central theme of the tale, along with the use of irony, humor, and/or symbolism.
Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to meeting
you next year. Have a great summer and happy reading.
Maj. (Hon) McDonald
Mrs. Burkey
[email protected]
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