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

E X T Before Testatina E N S I O N THE FABLIAU The fabliau is defined as a short narrative in verse with often comic or satiric content. In France, it flourished1 in the 12th and 13th centuries; in England, it was popular in the 14th century. The fabliau is often compared to the later short story. The fabliau seems to have no direct literary predecessor in the West. It was brought from the East by returning crusaders in the 12th century. The closest literary genre is the fable as found in Aesop and Le Roman de Renard (12th c.) its eastern origins or parallels, but it is less moral and less didactic than the fable. In its lack of explicit moralism, it is much closer to the novel than to the parable. The genre has been quite influential: passages in longer medieval poems such as Le Roman de Renard, as well as tales found in collections like Giovanni Boccaccio s Decamerone and Geoffrey Chaucer s Canterbury Tales have their origin in one or several fabliaux. When the fabliau gradually disappeared, at the beginning of the 16th century, it was replaced by the prose short story, which was, however, greatly influenced by its predecessor. Famous French writers, such as Molière, Jean de La Fontaine and Voltaire owe2 much to the tradition of the fabliau. A fabliau depicts3 middle class characters in satirical or openly comic plots, usually concerning sex and/or money. There are considerably more fabliaux in French than in English, and Chaucer s are by far the most sophisticated because they often combine elements of several fabliaux into one tightly4 structured plot. Critics are divided on the issue5 of whether the fabliaux were intended for noble audiences, because the tales made the middle class look so bad, or were intended for the middle class, who liked laughing at themselves. Actually, they could work for a mixed audience which might include nobles, as well as broadminded6 and self-confident men and women of the city. 1. 2. 3. 4. flourished: developed. owe: are indebted. depicts: represents. tightly: closely. 5. issue: question. 6. broadminded: willing to respect other people s behaviour and beliefs, especially sexual behaviour. 50 

The Wife of Bath: Prologue and Tale 3 BEFORE READING 7 1 Tale The story so far. Listen to the recording and fill in the blanks. The Miller concluded his tale and everybody (1)................................. at what happened to John, (2)................................. and the gallant Nicholas. Only the Reeve was not (3)..................................... with it, and soon started telling his tale, which was about a (4)................................. Miller. The Cook appreciated his tale and asked the Host (5)................................. to tell his own tale. The Man of Law then came, narrating his long tale about a (6).................. ........................... . The Host was really satisfied by this and encouraged the (7)......................................... to tell the next one, but the Parson reproached him for swearing, and they started (8)................................. about unimportant things. Then the Wife of Bath (9)................................. her tale  2 Do you remember what you read about the Wife of Bath in the Prologue? Write down a few lines describing her physical appearance and personality. .......................................................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................................................... 3 You will find these words in The Wife of Bath s Prologue. Match the words in the first column to their definitions in the second one. a. b. c. d. e. f. submissive affair guilty grief wicked smacked 1. Secret relationship 2. Very bad 3. Great sadness 4. Obedient 5. Responsible for something bad 6. Hit with the inside of the hand Illustration by J. Laurence, The Folio Society (1998) 51 

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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