Looks Can Be Deceiving
Has yellow, waxy hair; can sing well; carries around a jar of pig bones; has several
rolled up pieces of paper in his bag.
He knew the taverns well in every town/And every innkeeper and barmaid
too/Better than lepers, beggars and that crew,/For in so eminent a man as he/It was not
fitting with the dignity/Of his position, dealing with a scum/Of wretched lepers; nothing good can come/Of dealings with the slum-and-gutter dwellers,/But only with the rich and victual-sellers.”
The Friar
As a Crusader, in many a battle he proved quite gallant/But in his service to God and chivalry is he most valiant.
The Knight
When an author explicitly reveals or describes something about a character.
Direct Characterization
Who proposes the storytelling game?
The Host/Owner of the tavern
Face is covered in boils that can’t be cured; children are afraid of them; eats a lot of
stinky foods; speaks in Latin when drunk (which he is often)
The Summoner
“I think there never was a better priest./He sought no pomp or glory in his dealings,/No scrupulosity had spiced his feelings./Christ and His Twelve Apostles and their lore/He taught, but followed it himself before.”
The Parson
This Pilgrim’s table manners are worthy of dining with the Queen of France/But if she engages her in conversation, she doesn’t stand a chance.
The Nun
When an author reveals details about a character subtly or through reasoning.
Indirect Characterization
The number of stories each pilgrim must tell.
4. two on the way there, two on the way back.
Gap-toothed and handsome; deaf and loud; a bit overweight; makes their own clothes
The Wife of Bath
“And if he found some rascal with a maid/He would instruct him not to be afraid/In such a case of the Archdeacon’s curse/(Unless the rascal’s soul were in his purse)/For in his purse the punishment should be.”
The Summoner
He cares only about the politics of trade, looking like a man of status and rank/But there’s a secret he hides: he owes a great deal of money to the bank.
The Merchant
The art of expressing an opinion. Usually a critique, on issues or flaws in society.
Social Commentary
According to Chaucer, this is the month when people like to go on pilgrimages.
April
Curly hair; Strong and agile; served in the military; wore embroidered shirts
The Squire
“For he was Epicurus’ very son,/In whose opinion sensual delight/Was the one true felicity in sight./As noted as St. Julian was for bounty/He made his household free to all the County,/His bread, his ale were the finest of the fine/And no one had a better stock of wine.”
The Franklin
This Pilgrim means out with the old, in with the new/Never misses a chance to be with a woman or two.
The Squire
Direct or Indirect: “To ride abroad had followed chivalry,/Truth, honor, generousness, and courtesy.”
Direct (Describing The Knight’s chivalrous personality)
The name of the martyr whose shrine the pilgrims are going to visit in Canterbury.
St. Thomas Becket
Educated and knew the gospels; poor but happy; lived by example; compared to a shepherd
The Parson
“He/She was so charitably solicitous/He/She used to weep if he/she but saw a mouse/Caught in a trap, if it were dead or bleeding./And he/she had little dogs she would be feeding/With roasted flesh, or milk, or fine white bread./And bitterly he/she wept if one were dead/Or someone took a stick and made it smart”
The Nun
Been on a couple pilgrimages on horse and in carriage/Moved up in status through the business of marriage.
The Wife of Bath
Identify the Indirect Characterization:
There was a Merchant with a forking beard
And motley dress,
High on his horse he sat
Upon his head a Flemish beaver hat
3 What does it tell us?
The year The Canterbury Tales takes place (be within 50 years).
1387