Essay Choices for Medieval Literature
Please respond to one of the following prompts.
Essays should be two-four paragraphs in length.
Rough Draft due: October 14—may be handwritten; not required to be submitted to turnitin
Final Draft due: October 21—turnitin
1. In “The Prologue” to The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer’s narrator introduces many different characters traveling to Canterbury. Choose one of these characters and write an essay explaining the nature of his or her personality and what the key details and statements reveal about this individual’s personality.
2. Consider the many characterizations of the men and women associated with the church. From these portraits, what conclusion might you draw about Chaucer’s attitude toward the church and/or religious practitioners? Write an essay in which you present your conclusion and support it with evidence from “The Prologue.”
3. Complete the comparative analysis of ballads, “The Twa Corbies” and Pushkin’s adaptation, found at the end of the Medieval Literature section of the textbook. Please respond directly to the prompt given.