British Literature Notes: Chapter 3

Called the “Father of English Poetry” because he made the English language respectable by writing his popular Canterbury tales in middle English.

Geoffrey Chaucer

• The author is Geoffrey Chaucer 

• The incomplete manuscript was published in 1400 AD, the year Chaucer died 

• The Tales are written in poetry rather than prose 

• As a work of art, it encompasses individuality and universality (characters represent every level of society: clergy, nobility, working class, lower class). 

• The Canterbury Tales are considered a Frame Story (a story within a story)

Canterbury Tales

The incomplete manuscript of The Canterbury Tales was published in what year?

1400 AD

The Tales are written in what form of literature?

poetry

The Canterbury Tales encompases what as work of art?

individuality and universality

a story within a story

Frame Story

prologue: the pilgrims meeting at the Tabard Inn preparing for a journey to Canterbury

Outer Frame Story

all the stories told by the assembled pilgrims along their journey to and from Canterbury

Inner Frame Story

tales of chivalry

Romance

short, bawdy, humorous stories

Fabliaux

narrative in which characters represent abstractions such as pride or honor

Allegory

a sensational dramatic piece with exaggerated characters and events

Melodrama

pilgrim associated with the feudal class system (knight, squire, plowman, yeoman, etc.)

The Old Feudal Order

the rising middle class of the time (merchant, man of law, cook)

The Merchant Class

the group Chaucer is most critical of, members of the church (pardoner, nun, friar, monk)

The Ecclesiastical Class

the act of portraying a character in a narrative

Characterization

using explicit statements to tell the reader about a character

Direct Characterization

an example of Direct Characterization because the author is just describing the characters

The Prologue of The Canterbury Tales

using dialogue, description, or action to reveal the character

Indirect Characterization

the attitude of an author toward his subject that the readers are meant to share

Tone

when a speaker means something other than what he says

Verbal irony

when a situation violates a reader’s expectations

Situational irony

ridicule of a person, group, or institution in order to provoke corrective change in belief or behavior

Satire

character that is not criticized very much in The Canterbury Tales

Knight

overly proper and proud rather than being more humble

Nun

criticized for living the lifestyle as someone who is rich instead of being humble

Monk

criticized for not being pure, gave pocket-knives to girls, drinking in the tavern, and not being humble

Friar

the only member of the church that gets a favorable review

Parson

the most criticized character; he is hypocritical and greedy because he says greediness is evil, but he swindles people of their money and says he owns relics, but they are actually fake and people pay to see them

Pardoner

• Author is Geoffrey Chaucer 

• An example of a beast fable 

• An example of a mock epic

• Chanticleer is the rooster

• The fox uses flattery to try to kill Chanticleer 

• “See how Dame Fortune quickly changes side and robs her enemy of hope and pride!”- pride goeth before a fall 

• “Lo, such it is not to be on your guard against the flatterers of the world, or yard” - pride goeth before a fall

The Nun’s Priest’s Tale

a brief, fanciful tale that embodies a moral and in which animals act like humans

Beast Fable

a tale that treats a trivial subject in heroic terms

Mock epic

imitating another author’s style for comic effect

Parody

What season did the Canterbury Tales take place in?

spring

How many pilgrims were in the Canterbury Tales?

29 pilgrims

What type of irony is the most prevalent in The Canterbury Tales?

verbal irony