ESTUDIOS SOCIO

LITERARIOS
Topic: The Canterbury Tales
Professor: Jorge Cari
Students: Alvarado, Florencia
Cari,Laura
Flores, Noelia
Martinez, Florencia
Nieva,Romina
Silisque,Gustavo
Tolaba, Daniela

Biography: Greoffrey Chaucer

Poet Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London in the early 1340s, he was the only
son in his family. Chaucers family was of the bourgeois class, descended from
an affluent family who made their money in the London wine trade.
In 1357, Chaucer became a public servant to Countess Elizabeth of Ulster, the
Duke of Clarences wife, for which he was paid a small stipendenough to pay
for his food and clothing. In 1359, the teenage Chaucer went off to fight in the
Hundred Years War in France, and at Rethel he was captured for ransom.
Thanks to Chaucers royal connections, King Edward III helped pay his ransom.
After Chaucers release, he joined the Royal Service, traveling throughout
France, Spain and Italy on diplomatic missions throughout the early to mid1360s.
In 1366, Chaucer married Philippa Roet, the daughter of Sir Payne Roet, and
the marriage conveniently helped further Chaucers career in the English court.
By 1368, King Edward III had made Chaucer one of his esquires. When the
queen died in 1369, it served to strengthen Philippas position and
subsequently Chaucers as well. From 1370 to 1373, he went abroad again and
fulfilled diplomatic missions in Florence and Genoa, helping establish an English
port in Genoa. He also spent time familiarizing himself with the work of Italian
poets Dante and Petrarch along the way. By the time he returned, he and
Philippa were prospering, and he was rewarded for his diplomatic activities with
an appointment as Comptroller of Customs, a lucrative position. Meanwhile,
Philippa and Chaucer were also granted generous pensions by John of Gaunt,
the
first
duke
of
Lancaster.
Chaucer had little time to devote to writing poetry, his true passion. In 1385
he petitioned for temporary leave. For the next four years he lived in Kent but
worked as a justice of the peace and later a Parliament member, rather than
focusing
on
his
writing.
When Philippa passed away in 1387, Chaucer stopped sharing in her royal
annuities and suffered financial hardship. He needed to keep working in public
service to earn a living and pay off his growing accumulation of debt.
The legendary 14th century English poet Geoffrey Chaucer died October 25,
1400 of in London, England. He died of unknown causes and was 60 years old
at the time.

The Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales is one of the best loved works in the history of English
literature. Written in Middle English, the story talks about a group of pilgrims
who are travelling the long journey from London to Canterbury Cathedral.
Setting off from a London inn, the innkeeper suggests that during the journey
each pilgrim should tell two tales to help pass the time. The best storyteller will
be rewarded with a free supper on his return.

Chaucer introduces us to a vivid cast of characters, including a carpenter, a

cook, a knight, a monk, a prioress, a haberdasher, a dyer, a clerk, a merchant
and a very bawdy miller. These characters come from all corners of 14th
century society, and give Chaucer the chance to speak in many different
voices. Some of the characters' tales are humorous, rude and naughty, while
others are moral and reflective.
One of the reasons Chaucer is so important is that he made the decision to
write in English and not in French. In the centuries following the Norman
invasion, French was the language spoken by those in power. The Canterbury
Tales was one of the first major works in literature written in English. Chaucer
began the tales in 1387 and continued until his death in 1400. No text in his
own hand still exists, but a surprising number of copies survive from the 1500s
- more than 80. This suggests the tales were enormously popular in medieval
England. This early and handsomely ornamented manuscript copy, from
c.1450, was made within a generation of Chaucer's death.
Language in the Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales is written in Middle English, which bears a close visual
resemblance to the English written and spoken today. In contrast, Old English
(the language of Beowulf, for example) can be read only in modern translation
or by students of Old English. Students often read The Canterbury Tales in its
original language, not only because of the similarity between Chaucers Middle
English and our own, but because the beauty and humor of the poetry, all of its
internal and external rhymes, and the sounds it produces would be lost in
translation.
The best way for a beginner to approach Middle English is to read it out loud.
When the words are pronounced, it is often much easier to recognize what they
mean in modern English. Most Middle English editions of the poem include a
short pronunciation guide, which can help the reader to understand the
language better. For particularly difficult words or phrases, most editions also
include notes in the margin giving the modern versions of the words, along with
a full glossary in the back. Several online Chaucer glossaries exist, as well as a
number of printed lexicons of Middle English.
The Order of the Canterbury Tales
Nobody knows exactly in what order Chaucer intended to present the tales, or
even if he had a specific order in mind for all of them. Eighty-two early
manuscripts of the tales survive, and many of them vary considerably in the
order in which they present the tales. However, certain sets of tales do seem to
belong together in a particular order. For instance, the General Prologue is
obviously the beginning, then the narrator explicitly says that the Knight tells
the first tale, and that the Miller interrupts and tells the second tale.

