Chaucer Essay

Canterbury Tales Literary Criticism Essay

The purpose of this project is twofold: to practice writing literary criticism and to practice integrating scholarly articles into your writing on literature.

Here’s an overview of the project:

1. Choose either The Miller’s Tale or the Wife of Bath’s Prologue or Tale.
2. Search JSTOR or Gale INFOTRAC to research articles on
1. your chosen school of literary criticism, or
2. criticism aimed specifically at your chosen tale or prologue.
3. Save PDFs of a number of articles that speak to your interests and are comprehendible.
4. Scan through them and settle on one or two in which you are most interested.
5. Print and annotate them to help you understand their ideas and zero in on important passages.
6. Write an original 3 page literary analysis of your chosen tale or prologue that makes use of at least one critical source.
1. Apply an idea from a school of literary criticism to your chosen tale or prologue, or
2. Use criticism about your tale or prologue to enhance your own ideas.

At the heart of this essay are your own ideas about the literature! Do not simply restate what another critic has already said. Instead, add to the ongoing conversation about Chaucer in an original way. Think of criticism as an argument in defense of your own interpretation.

Here are some ways to use critical sources to enhance your writing:

1. Apply their philosophical ideas to your chosen text
2. Extend their ideas about the text
3. Argue against them
4. See their ideas in the light of new evidence
5. Use their ideas to support your own original analysis
6. Bring two or more different critical sources together with meaningful, original synthesis

Some suggestions for integrating critical sources:

1. Begin and end paragraphs and sections with your own ideas, not the critics’.
2. Do not quote more than four lines of text from your sources at a time. This is usually a clear indication that you are making too much of someone else’s thoughts.
3. Don’t treat your sources as if they are the authorities. (The Wife of Bath would hate that!) You are the authority! They are tools!

Integrating quotations:

The general format looks like this: As Dostoyevsky states, “Life is hell” (Dostoyevsky 45).

1. Introduce the writer.
2. Comma before the passage or paraphrase.
3. Capital letter if the passage is a complete sentence.
4. Quotation marks directly after the passage.
5. Parenthetical citation with author’s name and page number.
6. Period outside the parenthetical citation.

Some other guidelines for writing literary analysis:

1. Use the introduction to provide a brief overview of the text in terms of the critical school you are using or with a focus on the ideas that for which you will be arguing.
2. Include a thesis statement that offers a specific and original interpretation of the text.
3. Begin paragraphs with the relatively abstract ideas that they will be about.
4. Do not include too many examples or too many quotations at the expense of analysis.
1. Think MEAL -- Main idea, Examples, Analysis, Link -- where Analysis takes up the majority of the paragraph.
2. Movement between E and A is totally fine and suitable for in-depth criticism.
5. Make sure that the main ideas of each paragraph build on one another. If each paragraph a MEAL, then I want to be able to get the gist of your argument by reading the beginnings and ends of each paragraph -- MMMMM.
6. Conclude with an interesting discussion of the ideas you’ve addressed. Use your conclusion not to simply summarize but also to elaborate on the significance of your ideas.

Questions for the Nun's Priest's Tale

1. The tale presents a great opportunity to see the life of the peasantry, mostly obscured in the
Tales. The “povre wydwe” runs a marginal homestead farm that barely supports her and her
maid-servant, Malkyn. What other aspects of this household tell you things about the
economic realities of late 14th C. English peasant life? Why might the Nun's Priest pay such
close attention to this setting before moving into the beast fable?

2. With what kind of language does the narrator describe Chanticleer and Pertelote (p. 234)?
Compare it with the description of the Prioress in the General Prologue and the Nun’s Priest in
the Epilogue. Note that Chanticleer is the only rooster among hens and the priest is the only
male in a community of women (the three priests in the GP have been reduced to one). To
what extent does the tale offer an ironic commentary on (or wishful rethinking of) the Nun's
Priest's situation?

3. Medieval philosophers thought dreams might be of several kinds. The most important
difference was between the somnium naturale which arose from natural causes and the
somnium coeleste sent from heaven to warn and instruct. Which kind of dream does Pertelote
think Chanticleer has had? Which kind does Chanticleer think he had?
Pertelote's name translates from the French as “one who confuses someone's lot or fate.” Does
she deserve this name? Conversely, Chanticleer means “one who sings clearly.” By his name
and otherwise, what is the Nun's Priest saying about this rooster’s capacity to read the world, a
much prized characteristic in the Tales and one that is of particular importance in The Miller’s
Tale and the Wife of Bath’s Prologue? (Think back to Chanticleer’s ability to tell the time
better than even the clock.)

