For Wednesday: Chaucer, "The General Prologue" from The Canterbury Tales

Illustration of Chaucer, adapted from the original Canterbury Tales manuscript

For our next class, read the Prologue to The Canterbury Tales, which is one of the most famous poems in the English language. We'll even examine a little of the original in class on Wednesday. As you read, consider the following questions and bring TWO of them with you to discuss.

Q1: As we discussed on Monday, one of the hallmarks of the 14th century is an increasing focus on humanism, capturing people as they truly were in the language they actually spoke in. How do we know Chaucer is part of this movement in the Prologue? How does he defend (or explain) his purpose in the Prologue?

Q2: Which pilgrim’s description did you find most appealing or interesting? How does Chaucer’s language create this character and help us ‘see’ him or her? What do you feel he wanted us to connect with or admire/dislike about the character?

Q3: Where in the Prologue do we see social criticism and/or outright satire of individual pilgrims? How might this connect to the belief of the ‘common’ English man/woman, particularly regarding topics such as the nobility, the Church, fashion, and manners?

Q4: Compare the style of narration of “The General Prologue” to that of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Both were written around the same time, though in very different parts of England; that said, Chaucer might have been aware of the Gawain poem, and vice versa. Do you think they have more in common, or are they very distinct works of art?