For Wednesday: The Canterbury Tales: "The General Prologue"

NOTE: Be sure to remember Short Paper #1, due by 5pm--see assignment post below this one.

For Wednesday, read "The General Prologue," though we have no questions to answer; instead, I'll give you an in-class writing over some aspect of the work to respond to. Here are a few things to consider as you read:

* What apologies does the narrator make for the work to follow? What is his stated goal in writing the work--and why might this represent some of the new, humanistic trends in the 14th century (which we talked about in class on Friday)?

* Which pilgrims seem to come in for the most pointed satire? Why is this? Are they all of a certain class? Or are they more united in their careers?

* Conversely, which pilgirims does the narrator seem to admire the most? What qualities seems to protect them from his satirical eye?

* How is social class demonstrated by the pilgrims, all of whom are supposed to be united in humility and purpose? 

* We talked about the growing critique of the Church (not of religion, but of the people who control it) in class on Friday; where do we see this point of view in Chaucer's Prologue? Where might he be writing to a society disgusted and dismayed by Church corruption and the recent tribulations with the Black Death?