The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.pptx

This presentation summarizes the key points of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.

1. The Canterbury Tales Group 8: Arimbi Putri Dewanti Asyifa Rizky Amelia Meilia Vivi K. Zhafira Putri Salsabilla Zitta Arlivia

2. Geoffrey Chaucer’s Early Life Geoffrey Chaucer was the son of a wealthy wine merchant. The frequent interaction with French around the merchantile of London’s Vintry during his boyhood made him become fluent in French. He then received education in Latin, and started to become a page for the Countess of Ulster, which familiarizes him to the manners of the ruling class.

3. Chaucer’s Career History Elizabeth Ulster’s household accounts to a page (1357) Captured by French and ransomed in one of King Edward III’s campaigns during the Hundred Years War (1359) Member of King Edward III’s personal household (1367) Took part in several diplomatic mission to Spain (1366), France (1368), Italy (1372) Served as a justice of the peace and knight of the shire (the title given to members of Parliament) for the county of Kent (1385—86) Clerk of the king's works (1389-91)

4. The Canterbury Tales The Canterbury Tales was influenced by how three categories of class - the nobility, the church, and the commoners - were layered into a complex social strata. The Canterbury Tales is a collection of 24 stories. The Canterbury Tales consists of the General Prologue, The Knight’s Tale, The Miller’s Tale, The Reeve’s Tale, The Cook’s Tale, The Man of Law’s Tale, The Wife of Bath’s Tale, The Friar’s Tale, The Summoner’s Tale, The Clerk’s Tale, The Merchant’s Tale, The Squire’s Tale, The Franklin’s Tale, The Second Nun’s Tale, The Canon’s Yeoman’s Tale, The Physician’s Tale, The Pardoner’s Tale, The Shipman’s Tale, The Prioress’s Tale, The Tale of Sir Thopas, The Tale of Melibeus (in prose), The Monk’s Tale, The Nun’s Priest’s Tale, The Manciple’s Tale, and The Parson’s Tale (in prose), and ends with “Chaucer’s Retraction.” Not all the tales are complete, several contain their own prologues or epilogues.

5. General Prologue The General Prologue opens the tale by giving a background of where the story happened; the early spring in April. The narrator mentioned a total of 29 pilgrims who were about to travel to Canterbury, consisting of several groups which are: a knight, a squire, a yeoman, a prioress, a nun, a monk, a friar, a merchant, a clerk, a sergeant of law, a franklin, a haberdasher, a carpenter, a weaver, a dyer, a tapestry-maker, a cook, a shipman, a physician, a wife of Bath, person of a town, a plowman, a reeve, a miller, a summoner, a pardoner, a maniciple, and the host. The host proposed an idea that each of the pilgrims should tell two tales during the journey, one on the way to Canterbury and the other during the homeward trip. The next day, they drew straws to decide which pilgrim should tell the story first, who turned out to be the knight.

6. Themes Christianity: the Tales consists of a big amount of religious material, both in the expressly religious tales which are the Prioress, the Parson, and the Clerk and the supposedly non-religious ones such as the Summoner, the Miller, and the Friar Companionship: the characters come from different parts of society; the court, the church, the feudal manor system, the village. To avoid discord, the pilgrims create an informal company, united by their jobs as storytellers as well as by the food and drink the host provides. The corruption of the church: some of the characters symbolize the corrupt church of the middle age. For example, the Monk and the Prioress are described as figures who seem to prefer the aristocratic life than the devotional life.

7. Sex and adultery: some of the Tales such as the Miller, the Wife of Bath, the Merchant, etc., dramatize adultery and cheating, focusing specifically on the way that the sexual activity is depicted. Competition : The Canterbury Tales is a tales-telling competition between pilgrims on their way to Canterbury. It tells in General Prolog, The Knight’s Tale, The Miller’s Tale, The Reeve’s Tale, The Wife of Bath’s Tale, The Friar’s Tale, and The Summoner’s Tale. For example, in The Knight’s Tale, the battle scene expands an individual competition between Mars and Venus. Social Satire : The General Prolog in The Canterbury Tales is a satire. In the Host’s portrait of the pilgrim, sets out satirize how members of the estate, particularly those of the Church, fail to meet their duties, and the social satire continues throughout the tales that the pilgrims tell.

8. Motifs Romance: romance was a popular literary genre in fourteenth-century literary. The Tales that have elements of romance in The Canterbury Tales are the Knight’s (the Tale integrates romantic elements in an ancient classical setting), the Wife of Bath’s (the Tale is shaped by Arthurian romance, with an unnamed knight of the round table as its unexpected hero) , and the Miller’s (the Tale mocks the traditional elements of romance). Fabliaux: the fabliau is a metrical tale, typically a bawdily humorous one, found in early French poetry. In The Canterbury Tales, the plot frequently turns or climaxes around the most grotesque feature, usually a bodily noise or function.

9. Symbols Spring time : The spring time symbolizes rebirth and fresh beginning, and is thus appropriate for the beginning of Chaucer’s text. Pilgrimage : Means the journal life to heaven. Clothing : The clothes symbolizes what lies beneath the surface of each personality. Physiognomy : Physiognomy plays a significant role in Chaucer's description of the pilgrim in the General Prolog. The Miller represent the stereotypical peasant physiognomy most clearly : round and ruddy, with a wart on his nose, the Miller appears rough and therefore suited to rough. The Pardoner's glaring eyes and limp hair illustrate his fraudulence.