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.