Theintroductions, prologues, and epilogues to various tales sometimes include

the pilgrims comments on the tale just finished, and an indication of who tells
the next tale. These sections between the tales are called links, and they are
the best evidence for grouping the tales together into ten fragments. But The
Canterbury Tales does not include a complete set of links, so the order of the
ten fragments is open to question. The Riverside Chaucer bases the order of
the ten fragments on the order presented in the Ellesmere manuscript, one of
the best surviving manuscripts of the tale. Some scholars disagree with the
groupings and order of tales followed in The Riverside Chaucer, choosing
instead to base the order on a combination of the links and the geographical
landmarks that the pilgrims pass on the way to Canterbury.

General Prologue
Chaucer sets up the general structure of the tales and introduces each of the
characters who will tell the tales. The characters who tell each of the tales are
as important as the characters in the tales that they tell. The General Prologue
in essence serves as a guide for the tales, giving some explanation for the
motivation behind each of the tales each character tells. Chaucer veers into
territory that is more spiritual. In springtime these travelers make a religious
pilgrimage to Canterbury, he keeps the beginning passage of the general
prologue focused on nature and not on the human society with which the
travelers will deal. Chaucer gives relatively straightforward descriptions of the
characters and shows their best qualities. A number of these pilgrims are
described as perfect in some way or another, most often in their craft. These
pilgrims exist almost entirely in terms of their profession.
The Merchant: the narrator still judges him to be a fine man in these
descriptions, the details and anecdotes are far more important in
defining character than the final stated opinion of the narrator.
The Clerk: Oxford student however educated, is not worldlyenough for
any normal employment. He has studied only impractical knowledge,
and even carries among his few possessions several volumes of
Aristotle.
The wife of Bath is the most significant of the travelers low on the social
scal. Chaucer describes her as lewd and boisterous. Her clothing are all
variations of bright red, is ostentatious meant to attract attention from
others. She is quite promiscuous.
The Pardoner: He has a very effeminate manner with high pitch voice
and soft features. Chaucer even compares him to a castrated horse,
which may be a subtle comment on his sexuality.
The prologue sets up the general design of the Canterbury Tales. Each
character will tale four tales during the journey, leading to a total of 116 tales.
Chaucer never completed all of the tales, starting only about one fourth of the
possible stories, not all of which remain in their entirely. Some of the stories
that remain are only fragments which have either been lost or never completed
by the author.

THE KNIGHTS TALE

Summary: A long time ago in Athens, Duke Theseus strove to expand his
empire. When the Duke conquered the Amazons tribe, he took Queen
Hippolyta and her sister, Emely, back to Athens. He made Hippolyta his wife.
They encountered a group of women weeping and wailing, who told how the
cruel tyrant Creon had conquered their city and that their husbands dead
bodies lay unburied in dishonor. So the Duke broke off to march against this evil
tyrant, who was soon defeated and slain. After the battle, Arcite and Palamon
two wounded Knights were brought. They were of similar appearance because
they were cousins. The two Knights suffered for several years in jail. One day,
Palamon was looking out of his prison and happened to see the beautiful Emely.
His friend, Arcite peers out from the tower window, and he too is stricken with
her beauty. One day, Duke Perotheus, a close friend of Theseus and arcite,
visits Athens. Perotheus petitions Theseus to free Arcite. Theseus agrees on the
condition that if Arcite is ever found on Theseuss lands, he will be beheaded.
Arcite is depressed at his new turn of fate, and envies Palamon that he at least
will be able to see her every day. Arcite decides to change his name to
Philostrate, and returns to Athens. Also, he joins the Court of Theseus to be
close to Emely. One night, Palamon manages to escape and hides in a nearby
wooded area where he and Arcite fought. The Duke then decides that the two
will wage war on each other, each with one hundred knights, in order to decide
whom Emelye will marry. During the year, Theseus builds a magnificent
stadium in which the jousting will take place. Saturn the god of destiny
promises that Palamon will win his love and Arcite would win the battle.
Palamon is badly wounded in the joust, so Arcite is triumphant in his victory but
his horse throws to the ground where he dies. Finally, Emely and Palamon are
married. The Duke is in favor of the marriage because it unites the two houses
of Thebes and Athens.
Analysis: The Knight tells a tale of courtship and chivalry, focused on the
deeds of soldiers and princes. This tale adheres to traditional values of honor
which there are strict codes of behavior which one must follow. It continues to
establish rules of honor and chivalric conduct: Theseus condemns Arcites and
Palamons actions because they didnt do so under the proper rules set for a
duel. Both cousins place their respective destinies in the gods to whom they
pray. Finally becomes clear that Emely doesnt wish to marry either of the
knights, preferring a life of chastity to marriage. The overall structure of the
tale gives priority to certain values. Theseus, the arbiter in the conflict, places
great emphasis on honorable codes of conduct.

