Geoffrey Chaucer

a cura di R. Beolè
 
 A group of pilgrims are on their way to Canterbury to visit Thomas Becket's shrine. They decide that each of them will tell a story of their own. A cross-section of the 14thcentury society, realistically highlighted in the General Prologue, and in tales such as The Knight's Tale, The Miller's Tale, The Wife of Bath's Tale, The Merchant's Tale and The Pardoner's Tale.
 A historical and linguistic presentation introduces the book; stimulating closer examinations enrich each tale.
 
 Teacher's Resources available online: Answer Key - Audioscripts - Summing-up Activities
 
 Sulla strada verso Canterbury, in visita al santuario di Thomas Becket, un gruppo di pellegrini decide di raccontare ognuno una propria storia. Uno spaccato della società inglese del XIV secolo, evidenziato realisticamente nel General Prologue e da racconti quali The Knight’s Tale, The Miller’s Tale, The Wife of Bath’s Tale, The Merchant’s Tale e The Pardoner’s Tale. Arricchiscono il reader l’introduzione al periodo e all’opera, e approfondimenti sulle tematiche presenti nei vari racconti.

Introduction to The Canterbury Tales

General Prologue

Extension: Medieval pilgrimages

Tale 1 – The Knight’s Tale

Extension: The Knight

Tale 2 – The Miller’s Tale

Extension: The fabliau

Tale 3 – The Wife of Bath (Prologue and Tale)

Extension: The loathly lady

Tale 4 – The Merchant’s Tale

Extension: Trade in the Middle Ages

Tale 5 – The Pardoner’s Tale

Extension: Stage and film adaptations

Summing-up activities

Glossary

General Prologue BEFORE READING 1 Answer the following questions. a. What is a pilgrimage? b. Why do people go on pilgrimages? c. Can you mention some popular destinations of contemporary pilgrimages? 2 Match the following words from the text with the appropriate picture. armour   inn   meadow   trap   veins   wart 3 ................... ................... ................... ................... ................... ................... Complete the illustration with the names below. a. arrows, b. belt, c. bow, d. hood, e. horn, f. shield, g. spear, h. sword 

1 The Canterbury General PrologueTales When in April the sweet showers fall, feeding1 all the veins of nature and generating flowers, when Zephyrus2 gently blows and the sun has completed half of its course, and when the birds sing early in the morning, then people want to go on pilgrimages. They come from every part of England to Canterbury, to visit the tomb of Thomas Becket, the holy martyr who helped the sick. In that season, I was in Southwark at the Tabard, ready to go on my pilgrimage, when at night about twenty-nine people in a company came into the inn. They were all pilgrims who wanted to ride towards Canterbury. The rooms in the inn were wide and comfortable and, before the sun had risen, I was soon one of the group, looking forward to starting my trip to Canterbury. Anyway, before continuing my story, I would like to tell you about their condition, their occupation and the way each of them was riding to Canterbury. I will begin with a Knight, a very noble man who had followed the rules of chivalry3, truth, honour, generosity and courtesy. He had nobly served his king in the wars, fighting in many parts of the world. He was wise, respected and admired, but modest. He had fine horses but was dressed in a very simple way, wearing a dark tunic with marks left by his armour, because he had joined us just after coming home from service. He had his son with him, a young Squire. He was about twenty years old, good-looking with long curly hair4, not very tall but agile and strong. He had done some service in the cavalry5 and had been so brave that he won the love of his lady. His clothes were 1. feeding: giving food to. 2. Zephyrus: a gentle western wind. 3. chivalry: system of beliefs and behaviour that Knights were expected to follow in the Middle Ages. 4. curly hair: 5. cavalry: the group of soldiers in an army who fought on horses. 6. embroidered: decorated with coloured threads. 13 

Esplora i racconti dei pellegrini verso Canterbury e la società inglese del XIV secolo, arricchiti da approfondimenti storici e tematici.

The Canterbury Tales Collana RAINBOWS

Level B1 • Pre-Intermediate - Collana RAINBOWS

The Canterbury Tales

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