Responding answers... Canterbury Tales

Analyzing Literature
1. At what time of year does this pilgrimage take place? Spring time (April to be exact). Why is this a good time of year for such a trip? Because of the spiritual/religious nature of pilgrimage, spring time is new beginnings and they are taking their journey to be absolved of sins and to be forgiven.  Also can be a reference to Easter time.

2. Which pilgrim is described first? The knight What might this suggest about the narrator's attitude toward the character? What words or phrases support your answer? The narrator thinks highly of the night... he mentioned that he would discuss the pilgrims in terms of their jobs and look.  In Chaucer's society, nobility and honor came first.  He is idealized.  "To ride abroad had followed chivalry, Truth, honour, generousness and courtesy.  he had done nobly in his sovereing's war and ridden into battle, no man more, As well in Christian and in heathen places, and ever honoured for his noble graces."  It goes on to talk of his many conquests and show examples of the above qualities.  There are other quotes you could use to support this idea... it is up to you choose from the section

3.  What sort of life did the Prioress and the Monk lead? They led very secular lives.  The Prioress was "coy" and speaks of love coming to all.  She was greedy and indulgent and interested in appearances.  The Monk was a hunter and had his own horses.  Didn't enjoy studies.What does this suggest about their values and position in life? It suggests that their values are askew.  Chaucer is very critical of the clergy and how they aren't as pious and godly as they are "supposed" to be.  This is his commentary on those folks.  We don't want our religous figures to be concerned about looks or material things and their values seem to be out of character of their positions and lots in life.

4.  What details do you learn about the Parson? He is devout and learned.  He plays role as society would expect him to.  " There was, and poor, the Parson to a town, yet he was rich in holy thought and work.  He also was a learned man, a clerk, Who truly knew Christ's gospel and wold preach it Devoutly to parishioners, and teach it."  In what ways is he different from the Monk, and what does this suggest about the narrator's attitude toward the clergy? He is different from the monk in that he takes his calling seriously and despite his poverty, still makes sure to do his calling to god.   It shows that Chaucer revered but pitied a man of the cloth who had to live in such poverty.  "And shame it is to see - let priests take stock - a shitten shepherd and a snowy flock.   The true example that a priest should give is one of cleanness, how the sheep should live."  He is poor because he is good... almost like Chaucer is suggesting that you must be corrupt to get ahead.

5.   What sort of man is the Host, and what reason does he give for suggesting the stories?  He is the owner of the Tabard Inn where all the pilgrims meet; he is the self appointed leader adn  tour guide for the pilgrims. He fed everyone well and got them drunk.  He was a "merry-hearted man." He is interested in a good time. What sorts of stories does he ask the pilgrims to tell? "You're off to Canterbury - well, God speed! Blessed St Thomas anser to your need! And I don't doubt, before the journey's done You mean to while the time in tales an fun. Indeed there's little pleasure for your bones fridingalong and all as dumb as stones.  So let me then propose for your enjoyment..." The tales should be moral and entertaining.  What does this suggest about people's knowledge? People should be aware of what good moral behavior is and should be able to speak of it which also means that people are living by choice in a corrupt and amoral way.  He will be the judge of the tales (and he after all is the owner of a bar). 

6.  Which character or characters are most lifelike, do you think, and which are most idealized? Support your answers with details and examples from "The Prologue." The most likelike characters are the ones that show faults, but don't only show corruption.  Perhaps the squire, who is a lady's man despite having to follow in his father's footsteps which he is clearly not ready to do.  "a find young Squire, a lover and cadet, a lad of fire with locks as curly as if they had been pressed... with wonderful agility and strength.  He'd seen some service with cavalry In Flanders and Artois and Picardy..." The prioress, merchant, friar, wife of baths...
The people who are idealized are probably the knight - in all of his chivalry, the parson in his poverty, and the shipman who may not be much on land but is very successful at sea. There are other quotes you could use to support this idea... it is up to you choose from the section... same with the pilgrims to choose based on Chaucer's description of the characters... you decide.

Literature and Writing
Who says?
Although the narrator of "The Prologue" uses the word "I," do you think the narrator is Chaucer, or do you think it is another character that Chaucer created? Support your answer with reasons from the text. This is for you to decide...

Norman Mailer Essay Contest

The Norman Mailer Writers Colony and the National Council of Teachers of English are pleased to invite submissions for the 2010 Norman Mailer High School Writing Awards for Creative Nonfiction.



