Bartow High School/Summerlin Academy

Summer Reading Assignment: English IV Honors–2017-2018

Assignment due date: August 28th/29th

Weight: 25% of 1st quarter grade

Introduction

The Canterbury Tales is one of the best-loved works in the history of English literature. Writtenin Middle English, the story follows a group of pilgrims who are travelling the long journey from

London to Canterbury Cathedral. Setting off from a London inn, the innkeeper suggests thatduring the journey each pilgrim should tell two tales to help pass the time. The best storyteller,he says, will be rewarded with a free supper on his return.

Chaucer introduces us to a vivid cast of characters, including a carpenter, a cook, a knight, amonk, a prioress, a haberdasher, a dyer, a clerk, a merchant and a very bawdy miller. Thesecharacters come from all corners of 14th century society, and give Chaucer the chance to speakin many different voices. Some of the characters' tales are humorous, rude and naughty, whileothers are moral and reflective.

The pilgrims' stories are in various genres, including chivalric romance, Arthurian romance,satire, beast fable, fabliau, and exemplum (an exhortation on morals and religion.) TheCanterbury Tales opens with a general prologue introducing the storytellers after they havegathered at the inn. In prologues between the tales, the travelers comment on a tale justcompleted or introduce a story about to be told. Sometimes they also make general observations.

The Canterbury Tales has one overall narrator, Chaucer himself in the persona of the firstpilgrim, who presents his account in first person point of view. Chaucer then allows the pilgrimsto narrate their tales. They tell them in third person point of view. Between their stories, Chaucerresumes his narration, reporting the discourse of the pilgrims and the words of the innkeeper,Harry Bailey, when he introduces the next storyteller. Thus, The Canterbury Tales consists ofstories within a story.

Scholars label as frame tales literary works that present a story (or stories) within another story.The inner story is like a painting on a canvas;the outer story is like the frame of the painting. InThe Canterbury Tales, the inner stories told by the pilgrims form the images on the canvas;theouter story told by Chaucer forms the frame. The frame tale was not unique to Chaucer. Amongother literary works with this format were The Thousand and One Nights, a collection of tales(authors and dates of composition not established) from India, Persia, Arabia, and Egypt,including the famous stories about Aladdin, Ali Baba, and Sinbad the Sailor

One of the reasons Chaucer is so important is that he made the decision to write in English andnot French. In the centuries following the Norman invasion, French was the language spoken bythose in power. The Canterbury Tales was one of the first major works in literature written inEnglish. Chaucer began the tales in 1387 and continued until his death in 1400. No text in hisown hand still exists, but a surprising number of copies survive from the 1500s.This suggests the tales were enormously popular in medieval England.

1Coghill, Nevill, Introduction to The Canterbury Tales

The Assignment

While you are strongly encouraged to purchase a copy ofNevillCoghill’sThe Canterbury Tales at your local bookstore, all of the required reading documents will be on the school’s website for you to download and print. You MUST have a printed copy of each of the reading assignments to turn in with your annotations, whether it is the actual book or copies. The assignment requirements are as follows:

1. Print and Read“How to Mark a Book” by Mortimer Adler. This article willexplain to you the ‘how’s’ and ‘why’s’ of annotation. Use this as your guide for annotating your reading.

2. Print and Read the Annotations Rubric. This is how your annotations will be graded throughoutthe year.

3. Print, Read and Annotate “The Prologue”

In all literature there is nothing that touches or resembles the Prologue. It is the conciseportrait of an entire nation, high and low, old and young, male and female, lay andclerical, learned and ignorant, rogue and righteous, land and sea, town and country, butwithout extremes. Apart from the stunning clarity, touched with nuance, of thecharacters presented, the most noticeable thing about them is their normality. They arethe perennial progeny of men and women. Sharply individual, together they make aparty.1

4. Print and Complete the Character Analysis Chart.

Using your annotations, complete the chart for the Pardoner, the Wife of Bath, and the Merchant. Select three additional characters, one feudal, one religious, and one middle class and fill in the chart for those characters, as well.

5. Print, Read and Annotate “The Pardoner’s Prologue” and “The Pardoner’s Tale”

“The Pardoner's Tale" is an example of an exemplum (plural, exempla), a short narrativein verse or prose that teaches a moral lesson or reinforces a doctrine or religious belief.

6. Print, Read and Annotate “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue” and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”

"The Wife of Bath's Tale" is an example of an Arthurian romance, a type of work inwhich a knight in the age of the legendary King Arthur goes on a quest and learns a valuable lesson.

7. Write an Essay on ONE of the following topics.

Please type the essay in 12 point, Times New Roman font and double-space it. The length requirement is 500-600 words. It must contain properly cited textual evidence to support your thesis. This will be printed out and turned in with your annotated book or print outs and your character analysis chart.

  1. “The Prologue” to The Canterbury Tales is a snapshot of society in Chaucer’s day. Based upon the pilgrims who are presented, describe the rising middle class of 14th Century England, In the essay, include the variety of occupations, the degree of wealth, the level of education and the beginnings of political power represented among the pilgrims.
  2. Compare and contrast the lessons presented in The Wife of Bath’s Tale and The Pardoner’s Tale. Address the central theme of the tale, along with the use of irony, humor, and/or symbolism.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to meeting you next year. Have a great summer and happy reading.

Maj.(Hon) McDonaldMrs. Burkey