The
Canterbury
Tales
by:
Geoffrey
Chaucer
1340s (ish) - 1400
1
The Time – The Place



England
14th Century
Christianity provided the basis for a first
unified religion common to most of the
continent.

In other words: 1300s, lots of sickness,
fighting, and you HAD to follow
the church
2
Feudalism
A system of loyalties
and protections
KINGS granted land to nobles in
exchange for their loyalty.
The LORDS had KNIGHTS to
protect the PEASANTS/SERFS.
Serfs would often have to work for the
lord as rent.
Knights worked for lodging and money
and knightly gear to go off to battle.
The Lords lived the high-life…
The King, the best life of all!
3
Important
EvEnts…

100 Years War with France
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
Peasants’ Rebellion (remember Robin Hood)



The underprivileged lived a life of unhappiness, turmoil, and
hunger.
Rebellion
Corruption in the Catholic Church



Many deaths and strife throughout England
Rebellion and Conflict
Many followers began to lose some faith.
Corruption
Power struggle between Pope and King

This aided to the faith lose throughout the land.
And, of course….
4
Important
EvEnts…
THE BLACK DEATH!
Between 1349 and 1350,
England lost nearly half its
population to the Black Death.
ACK! I got
the Black
Death from
the rat!
It was easy to catch, painful to
have, and deadly almost all
the time.
Technically,
you got it from
the fleas ON
the rat…
that jumped off
and bit you, so
you know.
Don’t blame
the poor rat.
5
ChauCEr’s LanguagE


Father of English Poetry
The Canterbury Tales is considered
Chaucer’s masterpiece


Chaucer was the first known writer to use
English in a major literary work
He spoke Middle English


A mixture of Old English (Anglo-Saxons) and Old
French (Normans)
Middle English differs from Modern English in the
pronunciation of the words
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The Canterbury Tales
Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote
When April with its sweet-smelling showers
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
Has pierced the drought of March to the root,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour
And bathed every vein (of the plants) in such
liquid
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
By the power of which the flower is created;
Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
When the West Wind also with its sweet breath,
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
In every holt and heath, has breathed life into
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
The tender crops, and the young sun
Hath in the Ram his half cours yronne,
Has run its half course in Aries,
And smale foweles maken melodye,
And small fowls make melody,
That slepen al the nyght with open ye
Those that sleep all the night with open eyes
(So priketh hem Nature in hir corages),
(So Nature incites them in their hearts),
Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
Then folk long to go on pilgrimages,
And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,
And professional pilgrims (long) to seek
foreign shores,
To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes; To
(go to) distant shrines, known in various
lands;
And specially from every shires ende
And specially from every shire's end
Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende,
Of England to Canterbury they travel,
The hooly blisful martir for to seke,
T o seek the holy blessed martyr,
That hem hath holpen whan that they were
seeke.
Who helped them when they were sick.
The Canterbury Tales is written in Middle English.
Click the star to hear a sample.
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ChauCEr’s taLE