PRIZES

A cash prize of $5,000 will be awarded to the National Winner. Four finalists will be awarded trophies. Sixteen semifinalists will be awarded certificates.



Submission Guidelines



CATEGORY

Norman Mailer produced extraordinary works in many genres, including the category of this year’s award: Creative Nonfiction. Students may submit work in any of the subgenres of creative nonfiction: memoir or autobiography, essay, literary journalism, profiles of people or places, and so on. Whatever its type, the best work will be true material presented with compelling literary merit.



ELIGIBILITY, PAGE LENGTH, and DEADLINES

Entries will be accepted online only and may include one or more pieces of writing. Winners receive travel and lodging to attend the Colony's National Award Ceremony. Entries accepted March 22 - April 29, 2010, Noon CST. The High School Competition is open to all high school students. Students may submit one or more pieces of writing, maximum 10 single-spaced pages, endorsed by a teacher and released by a parent or guardian.



Although there are page limits for these pieces, quality is far more important than quantity. No late entries will be accepted.



For complete submission guidelines and judging criteria, or to submit an entry, visit the NCTE website. If you have any questions, please contact me directly at nmw@ncte.org. I wish you the best of luck!

Essay Contest

Dear Friends and Colleagues,




I hope this email finds you well. As you already may know, the National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights (NCRCR) has launched its 2010 contest entitled, "What Does Equality Mean to You?". The contest is geared towards young people aged 14 to 18, asking them to either create a visual image or a written entry illustrating their ideas about equality. This year's contest will be judged by Grammy Award musician Alicia Keys, comedian Margaret Cho, Congressman Keith Ellison, Congressman Greg Meeks, and Ben Jealous of the NAACP. Winners will receive a trip to New York City, a $ 500 dollar cash prize, and an opportunity for national recognition. The contest ends on April 12, 2010.



We urge to distribute information about this contest widely. Attached please find the NCRCR 2010 Contest Toolkit Please feel free to institute this contest in your school, and share it with other educators. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or suggestions at nnagahawatte@nylpi.org or 917.344.0077.

Change in due dates for Canterbury Tales Projects

The new due dates are as follows:

First draft of the original prologue should be brought to class (yes printed) on Wed. 4/7 when we return

The character/history assignments will be due on 4/19 (Monday and that is when presentations will begin) We will be going in the order of the tales... so if you picked the Knight, you go first.
You will have time in class with your partners to work on this assignment (and I'm trying to get laptops) on Thursday 4/8, Tuesday-Thursday (4/13-4/15)

Second drafts of Original Prologue are due in class on Monday 4/12 (printed in class)
Final drafts of Original Prologues are due on Tuesday 4/20

For homework 3/25 - complete the entire prologue packet

Make sure you answer all response questions except the extending your response section.

Homework for Thursday, 3/25

Please finish reading the general prologue of the Canterbury Tales giving out in class... mark up the text and fill out the character sheet as discussed in class.

Make sure to bring materials to class tomorrow so you can have time to work on your assignments.

More study guide info for Canterbury Tales - tomorrow we get technical :)

 http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides3/Canterbury.html - an excellent study guide that really helps explain things for your projects...

remember to cite all of the your sources in a work cited / consulted

Canterbury Tales online text

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/ct-prolog-para.html - Interesting side by side if you are interested in seeing what the middle English Chaucer wrote in looks like

Canterbury Tales online text

http://www.librarius.com/cantales.htm - online text

http://www.librarius.com/ another copy

http://www.canterburytalesproject.org/CTPhistory.html - some background

Write an original prologue - Canterbury Tales

You have one research project and one independent creative one...

You will write an original prologue showing a journey and highlighting pilgrims.

You must attempt to follow meter and format.

You will be graded based on your ability to flush out the characterization of the pilgrims, the completion of the journey and your ability to follow the structure.

More specifics on this will be given out in class.  A model will be given as well.

Canterbury Tales Assignment

PROJECT ASSIGNMENT - The Canterbury Tales


PROMPT

The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories told by a group of travellers on their way to Canterbury. Each traveller was supposed to tell two tales on the way to Canterbury and two tales on the return trip. However, Chaucer died before he was able to compete all of the tales, so what you will be reading during the next several weeks is the collection of tales he was able to complete. Each of the storytellers was in competition with the others; the prize for the best story was a free dinner at the Tabbard Inn at the end of the trip. Anyone who wouldn't cooperate with the Host, who acts as the judge and referee on the trip, would have to pay the way of all of the other travelers. So, you see, these tales were told orally for amusement to pass the time on the trip, and each traveler was trying to outdo the others by telling the best story. Chaucer used this framework in which to expose a cross-section of his society and to express many opinions about not only topics of his era but also about life and people in general.

