Hello everyone,
During these days I'd like you to read The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer. I know it's a book you have to read for the Escuela, but, please, don't read it with a feeling of obligation: I want you to enjoy the book, and to appreciate the real treasure you have in your hands. It's one of the best works ever written in English, a veritable masterpiece, and don't forget that Chaucer is known as the Father of English Literature.
Some of you might not like reading, but, trust me, The Canterbury Tales has something for everybody's taste: some stories are deep, some others are hilarious, some are a bit bold/dirty, others are a lesson of morale... And they portray a perfect picture of 15th century England.
As I said in class, the context of the tales is that of a group of pilgrims travelling from London to Canterbury Cathedral to visit Thomas Beckett's tomb; they are people from all the levels of society, from a miller to a knight, from a squire to a priest. The original idea was for every character to tell four tales, two on the way to Canterbury and two on the way back. But, instead of 120 tales, the text ends after twenty-four tales.
The original text was written in verse and in Middle English (you'll see how different it is from the English we speak now!!). You can have a look at the original manuscript here. Click here to read part of "The Nun's Priest's Tale". If you know a bit of German, Latin or a bit of History of the English Language, you might be able to understand a few words!
And here you have a video where you can actually listen to how Middle English sounded like!
I've found a website where you can read all 24 tales. The only thing is that they are not adapted, and they're in verse -I'm sorry but I haven't been able to find any adapted version on the Internet-. Anyway, it's a chance to try your hand at something different! :)
Now, here I leave you some links for your stories. Remember that you have to prepare a summary for your classmates, and add any extra information you feel like:
Geoffrey Chaucer and his world: Click here to read about Geoffrey Chaucer, his life, his style and his importance in English literature. Also talk about the context he wrote in.
The General Prologue: Click here for an analysis of the Prologue. When it comes to describing the characters, only pay attention to the 5 in our stories (The Knight, the Nun's Priest, the Pardoner, the Wife of Bath and the Franklin).
The Nun's Priest's Tale: out of curiosity, click here to have a look at the original; click here for some more information about "The Nun's Priest's Tale", and an analysis of its real meaning. Remember that our book is an adaptation, so many details have been deleted. Tell us about them in class.
The Pardoner's Tale: click here for some more information about "The Pardoner's Tale", and an analysis of its real meaning. Remember that our book is an adaptation, so many details have been deleted. Tell us about them in class.
The Wife of Bath's Tale: click here for some more information about "The Wife of Bath's Tale", and an analysis of its real meaning. Remember that our book is an adaptation, so many details have been deleted. Tell us about them in class. You can also watch this video of the story!
The Franklin's Tale: click here for some more information about "The Franklin's Tale", and an analysis of its real meaning. Remember that our book is an adaptation, so many details have been deleted. Tell us about them in class.
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