5. Mulier est hominis confusio means “Woman is man’s ruination,” not “Woman is man’s delight
and all his bliss”! Do you think that this is an intentional misreading on Chanticleer’s part? If
so, why? If not, how might this relate to other tales in which people misread situations and
texts? Especially compare his conclusion with his argument on the second indent on 244.

6. On 243 the narrator delves into the problem of fate and freewill with the Boethian question of
God’s foreknowledge and human choice. This was a perplexing question for Chaucer and his
contemporaries. Indeed, Chaucer translated Boethius extensively. What is the effect of this
question being reduced to a tale about a fox and a rooster?

7. What do you make of the heavily allusive style of this “mock epic?” How about the narrator’s
use of history, philosophy, and epic when describing the thoughts and actions of the tale’s
animal characters. The mock epic even compares Chanticleer’s situation to that of Priam, king
of Troy, and the hens’ clucking to the lamentations of the Trojan women (p. 246-7). Does this
elevate the rooster or deflate epic and history? How might this operate as satire?

8. The fox's quick and soothing voice plays on Chanticleer’s vanity with unerring skill. What
does he praise and how does it set up the trap he is about to spring? How does this complicate
the reading of Chanticleer as the ideal reader?

Questions for the Pardoner's Tale

Before discussing, look back at the General Prologue’s treatment of the Pardoner.

1. Why do you think the Pardoner chooses to be so honest with the rest of the Pilgrims about his corruption? What is his intent here?



2. After the Prologue, he goes on to tell a remarkably moral tale. If such an immoral pilgrim can tell such a moral tale, what are the implications of this contrast on the very art of storytelling and narration in which Chaucer is so invested?



3. The Pardoner introduces his main characters in the opening lines of the Tale, but then goes into a long discussion of what are usually called “tavern sins.” Like the Wife and Chaunticleer, he is interested in “authorities.” What do you notice about his examples? How does his initial preaching on these sins deepen his hypocrisy? What techniques does he employ to make his preaching against these vices effective?



4. Note carefully the speeches of the little boy and the old man. Are they similar in any way? Many people have taken the old man as symbolic. What do you think?
   


5. Does Chaucer attempt to individualize the revelers? How does the Pardoner distinguish between them? What is poetically just about their deaths? [Note: Poetic Justice is punishment of wrongdoers in proportion to and in a manner fitting their crime—called “poetic” because this kind of justice happens more often in fiction than in real life.]
   


6. Read the end of the Tale carefully. This section presents one of the most debated problems of all Chaucer’s work. What exactly happens? Notice that the Pardoner closes off his account of what he says to the country folk and turns to the pilgrims. How does he expect them to respond? Does he really think he can sell them fake relics after all that
   has been admitted? Why is the Host so furious? What are the people laughing at when the Knight intervenes? Why do you think the Knight’s intervenes the way he does?
   


7. What are the several layers of irony in this “masterpiece of irony,” The Pardoner’s Tale? [Remember to think about ‘dramatic irony.’]
   


8. We have met gold and treasure before, in Beowulf. How is this subject handled differently
   in Beowulf and in the Pardoner's Tale? Are there any similarities?



9. What other good discussion questions can you think of for the Pardoner?

Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales: The Prologue

But none the less, while I have time and space,

Before my story takes a further pace,

It seems a reasonable thing to say

What their condition was, the full array

Of each of them as it appeared to me,

According to profession and degree’

and what apparel they were riding in;

And at a Knight I therefore will begin.

And so our narrator (Chaucer the character) methodically progresses through the ranks of his fellow pilgrims, beginning with the one who ranks highest in the social hierarchy. For Chaucer, appearance and character are interconnected.

In your small groups, study the descriptions of your assigned pilgrims and prepare to present to the class brief sketches, including such details about your characters as:

• their worldly circumstances, their social rank

• their dispositions and personalities

• their behavior and very mode of being

• their physical attributes and appearance

• their clothing, key possessions, weapons, accessories

• their social, psychological, spiritual attributes

Keep an eye out for what each pilgrim’s description could represent about him or her.