30 people meet up to go on a pilgrimage


To kill the time, they have a story telling
competition


14th Century version of a road trip
And just like today, people tell dirty, grotesque stories
We see the travelers interact; we hear their
stories; we see how they REALLY behave.
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In other words: You may SAY you act one way, but we SEE the truth!
The Canterbury Tales
9
Canterbury Tales
Chaucer writes the tales around 1386
Wait! No we’re
not!
Was that a rat?!
Did I just get the
plague?
He depicts a 14th century
England populated by peasants,
tradesmen, knights, and clerics,
most of whom appear to be
healthy and well fed.
We are so
healthy and well
fed and happy!
I think I hear a
rebellion! Let’s
move!
We are off on
our pilgrimage!
Hurray!
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Canterbury Tales
"Man, do you remember
that article we wrote about
framing devices?"
"That was a darn good
article. How did it go
again?"
"Well, I believe it
went something like
this..."
A Frame Tale
a story that provides a vehicle, or frame, for telling other
stories
*The voice of the poet-pilgrim himself, Chaucer, introduces
us to other pilgrims
*The person of “The Host” of the Tabard Inn
*The conversations that occur between the tales, among
the Host and the pilgrims, and the pilgrims themselves
How I Met Your Mother; Gossip Girl; Are You Afraid of the Dark; Titanic; 300;
The Prestige; Forrest Gump
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Canterbury Tales
An Estate Satire
a literary technique used to highlight the foibles of a
society and its particular people in the hopes of
exacting some sort of change; it is sarcastic and
sometimes often biting
*People who are “religious” don’t necessarily behave as
though they are followers of the church
*Views the religious system of the medieval time period
should change.
(E.g., A lawyer, a priest, and an English teacher were marooned on an island just ten
yards from shore, but the surrounding water was filled with hungry sharks. The
English teacher tried to swim ashore and was devoured. The lawyer jumped in and
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paddled safely to shore. The priest shouted over to him, "Why didn't they eat you?"
The lawyer answered, "Professional courtesy!")
The Canterbury Tales
Chaucer
intended that
each pilgrim
should tell two
tales on the
way to
Canterbury and
two tales on
the way back.
A rich, tapestry of
medieval social
life combines
elements of all
classes, from
nobles to
workers, from
priests and nuns
to drunkards and
thieves.
A group of thirty people travel as pilgrims to Canterbury to see
the shrine of Sir Thomas Beckett.
He never
They have their meet and greet at
finished this
large task…
The Tabard Inn
Only twentyfour tales were
composed
before Chaucer's
death in 1400.
And we don’t
know the order
of tales.
The pilgrims, who come from all layers of society, tell stories
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to each other to kill time while they travel.
The set-up…
The Canterbury Tales

The pilgrim’s
occupations reflect
different aspects of the
14th century society

Feudal System


Religious Life

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Knight, Squire, Yeoman,
Franklin, Plowman, Miller,
Reeve
Prioress (Nun), Monk,
Friar, Clerk, Parson,
Summoner, Pardoner
Trades and Professions

Merchant, Sergeant of
Law, Five Tradesmen,
Cook, Skipper, Doctor,
Wife of Bath, Manciple,
Host
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The style (again)…
The Canterbury Tales

Bawdy stories, making fun of people,
satire…Let’s face it: THIS THING IS FUNNY!
And that’s why
the chicken
crossed the
road!
Get off the
stage!
And there are
ELEMENTS that
MAKE things
funny.
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Elements of Humor

SATIRE: Writer uses ridicule to point out human
folly.

SITUATIONAL IRONY: Event occurs which
contradicts the expectations of character,
reader, or audience

DRAMATIC IRONY: Contradiction between
what character thinks and what reader knows to
be true

VERBAL IRONY: Words used to suggest the
opposite of their usual meaning
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EXAMPLES!
Elements of Humor

SITUATIONAL IRONY:
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Example: A man who is a traffic cop gets his license suspended for unpaid
parking tickets.
Example: An ambulance driver goes to a nighttime bike accident scene and
runs over the accident victim because the victim has crawled to the center
of the road with their bike.

DRAMATIC IRONY:

Example: In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare Romeo finds Juliet in a
drugged state and he thinks she is dead. He kills himself. When Juliet wakes up she
finds Romeo dead and kills herself.
Example: In Macbeth by William Shakespeare Macbeth appears to be loyal to
Duncan but he is planning Duncan's murder. Duncan doesn't know Macbeth's plans
but the audience knows what is going to happen.


VERBAL IRONY:

Example: Dad is finally out of patience with picking up after his son, who
can't seem to be trained to put his dirty clothes in the hamper instead of
letting them drop wherever he happens to be when he takes them off.
"Would Milord please let me know when it pleases him to have his humble
servant pick up after him?"
17
Elements of Humor

HYPERBOLE: Exaggeration in order to create humor

PRACTICAL JOKE: A stunt or trick to purposely make
someone feel foolish or victimized; inherent undertone of
cruelty

DARK HUMOR: The juxtaposition of morbid elements to
create a disturbing effect; grave topics like death, rape,
murder, marital affair, are treated in a satirical manner

WISECRACK: A witty remark that is thrown in at a
perfect timing, at the spur of the moment
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EXAMPLES!
Elements of Humor

HYPERBOLE:


Example: I am so hungry I could eat a horse.
Example: I have a million things to do.

PRACTICAL JOKE:

Example: Add a few drops of food coloring to a cardboard milk
container.

DARK HUMOR:


Example: “Don’t make me mad. I’m running out of
places to hide the bodies.”
WISECRACK:

Example: “Why don’t you make like a leaf and
leave.”
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Get ready for the fun!
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End
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