Chaucer wrote these tales in the late 1300's--quite a long time ago! Life in England in the late
1300's was quite different from our lives today, so not only do we need to read the tales, we need to
have some background to better understand the tales. These are the main purposes of this assignment:
to read the tales and to have ample background information to make the tales meaningful.

THE ASSIGNMENT

You will be assigned to one of three different assignments. You will either be a) a character and have to read your tale to the class, b) a background person and have to prepare the appropriate background for your partner's (a character's) tale, or you will be c) a background person who prepares either a historical background for the play or background information about Chaucer's life.

The Character Assignment

If you are assigned to be a character, you must find out everything you can about your
character so you can become that character in looks and actions while making your presentation of
your tale to the class. Your requirements are:
1. Dress and act as the character while giving your presentation.
2. Act as your character while listening to others present their tales.
3. Read your tale to the class.
4. Help your partner identify names of gods or people or places mentioned in your tale, and together with your partner create a reference sheet of these names and their identifications.
5. As you are reading the tale, pause when you come to the names on your list and give your background partner a moment to briefly identify the name before you continue.

The Character Background Assignment

If you are assigned to do the background for a character and the character's tale, these are your requirements:

1. Dress and act appropriately during the presentation. If you are related to the Knight's Tale, for example, you could dress as a squire. If you are related to the Prioress's Tale, you could dress as a nun or monk, and so on.

2. Research and find out who your character was in the 1300's. You won't have a specific name to look up, but you should find information about what the life of your character was like, what his/her job was, what social status he/she held, the kind of place he/she probably lived in, and so on.

3. Give a short presentation (less than 5 minutes) about your character as an introduction to him/her before the tale begins.

4. Help your partner identify names of gods or people or places mentioned in your tale, and together with your partner create a reference sheet of these names and their identities.

5. Your partner will pause when he/she comes upon the names on your reference sheet in the text. When he/she pauses, quickly give a short (1-2 sentence) identification of the name.



The General Background Assignment

If you are assigned to give the general background of the era, your requirements are:
1. Dress appropriately, in the costume of the era, for your presentation.
2. Make a brief timeline history of what had happened in the world prior to and then shortly after this time to put the tales in proper historical perspective.
3. Give an explanation of church and state and their influences on the people.
4. Give a brief explanation of daily life in the 1300's.
5. Give a brief summary of the influences of the elements and gods on people in the1300s.
6. Do numbers 2-5 in a presentation to the class that will last about 1/2 of a class period.

If you are assigned to give the general background for Chaucer's life, your requirement are:

1. One member of the group should dress as Chaucer would have dressed, and give a presentation as if he/she is Chaucer talking about his life.

2. Many of the finer details of Chaucer's life are unknown because, let's face it, he lived about 700 years ago! Still, find as much information as you can about his heritage, his personal life, the positions he held, his writing, and the main events in his life.

4. A second person from the group should discuss what other people (critics?!) have said about Chaucer and his writing, especially The Canterbury Tales.

5. Your oral presentation to the class should last a total of about 1/2 of a class period.

The members of these groups should divide the work equitably among themselves. Assign one topic to
each group member for research, do the research and then get back together to pool your information.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE WHOLE CLASS
1. You will be given a grade for your contributions to the presentations.
2. You will be given a grade for your attentiveness to the other tale-tellers' presentations.
3. You are responsible for understanding the chosen vocabulary words.

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday - 3/17-3/19

Here are the expectations for the next few days in my absence:

Wednesday 3/17
please bring your lit circle book, independent reading book or your loss of sense writing - you may work on any of those assignmnents - you may also work on reflections for portfolio conferences

advisory - you will be working on eportfolio

Thursday 3/18
There will be a full class period writing assignment to be done in your notebooks... the sub will be checking and I will be looking for it during the next notebook check

parent/teacher prtfolio coferences - I will be attending

Friday 3/19
you will have lit circle time... come to class with your notebooks and lit circle book... you will NOT be permitted to go to your lockers

period 8 - there is no class today.

Have a great weekend

eportfolio time again

Please make sure you are visiting your eportfolio and uploading your work regularly and always reflecting...

You probably won't have class time, so please make sure to be doing it on your own time.

Thanks