Who is Geoffrey Chaucer?
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What were the 1400's like?
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Court, knights and chivalry
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Allegory and ballads
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Literative Devices from the Canterbury Tales
Personification is giving life like characteristics to inanimate objects.
Example - The table jumped out and hurt my knee. |
Dramatic Irony is when the readers or viewers or know something that the character's do not know.
In Romeo and Juliet the reader knows Juliet is not dead, but Romeo does not know. |
Verbal Irony is when you say something but mean another.
This is similar to sarcasm or wit. |
Situational irony is when the opposite of what you expect happens.
The firetruck caught on fire and burned down. |
Pardoner's Prologue and the pardoner's Tale
After reading both the prologue and the tale, discuss the pardoner's character. What elements of irony do you notice? What lines? What cultural reflection do we see about church members? How does this change for lower class versus upper class? What lines describe the pardoner's personality? Why does Chaucer repeat repeat repeat that greed is the root of all evil? Is it? Is power? Is desire?
The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale.
Using this interactive website you will read the Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale. On the left hand side you have the links to walk you through the line sets. They will be displayed in both middle English and Modern English.
During the reading you should be looking for and answering the following questions:
Before the reading:
1) Define feminism. Define Antifeminism. What does this look like in our society?
During the Prologue
2) How does the written portrayal of the Wife of Bath reflect a cultural value of women and marriage? Is Chaucer's view in this story, the same or different from most of medieval society?
3) List character traits of the Wife. What line supports your list.
4) What is her main argument? Does her personality and characteristics detract or add to her argument?
During the Tale
5) What stories are you familiar with that seem to have a similar appeal or resolution?
6) How does this tale add to the groups view of the Wife?
7) Does Chaucer in this way represent the Wife as seeing herself as the "loathly lady" waiting for some loving husband to unlock the beauty inside her?
8) Do you think Chaucer intended this story to be satirical? or taken at phase value? Show evidence.
During the reading you should be looking for and answering the following questions:
Before the reading:
1) Define feminism. Define Antifeminism. What does this look like in our society?
During the Prologue
2) How does the written portrayal of the Wife of Bath reflect a cultural value of women and marriage? Is Chaucer's view in this story, the same or different from most of medieval society?
3) List character traits of the Wife. What line supports your list.
4) What is her main argument? Does her personality and characteristics detract or add to her argument?
During the Tale
5) What stories are you familiar with that seem to have a similar appeal or resolution?
6) How does this tale add to the groups view of the Wife?
7) Does Chaucer in this way represent the Wife as seeing herself as the "loathly lady" waiting for some loving husband to unlock the beauty inside her?
8) Do you think Chaucer intended this story to be satirical? or taken at phase value? Show evidence.