NEFLT Study Materials

Transcription

1 NEFLT Study Materials Projekt Síť vzdělavatelů učitelů cizích jazyků NEFLT registrační číslo CZ.1.07/2.4.00/ je součástí IPRM Ústí nad Labem Centrum. Tento projekt je spolufinancován Evropským sociálním fondem a státním rozpočtem České republiky.

2 Geoffrey Chaucer The Canterbury Tales Source (Public domain) Ezra Winter's Canterbury Tales mural (1939),

3 Geoffrey Chaucer The first truly great English author to write in his own language rather than French or Latin Source (Public domain): Portrait of G. Chaucer from the 17th century From:

4 The Canterbury Tales as a Masterpiece Chaucer's final period. He achieved his fullest artistic power. The Canterbury Tales (written mostly after 1387). This unfinished poem, about 17,000 lines, is one of the most brilliant works in all literature. The poem introduces a group of pilgrims journeying from London to the shrine of St. Thomas à Becket at Canterbury. To help pass the time they decide to tell stories. Together, the pilgrims represent a wide cross section of 14th-century English life.

5 The General Prologue Introduces Individual Characters of the Canterbury Tales Source: A woodcut from William Caxton's second edition of The Canterbury Tales printed in 1483 at:

6 Tales, Storytelling, Power of Characterization They cover a variety of medieval genres from the humorous fabliau to the serious homily, and they vividly indicate medieval attitudes and customs in such areas as love, marriage, and religion. Chaucer's superb powers of characterization Chaucer was a master storyteller and craftsman.

7 Each of the Tales told by a very specific individual There are three layers of the meaning in each Tale. No. 1 the story itself No. 2 - the teller and the way this story is told No 3 - and finally it is Chaucer himself manipulating the relationship between the teller and the Tale to make a point about the character

8 Chaucer s Skills Narrative skills Skills at describing places and settings, Ability to create a vivid portrait with ironic details. Plot and character details, dialogues as a major technique. Perfect links between stories. Wide range of knowledge (astronomy, astrology, medicine, the law, chivalry, the art of rhetoric)

9 Chaucer s Treatment of Characters He describes them by : Their job or rank The type and colour of their clothing Their accessories (jewelry, pets, other portables) Their interests Their income The way they act Their secrets Their status in society as a whole The way they speak / their slang or accent Their follies, weaknesses, etc.

10 The Wife of Bath from the Prologue in Images Read the portrait of the Wife of Bath from the Prologue and prepare a list of Chaucer s areas of characterization. Find the lines which are humorous or ironic. The opening page of The Wife of Bath's Tale from the Ellesmere manuscript of The Canterbury Tales, circa

11 Who were the other poets of the the medieval period of literary development? Some of the authors were anonymous. They created ballads in the form of short songs that tell stories: Sir Patrick Spens The Unquiet Grave Robin Hood Ballads One anonymous work is very important a chivalric romance Sir Gawain and the Grene Knight (Sir Gawain is tested here by supernatural powers but he fails. It is a poem that does not keep the conventional approach to the theme).

12 Latin Works: Geoffrey of Monmouth Historia Regum Britanniae - a collection of historical events and legends, it includes the first tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.