In addition to details, can you detect any irony or satire on the narrator’s or Chaucer’s part?

In other words, what about their appearance, behavior, tendencies, etc seem at odds with their profession, what they say, etc.

Create a single TRADING CARD STLYE SHEET for each pilgrim, including a really rough sketch of him or her on the front with his or her name, and the description and analysis of his or her character on the back. Have fun but dig deep and get busy!

One: Knight Squire Summoner

Two: Nun, a Prioress Merchant Pardoner

Four: Friar Franklin Reeve

Three: Monk Miller Host

Five: Doctor Wife of Bath Parson

General Prologue Pronunciation Guide

General Prologue Rap

REVISED Canterbury Tales Reading Schedule

Wednesday (3/28): The General Prologue (19-42) and "The Middle English Period" Handout

Thursday (3/29): The Miller's Tale (102-122)

Friday (3/30): "Life and Times of Chaucer" Handout

Monday (4/2): The Nun's Priest's Tale, including "Words of the Knight and the Host" and "Words of the Host to the Nun's Priest" (231-249) (It's ok if you don't get all of the allusions.)

Tuesday (4/3): The Pardoner's Prologue and Tale, including "Words of the Host to the Physician and to the Pardoner" (257-276)

Wednesday (4/4): The Wife of Bath's Prologue, including "Words between the Summoner and the Friar (276-298)

Thursday (4/5): The Wife of Bath's Tale and Remaining Literary Criticism Handouts

Tuesday's Homework

Finish your Beowulf essay.

Google "MLA OWL Purdue" for help with formatting and with citations.

Monday's Homework

Prepare for tomorrow's in-class essay. You may find quotations, prepare an outline, bring notes, and have your text in front of you.

Beowulf In-Class Essay

Topics for In-Class Beowulf Essay

Below, you will find several topics / questions. You have two options:

1. Choose one topic and write a full-on essay (approximately two pages) with a good introduction, body and conclusion.
2. Choose two topics and write two one-page essays, going into some depth on each
question.

You may use your text and your class notes.

Use each essay to explore aspects or the progression of one main idea or thesis.

Create robust paragraphs, whatever your topic choice(s). A good paragraph asserts an
idea, explores the idea through your commentary and examples / quotations from the text,
analyzes the evidence used, and ends with a conclusive statement. Throughout each
paragraph, use strong words; varied sentence structure; articulate, well-crafted sentences;
and correct conventions.

Topics:

1. Examine the role of women in the poem. How do females exert power and authority
in the poem? Do they? If so, how?
2. Examine the nature of religion in the poem—the syncretism of pagan and Christian
elements, creating a certain tension in the poem. The poet conflates (fuses together)
his own Christianity with the pagan beliefs of his forbears—with what results for the
modern reader?
3. Discuss the role of wyrd and doom in the poem. In a much more ancient—2, 000
years old at least!—long narrative poem, Epic of Gilgamesh, the hero is thrown into
an existential tailspin by the death of his best friend, Enkidu. In ways that we can
absolutely relate to now, Gilgamesh agonizes over the meaning or meaningless of
human existence. In contrast, how and why does the much more recent concept of
“wyrd” seem alien to us? Or does it?
4. Look at and compare the three “monsters,” and discuss what they represent to the
characters, the poem, and perhaps even the contemporary reader. Refer to your
questions (handout) for more good ideas on this topic.
5. Explore aspects of the warrior culture, such as comitatus—“the brotherhood of men
who owed allegiance to a chieftain and expected his benevolence in return” (Robert
Hughes)—honor, glory, war, tribal allegiance, revenge, and violence.
6. Explore the idea of the hero, focusing on Beowulf as the heroic ideal: brave,
generous, loyal? Self-aggrandizing, attention-seeking, fool-hardy?
7. Does this poem have a moral? A message? What can modern readers take away from
the poem to ponder?
8. Discuss the imagery and mood of the poem—what impression(s) of the imagined
world of the poem does the poet conjure through sense images and how?
9. Discuss with the poem’s language and poetic features as rendered by Heaney in his
translation.
10. If you have thought of your own topic, just clear it with me first.

