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1st 6 weeks

1st Semester

1st Semester

1st Semester

Above: Canterbury Cathedral

The Pardoner

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So, where exactly is Canterbury?

 It's about 50 miles southeast of London. Not that far of a drive, but a long journey on foot to honor Sir Thomas Beckett.

Monday September 22nd- Friday September 26th

Due THIS lab day: Medieval Period history, (pages 69-79). Read and prepare for the test! 

Oral recital of Canterbury Tales character.  Make sure all 10 lines are memorized!

Studying of Latin/ Greek etymology.

In-Class:  Test on Medieval history.

Recital of Chaucer character. Be prepared to recite your character perfectly. (One point off per mistake). 

Latin roots quiz.

As we move through the recitals we will discuss each character.

If time permits, we will begin Chaucer's Pardoner's Tale.

Assignments: Be sure to read all of The Prologue, including information about Chaucer himself, pages 112-136. There will be a large test on this next lab day worth 40 points. You are responsible for knowing facts about Chaucer's life, (such as the king bailing him out of jail), and interesting points about the pilgrims on their journey, such as the Wife of Bath having gapped teeth and the cook having an ulcer on his knee. Prepare by taking notes and studying. To help review, here's a Jeopardy-style Power Point about the Prologue made by students: (warning, may have questionable sections).

Prologue Jeopardy 1

Prologue Jeopardy 2

ALSO: Type a one-page statement explaining who Chaucer appears to "like" out of the pilgrims, and who he appears to dislike. Note how Chaucer pokes fun of certain peoples' attributes, (for example, The Wife of Bath), and TYPE a full page statement due NEXT lab day.  Hint: the more negative things Chaucer has to say about characters, the more he dislikes them.

Links: http://www.sogang.ac.kr/~anthony/Chaucer/Npt.htm

         http://icg.harvard.edu/~chaucer/canttales/nunspri/

         http://faculty.goucher.edu/eng330/chaucerpardoner.htm

         http://icg.harvard.edu/~chaucer/canttales/pardt/

         Battle of Hastings Game

         Notes on Chaucer

         To see a cartoon version of "The Nun's Priest's Tale", click here. It's about 4 1/2 minutes long and helps explain the story well. Check it out..  You will need a Real Player to view it.

Information: The Pardoner's Tale is a direct extension of the personality of the narrator, an overtly moralistic tale that serves primarily to elicit a specific response. It is a particularly shameless tale, a condemnation of avarice that stems from the avarice of its narrator; by condemning the sin, the Pardoner hopes to motivate the travelers to pay the Pardoner to absolve their sins. The character of the Pardoner is omnipresent throughout the tale, which is told in an intimidating oratorical style that intends to create a sense of horror at the consequences for sinful action. Throughout the tale the narrator drifts in and out from the story, as the Pardoner occasionally leaves the plot of the tale to launch into sermons against sin. Finally, at the conclusion of the tale, he reveals the rationale for this authorial intervention, preaching against avarice for the sole intention of selling phony relics to the travelers. The tale is thus less of a fully formed narrative than a performance given by the Pardoner in which he never submerges his presence in the story.

You know you're important when the Royal Doulton Company makes a mug dedicated to your image. Here's Chaucer; note the pilgrims on their journey around his sides.