...Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales Image you lived in a world where living in the middle class made you a well respected citizen, well this is the world imagined in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. This was a world re-imagined taking the norm of knight and nobility being top class, and turning it around. This promoted peasant and middle class to rise up make something for themselves. The idea that a person in the middle class could afford to go on a pilgrimage like the one described in The Canterbury Tales. Some topics focused on are in the Canterbury Tales were; why is the rise of middle class so evident in Chaurcer’s tales, and what did the rising of the middle class look and consist of? How is the rise of the middle class evident in this tale, and where is the middle class in the tale from, and why is the rise of the middle class such a surprise and so significant. Many characteristics make up the medieval time period present in Chaucer’s tale, and what is the significance of this...
Words: 1224 - Pages: 5
...Chivalry died in the Middle Ages, but there is no complete answer to the reason for that death. Some knights held on to the characteristics of chivalry, but others began to lose their honor and become less loyal. Geoffrey Chaucer, a writer from the fourteenth century, wrote a framed story called The Canterbury Tales. This work is made up of a General Prologue, which is a description of all the individual pilgrims going on the pilgrimage, followed by several tales told by these pilgrims. He describes several knight’s in this work through a chivalric code of honor. Through his description of the Knight in the General Prologue of The Canterbury Tales, as well as the “Knight’s Tale” and the “Wife of Bath’s Tale,” Chaucer suggests that although chivalry...
Words: 1427 - Pages: 6
...The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer is an iconic work of British literature representative of the Middle Ages. In it, a group of travelers tells twenty-four different stories, which each reveal something about their storyteller and audience. Throughout the poem, these revelations provide commentary on the social class system in England of Chaucer’s time; Chaucer’s creativity in “The Pardoner’s Prologue and Tale” allows him to demonstrate several viewpoints of these interactions between the clergy and the commoners. Before examining these viewpoints, it is important to consider the historical context of the text; without it, the significance of Chaucer’s work cannot fully be grasped. Chaucer lived between approximately the years 1343 and...
Words: 1090 - Pages: 5
...such a way that they seem personally experienced. Imagination is always associated with the created power and is a poetic principle. It is a transforming power as it has the ability to change the usual and ordinary in an unusual and uncommon way. Poetry is a modified "image of man and nature”. The poet is able to impart "the glory and freshness of a dream" to ordinary things of nature. He can present in his poetry the light that never was on land and sea. He is able to do so to the creative faculty of imagination. It is thus an active power. Poet is not a passive reflector of images formed from nature. He is a man who not only feels strongly but also thinks long and deeply. He is able to treat absent things as if they are present. Here Canterbury tales present an example of this imaginative power to visualize objects which are not present before poet’s eyes in their concrete forms but he presents them before us that they seem real. 29 pilgrims of Chaucer are his imaginative characters, all their qualities, merits and demerits are his own creations and here his creation is supported by his imagination. Imagination enables the poet to look deep into the heart and soul of things. It is through the imaginative faculty that he arrives at...
Words: 2718 - Pages: 11
...Christianity and Medieval Literature The Middle Ages saw a great influence of Christianity on the literature of that time. Christianity also saw a period of growth and its influences on literature were also very notable. The Medieval Period was a time of significant social revolution and this is often reflected in the literature of that age. This can be seen by observing the principles of the time, and exploring the literature which addresses them. By analyzing the religious, political and societal ideals, the reader can see how these influenced the literature during this time period. The Medieval Period was a time in history that lasted from the 5th Century to the 16th Century. Through the early Middle Ages, literacy was often essential for entry into religious orders and even nuns were compelled to meet this requirement. However, the only people trained to read and write properly were those who were high church officials and monks. Society was centered mainly on the Medieval Church. However, the Church became corrupted but more at the higher levels. Geoffrey Chaucer illustrated this in his writings, “Prologue to the Canterbury Tales.” He exposes this in his prologue by his use of satire in regards to the religious figures. Using a naïve “Chaucer the Pilgrim” to describe them, he points out that certain characters, namely the Prioress and the Monk, are not as they should be. Although he does not criticize them openly, he merely emphasizes qualities that are favorable...
Words: 722 - Pages: 3
...Miranda Coker Mrs. Ashley Coker English IV Honors 9 January 2015 The Corruption of the Medieval Catholic Church in The Canterbury Tales In the Fourteenth Century, the Catholic Church took over Ireland, England, and almost all of Europe. Through a number of Crusades, which spanned about two hundred years, the church acquired a great amount of wealth. As a result of this tremendous accumulation of wealth, as well as an over emphasis on lavish places of worship, cathedrals were built in all of the larger cities. However, the communities of the middle and lower class in society suffered from poverty, resulting in sickness and death (“Greed and Corruption in The Canterbury Tales” 1). Why sit back, turn a deaf ear, and watch the people suffer and die while spending a fortune on places of worship? This is most likely the reason why Geoffrey Chaucer portrays some characters in The Canterbury Tales, such as the Pardoner, Friar, and Monk, as being greedy and often hypocritical. The Pardoner is a perfect example of this corruption. His work in the church is to hear the confessions of wrong-doers and pardon them of their sins. As he travels, he confesses to using a particular tale to manipulate his audiences. The Pardoner explains that he pushes guilt into the people by telling them that greed is the root of all evil, in order to coax them into giving him offerings. These offerings go directly into his greedy hands. Hardly a man of God, he demonstrates or reveals his self-centered...
