Blog Post # 3 Chaucer Notes/Questions

Chaucer notes from 2/27/12

Pilgrim-narrator

Shows himself as a good natured-Chaucer is in the tale himself as a character, and is closely connected to the narrator but is not the narrator. They do not share the same beliefs always. The narrator is somewhat impressionable (seems to admire the characters, says "worthy" alot when describing them, but Chaucer sees them as unworthy)

Chaucer himself values honesty, modesty, simplicity, indifference to money. He condemns cheating and fraud, but doesn't always recognize it.

Chaucer is big on satire! He satires the English church and it's hypocrisy-uses the Oxford Cleric and the Parson as good examples. He identifies the following characters and satirizes them:

-merchant-self-important hypocrits
-franklin-excessive devotion to pleasure
-doctor-greed and ignorance
-miller-dishonest business people

Fabliau is literary term Chaucer uses to demonstrate a great variety of comic tales in verse (i.e Miller's, Reeve's, Shipman's, Summoner's tales)
-describes everyday people in familiar places, and glamorizes them a bit, but we know that life, especially in the middle ages was not that easy!
-plots include gullibility in victims and sexual appetite in the trickster heroes
-Canterbury Tales demonstrates irreverence (lack of respect for things that are generally taken seriously) which is probably why the tales have endured so long!

Avarice-greed or insatiable desire for wealth

Questions for "Pardoner's Tale and Wife of Bath" due Wednesday, February 29th

Pardoner's Tale
1. How does the Pardoner describe his own character and morals in the Prologue to his tale?
2. How do the descriptions given by the tavern-knave and the publican personify Death? What does the rioters' response to the description of Death tell you about their characters?
3. Irony is a discrepancy between expectations and reality. What is the central irony in "The Pardoner's Tale"? (What do the rioters expect to find under the tree and what do they actually find?)
4. Is greed or desire the root of all evil? Discuss the Pardoner's moral.

Wife of Bath

1. Consider the various things the Wife of Bath. As the narrator of her tale, the Wife of Bath says things people think women want. What do you think of these proposals? In other words, what do women want according to her and you?

2. Do you think Chaucer's rich portrayal of the Wife of Bath is an indication that he had progressive views about women for his time?

Two kinds of society

The poem is an imaginative vision of two kinds of society, each a pitted against one another...what are these two kinds of society?

The characters in Beowulf are all functionaries playing out their roles as long as wyrd permits, not images of real people but exemplars of all human types. Knowing this, how is the society of Herot representative of "generosity, loyalty, and love"?

what's more important for warriors following comitatus, worrying about showing fear and being disloyal or dying? Why?

Beowulf begins!

After reading the first five sections of the poem, respond to these questions. Notes are allowed.

1. The opening passages of "Beowulf" reference family lineage as it is clearly central to the poem. Find two examples of how the characters reference either ancestry or identity of family within the first five sections. Why might family history play such a vital role?

2. How has Grendel already begun to emerge as the archetypal monster in "Beowulf"? What characteristics does he exude to link him to this title?

3. Look at the religious references in Beowulf--what are the names for God? What biblical events are mentioned, and who mentions them?

First Post!

I will attach links to my syllabus, as well as upcoming discussions, due dates and anything you need to know regarding our current units of study. I look forward to posting my first piece this week; everyone should be following by Friday!

Ms. Coulson