THE CANTERBURY TALES

PROLOGUE

CHARACTERIZATION—USE THE CHART BELOW TO RECORD WORDS AND PHRASES THAT CONVEY EACH CHARACTER’S PERSONALITY.

CHARACTER / CHARACTER’S APPEARANCE / WHAT CHARACTER SAYS, THINKS, DOES
KNIGHT / -  Wears a dirty tunic, marks from armor worn during wars / -  “True” & noble knight, others believe he is a great guy
-  A fighter, people from across the world respect him, often sat in the chair of honor when visiting others
-  Wise & smart, never rude à always polite
SQUIRE / -  Blond, curly hair
-  About 20 yrs old
-  Of average height
-  Wears flowers & brightly colored clothing / -  The knight’s son
-  Likes women (lover boy)
-  Very fast & very strong
-  Served in the cavalry
-  Enjoys singing and dancing, writes poetry
-  Also knowledgeable in art of war & fighting
MONK / -  Wore fancy clothes
-  Bald and fat, shiny skin, kind of greasy
-  Broad forehead
-  Prominent eyes, a little jittery
-  Had a tan from hunting / -  Enjoyed hunting & fishing, “manly man” à considered unholy (he should have stayed in the monastery)
-  Embraced modern culture
-  Head of the monastery
-  Clothes suggest he has money (but he shouldn’t)
WIFE OF BATH / -  Deaf in one ear
-  Gap teeth
-  Large hips
-  Round, ruddy face
-  Large hat, soft NEW shoes, red hose on legs / -  New shoes suggest that she has enough money to afford nice things (wealthy)
-  Married 5 times legally, to older wealthy men in order to inherit their money
-  Enjoys laughing and chatting, enjoys others company
-  Knew how to council and talk about relationships
MILLER / -  Big boned, able to wrestle a ram, very strong
-  Large wart with hair growing out of it on his nose
-  Large beard, red
-  Wears a blue and white hooded coat / -  Boastful, braggart, self-indulgent
-  Sloppy and sly à selling grain for more than what it’s worth
-  Tells “dirty” stories
-  Musician, played the bagpipes
PARDONER / -  Bulging eyeballs
-  Yellow, rat-tailed hair
-  Small voice, like a goat
-  Beardless (probably young) / -  Job was to pardon sins, but asked for money à he is greedy and manipulates others with flattery
-  Swindler, cheats people
-  Makes others look like fools with his selling of relics