Words: 661 - Pages: 3
...TITLE · The Canterbury Tales AUTHOR · Geoffrey Chaucer TYPE OF WORK · Poetry (two tales are in prose: the Tale of Melibee and the Parson’s Tale) GENRES · Narrative collection of poems; character portraits; parody; estates satire; romance; fabliau LANGUAGE · Middle English TIME AND PLACE WRITTEN · Around 1386–1395, England DATE OF FIRST PUBLICATION · Sometime in the early fifteenth century PUBLISHER · Originally circulated in hand-copied manuscripts NARRATOR · The primary narrator is an anonymous, naïve member of the pilgrimage, who is not described. The other pilgrims narrate most of the tales. POINT OF VIEW · In the General Prologue, the narrator speaks in the first person, describing each of the pilgrims as they appeared to him. Though narrated by different pilgrims, each of the tales is told from an omniscient third-person point of view, providing the reader with the thoughts as well as actions of the characters. TONE · The Canterbury Tales incorporates an impressive range of attitudes toward life and literature. The tales are by turns satirical, elevated, pious, earthy, bawdy, and comical. The reader should not accept the naïve narrator’s point of view as Chaucer’s. TENSE · Past SETTING (TIME) · The late fourteenth century, after 1381 SETTING (PLACE) · The Tabard Inn; the road to Canterbury PROTAGONISTS · Each individual tale has protagonists, but Chaucer’s plan is to make none of his storytellers superior to others; it is an equal company. In the Knight’s Tale, the...
Words: 25904 - Pages: 104
...MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, SCIENCE, YOUTH AND SPORT OF UKRAINE IVAN FRANKO NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF LVIV THE FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES LINGUISTIC MEANS OF POTRAYING MAIN CHARACTERS IN “THE CANTERBURY TALES” BY GEOFFREY CHAUCER COURSE PAPER PRESENTED BY LILIA YAREMA a fourth year student of the English department SUPERVISED BY SPODARYK O. V. an assistant professor of the English department LVIV 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………… 3-4 CHAPTER I. THEORETICAL ISSUES IN LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS…… 5-16 1.1 Linguistic analysis……………………………………………… 5-8 1.2 Discourse and Text analyses….…………….………………….. 9-11 1.3 Stylistic analysis ………………………………………………… 12-16 CHAPTER II. LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF CHAUCER’S CHARACTERS 17-28 2.1 “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” ……………………………………… 18-22 2.2 “The Pardoner’s Tale” ………………………………………….. 23-28 CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………. 29-30 REFERENCES...… ………………………………………………………….. 31-32 INTRODUCTION The theme of the course paper is “Linguistic means of portraying main characters in “The Canterbury tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer”. This paper intends to make an analysis of the language in the collection of stories “The Canterbury Tales”, written by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of 14th century. We will analyze the language used to describe characters. It was based on the idea that every choice made by the author of a sentence is meaningful. Therefore, once we understand the choices...
Words: 9013 - Pages: 37
...displayed as selfish, overwhelming, and something people have trouble controlling. It has the power to destroy friendships, family, and trust, leaving behind a sense of satisfaction and overwhelming sense of guilt. Although, merely a few do not know what greed is. Greed is the root of all evil as a theme can be found in the fourteenth century poem “The Pardoner’s Tale” by Geoffrey Chaucer and the twentieth century song “Piggies”...
Words: 1662 - Pages: 7
...The medieval and middle literature periods included writings in old english, and Anglo-Norman through middle English, the increasing length of poetry and prose, with strong religious influences during times of change. The Medieval time period is between the fifth and fifteenth century. At the start of this era was the falling of the great Roman Empire and it continued into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Germanic tribes took over. The classic Beowulf was written during the rising of the Germanic tribes and is still read by many today. Following the Germans was the Vikings. Then finally in 1066, the Norman Conquest happened. The Duke of Normandy invaded Britain and took the Anglo-Saxons’ land...
Words: 1718 - Pages: 7
...Characteristics of Old and Middle English Literature In many works from the Old English period, which was approximately between 600-1100, there were many distinguishing characteristics, which included heroism, a strict class system, religion, and teachings of moral behavior. Some different characteristics of Old English literature, which is a language derived from Old German, include a strong belief in fate in a very poetry dominated era. Many of the poems are called elegies of that time, which were sorrowful poems, such as “The Wanderer.” Another large characteristic of Old English literature is that of praising or honoring heroes of any kind, especially ones that prevail in battle. Some of these include the Cross from, “Dream of the Rood,” Beowulf from Beowulf, the lost hero in “The Wanderer,” Judith from “Judith,” and the biggest hero who is included in almost all poems and pieces of Old English literature, Christ. Many of these works express much religious faith having to do with Christianity. The Anglo-Saxon people also had a very strict class system. Going along with the faith they believed in the Great Chain of Being, which said that when God made the entire world each creature was put in their position. God made a monarchy and put the members of that high status position there for a reason and did the same for a person who was a slave, God made them that and put them in that position in society. The people on the top of the chain are supposed to help the others...