Friday's In-Class Work

Hey folks. I’m out today. Please work hard!

No chicken dancing Tess and Eleanor.

No whining John, Jacob, and Ryan.

Go team!

1. Discuss the following in groups of 2-4, and take one set of group notes with all names:

1. Reread from page 119, line 1724 to page 123, line 1784. What do you make of Hrothgar’s lecture to Beowulf? Does this seem in line with the Anglo-Saxon values we’ve so far noticed or does this feel like the Beowulf Poet’s Christian values superimposed on the tale?
2. Our world is practically obsessed with interior selves: from psychoanalysis and talk-therapy to iPods and blogs; from loneliness and “feelings” to guilt complexes and anxieties. Some consider our times as operating under the “cult of the individual.” How does Beowulf conceptualize the individual? Does there even seem to be such a thing as an interior self in the poem? If so, how does it look compared to today’s notion of the self

1. “The Wanderer” and “The Seafarer” are beautiful examples of Anglo-Saxon verse. They were both discovered in a 10th century manuscript called The Exeter Book. Here’s an example of a riddle from The Exeter Book:

• I am a wondrous creature for women in expectation, a service for neighbors. I harm none of the citizens except my slayer alone. My stem is erect, I stand up in bed, hairy somewhere down below. A very comely peasant's daughter, dares sometimes, proud maiden, that she grips at me, attacks me in my redness, plunders my head, confines me in a stronghold, feels my encounter directly, woman with braided hair. Wet be that eye.

• Answer: Onion

Read “The Wanderer” or “The Seafarer” as a group. TAKE THE READING SERIOUSLY! You may annotate as you read if you wish. Respond to the discussion questions in the back on a separate sheet of paper.

Everyone is responsible for completing these! One sheet per student.

Homework: Finish Beowulf and any remaining questions on “The Wanderer” or “The Seafarer”

Beowulf p. 57 - 113

Vocabulary (Beowulf Plus)

Wyrd – fate

Comitatus – the bond existing between a warrior and his lord

Thane – a warrior for the king who has been gifted a piece of land

Wergild – the “man-price”

Kenning – a two-word compound; a metaphorical circumlocution (an ambiguous or round-about way of saying something). [“whale-road,” “word-hoard,” “battle-sweat”]

Epithet – a phrase attached to or replacing a proper noun. Wulfgar says to
Beowulf, “I will take this message, in accordance with your wish, to our
noble king, our dear lord, friend of the Danes, the giver of rings.”

Heroic Elegiac - Tolkien's classification of Beowulf. "Heroic" because it details heroic deeds; "Elegiac" because, like an elegy, it is a mornful tribute to things past.

Pantheism - God is in everything; everything is God.

Anachronistic -- occuring outside of its time (the microwave was anachronistic in the civil war movie.)

Beowulf Initial Questions

Beowulf Initial Questions

1. Who is Shield Sheafson? What about him makes the poet proclaim “Þæt wæs gōd cyning”? Why do you think that the poem begins here, rather than with Hrothgar and Grendel?

2. What do you make of the whole poem beginning with a funeral? What tone is set in the first 50 or so lines?

3. What is Grendel’s lineage? From his perspective, why does he terrorize Heorot?

4. What seems to be significant about Heorot and mead-halls in general?

5. What do you make of Beowulf as a hero at this point?

6. Who is Unferth? Why is he so hostile toward Beowulf?

Beowulf Audio

Shhh....

http://www.mediafire.com/?g000mzb64a7n6

Beowulf Reading Schedule

TUESDAY: 3 - top of 57
WEDNESDAY: 57 - middle of 113
THURSDAY: 113 - top of 163
FRIDAY: 163 - END at 213

As you read, pay attention to kennings, or two noun circumlocutions like "whale-road."

LOOK UP WORDS YOU DON'T KNOW!

Notice the family tree in the back of the book.

Monday's Homework

Read "The Sorrows of Deirdre." Notice things that feel particularly ancient or stangely contemporary.

Hey

Hey folks. I'll do my best to keep this blog updated with nightly homework assignments and links to important sites or files. Nonetheless, this site is not an excuse to avoid contact with me if you are absent or forgot your homework. Email me at levyb@arps.org if you have any questions.

I look forward to the term!