THE WIFE OF BATHS TALE

The Wife of Bath's Tale is among the best-known of Geoffrey Chaucer's
Canterbury Tales. The role of women in the Late Middle Ages, was probably of
interest to Chaucer himself, for the character is one of his most developed
ones, with her Prologue twice as long as her Tale. She calls herself both Alyson
and Alys in the prologue.

Prologue
The Wife of Bath begins her lengthy prologue by announcing that she has
always followed the rule of experience rather than authority. Having already
had five husbands "at the church door," she has experience enough to make it
like an expert. She sees nothing wrong with having had five husbands and
cannot understand Jesus' rebuke to the woman at the well who also had five
husbands. She prefers the biblical command to go forth and multiply.
Analysis
The Wife of Bath issues a number of rebuttals against strict religious claims for
chastity and monogamy, using Biblical examples including Solomon to show
that the Bible does not overtly condemn all expression of sexuality, even
outside of marriage.
Throughout the Wife's tale, traditional values and headships, that is leadership
and supremacy, are reversed or overthrown. At the beginning of the tale, King
Arthur submits to the rule of Guinevere (thus abandoning both his headship of
the state and his headship of the family); the ladies of the court, instead of the
men, serve as justices; and the authority of books and scriptures gives way to
experience. Furthermore, the knight, a rapist who has violated the sanctity of a
young girl's chastity, is redeemed by another woman, albeit a hag. Finally, in
the choice the hag offers the knight, both choices are intolerable. Thus, when
he lets her make the decision, he has abandoned the male's sovereignty in
favor of the woman's rule.
Summary
There was a Knight in King Arthur's time who raped a fair young maiden. King
Arthur issues a decree that the Knight must be brought to justice. When the
Knight is captured, he is condemned to death, but Queen Guinevere intercedes
on his behalf and asks the King to allow her to pass judgment upon him. The
Queen tells the Knight he will be spared his life if he can discover for her what
it is that women most desire, and allots him a year and a day in which to roam
wherever he pleases and return with an answer.
Everywhere the knight goes he explains his predicament to the women he
meets and asks their opinion, but "No two of those he questioned answered the
same." The answers range from fame and riches to play, or clothes, or sexual
pleasure, or flattery, or freedom. When at last the time comes for him to return
to the Court, he still lacks the answer he so desperately needs.
Outside a castle in the woods, he sees twenty-four maidens dancing and
singing, but when he approaches they disappear as if by magic, and all that is
left is an old hag. The Knight explains the problem to the hag, who is wise and
may know the answer, and she forces him to promise to grant any favor she
might ask of him in return. With no other options left, the Knight agrees.
Arriving at the court, he gives the answer that women most desire sovereignty
over their husbands, which is unanimously agreed to be true by the women of
the court, who accordingly free the Knight.

The old hag then explains to the court the deal she has struck with the Knight,
and publicly requests his hand in marriage. Although aghast, he realizes he has
no other choice and eventually agrees. On their wedding night the hag is upset
that he is repulsed by her in bed. She reminds him that her looks can be an
assetshe will be a virtuous wife to him because no other men would desire
her. She asks him what he would preferan old ugly hag who is loyal, true and
humble or a beautiful woman about whom he would always have doubts
concerning her faithfulness. The Knight responds by saying that the choice is
hers, an answer which pleases her greatly. Now that she has won power over
him, she asks him to kiss her, promising both beauty and fidelity. The Knight
turns to look at the hag again, but now finds a young and lovely woman. They
live happily into old age together.

Themes
The phrase Courtly Love refers to a set of ideas about love that was
enormously influential on the literature and culture of the Middle Age. Poets
throughout Europe promoted the notions that true love only exists outside of
marriage, that true love may be idealized and spiritual, and may exist without
ever being physically consummated; and that a man becomes the servant of
the lady he loves. Also, there was the idea that love is a torment or a disease,
and that when a man is in love he cannot sleep or eat. These themes and
motifs were very popular in medieval and Renaissance literature and culture.
The importance of Company: The pilgrims come forme different parts of
society-the court, the church, villages, feudal manor system. To prevent
discord, the pilgrims create an informal company, united by their jobs as
storytellers, and by the food and drink the host provides.
The corruption of the Church: By the late fourteenth century, the Catholic
Church had become extremely wealthy. The cathedrals were very expensive to
build, and the mount of gold that went into decorating them and equipping
them surpassed the riches in the nobles coffers. In a century of disease,
plague, famine and scarce labor, the sigh of a church ornamented with unused
gold seemed unfair to some people, and the churchs preaching against greed
suddenly seemed hypocritical.
The conduct of the religious figures in The Canterbury Tales corresponds to
common medieval stereotypes, but Chaucers position is so clearly biased on
some characters and so clearly biased against others. Additionally, the
characters are not simply satirical versions of their roles, they are individuals
and cannot simply be taken as typical of their professions.