Words: 1442 - Pages: 6
...The rise of the Victorian novel in nineteenth century England is often associated with social changes and reform. The narrowing gap between the aristocratic and middle classes and the deplorable conditions of the working class provided ample material for Victorian novelists to develop plots exploring social concerns and often providing useful commentary. Following the French Revolution, England showed a remarkable social plasticity predicated by the Magna Carta and the Bloodless Revolution. While France’s working class built up a storm of vengeful justice toward the aristocracy unleashed on Bastille Day, England’s aristocracy incrementally relinquished political power to the people, thereby avoiding much of the calamity seen during the 1780s...
Words: 1213 - Pages: 5
...CONTENTS INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………3 CHAPTER 1. LINGUISTIC SITUATION IN OLD ENGLISH AND MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD……………………………………………………………..5 1.1 THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUTHARK……………………………………5 1.1.1 THE RUNIC ALPHABET AS AN OLD GERMANIC WRITING TRADITION……………………………………………………………………6 1.1.2 OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE IN THE PERIOD OF ANGLO-SAXON ETHNIC EXTENSION…………………………………………………………7 1.2 LINGUISTIC SITUATION IN THE MIDDLE ENGLISH………………..11 1.2.1 LINGUISTIC SITUATION IN MEDIEVAL ENGLAND AFTER THE NORMAN CONQUEST……………………………………………….……….11 1.2.2 DIALECTAL DIVERSITY IN THE MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD.…...13 1.3 THE MIDDLE ENGLISH CORPUS……………………………………….15 1.3.1 GEOFFREY CHAUCER AND HIS LENDING SUPPORT OF THE LONDON STANDARD’S DIFFUSION……………………………………….17 1.3.2 THE ROLE OF THE PRINTING IN THE FORMATION OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE………………………………………………….…….19 1.3.3 PRINCIPAL MIDDLE ENGLISH WRITTEN RECORDS AS A REFLECTION OF ONGOING CHANGES IN STANDARDIZATION………25 CONCLUSION…………………………………………………….…………....28 REFERENCES………………………………………………………………….30 APPENDIX 1……………………………………………………………………33 INTODUCTION linguistic history english language The English language has had a remarkable history. When we first catch it in historical records, it is a language of none-too-civilized tribes on the continent of Europe along the North Sea. From those murky and undistinguished beginnings, English has become the most widespread language in the world, used by more peoples for more purposes than any language on...
Words: 9916 - Pages: 40
...Feudalism Feudalism was the medieval model of government predating the birth of the modern nation-state. Feudal society is a military hierarchy in which a ruler or lord offers mounted fighters a fief(medieval beneficium), a unit of land to control in exchange for a military service. The individual who accepted this land became a vassal, and the man who granted the land become known as his liege or his lord. The deal was often sealed by swearing oaths on the Bible or on the relics of saints. Often this military service amounted to forty days' service each year in times of peace or indefinite service in times of war, but the actual terms of service and duties varied considerably on a case-by-case basis. Factors such as the quality of land, the skill of the fighter, local custom, and the financial status of the liege lord always played a part. For instance, in the late medieval period, this military service was often abandoned in preference for cash payment, or agreement to provide a certain number of men-at-arms or mounted knights for the lord's use.In the late medieval period, the fiefdom often became hereditary, and the son of a knight or lesser nobleman would inherit the land and the military duties from his father upon the father's death. Feudalism had two enormous effects on medieval society.(1) First, feudalism discouraged unified government. Individual lords would divide their lands into smaller and smaller sections to give to lesser rulers and knights. These lesser noblemen...
Words: 1754 - Pages: 8
...ASPECTS OF MIDDLE ENGLISH LITERATURE (1066-1500) Middle English, Anglo-Norman, Anglo-Latin After the Conquest: dramatic changes in language and cultural temperament Old English literature: Middle English literature realistic,matter-of-fact,unromantic, growing audience, a panorama of most serious, often melancholic, diverse folk of many social classes (castle, monochrome gray, loyalty to the lord, barnyard, town); the appearance of leasure desperate courage in defeat, class and an audience of women rigorous adherence to the tribal code; new type of secular entertainment: major theme: agony of the lordless man, code continued but became chivalric social alienation, noble and heroic deeds; agony of alienation, physical hardships for audience: almost exclusively male;lords and the sovereign lady thanes - no mention of lower classes, strong courtly flavour, …So they duly arrived The sumptuous bed on which she lay in their grim war-graith and gear at the hall, Was beautiful. The drapes and tassel, and, weary from the sea, stacked wide shields Sheets and pillows worth a castle. of the toughest hardwood against the wall, The single gown she wore was sheer … And made her shapely form appear. … And the troops themselves She’d thrown, in order to keep warm, were as good as their weapons. Then a proud warrior An ermine stole over her arm, questioned the men concerning their origins: White fur with the lining dyed ...
Words: 3213 - Pages: 13
