Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales (1387-1400)
The general prologue: description of Knight
“A knight there was, and he a worthy man,
Who, from the moment that he first began
To ride about the world, loved chivalry,
Truth, honour, freedom and all courtesy.
Full worthy was he in his liege-lord's war,
And therein had he ridden (none more far)
As well in Christendom as heathenesse,
And honoured everywhere for worthiness…
… He was a truly perfect, gentle knight.
But now, to tell you all of his array,
His steeds were good, but yet he was not gay.
Of simple fustian wore he a jupon
Sadly discoloured by his habergeon;
For he had lately come from his voyage
And now was going on this pilgrimage.”
Question: As you read through the descriptions of the Pilgrims, note how the narrator describes them, how their physical appearance might reflect personality, moral character, etc. Also watch for the narrator's comments about each one - does he like them, is he impressed by them?
The narrator begins his character portraits with the Knight. In the narrator’s eyes, the Knight is the noblest of the pilgrims, embodying military prowess, loyalty, honor, generosity, and good manners. The Knight conducts himself in a polite and mild fashion, never saying an unkind word about anyone. The Knight’s son, who is about twenty years old, acts as his father’s squire, or apprentice. Though the Squire has fought in battles with great strength and agility, like his father, he is also devoted to love. A strong, beautiful, curly-haired young man dressed in clothes embroidered with dainty flowers, the Squire fights in the hope of winning favor with his “lady.” His talents are those of the courtly lover—singing, playing the flute, drawing, writing, and riding—and he loves so passionately that he gets little sleep at night. He is a dutiful son, and fulfills his responsibilities toward his father, such as carving his meat. Accompanying the Knight and Squire is the Knight’s Yeoman, or freeborn servant. The Yeoman wears green from head to toe and carries an enormous bow and beautifully feathered arrows, as well as a sword and small shield. His gear and attire suggest that he is a forester.
Next, the narrator describes the Prioress, named Madame Eglentyne. Although the Prioress is not part of the royal court, she does her best to imitate its manners. She takes great care to eat her food daintily, to reach for food on the table delicately, and to wipe her lip clean of grease before drinking from her cup. She speaks French, but with a provincial English accent. She is compassionate toward animals, weeping when she sees a mouse caught in a trap, and feeding her dogs roasted meat and milk. The narrator says that her features are pretty, even her enormous forehead. On her arm she wears a set of prayer beads, from which hangs a gold brooch that features the Latin words for “Love Conquers All.” Another nun and three priests accompany her.
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The Monk is the next pilgrim the narrator describes. Extremely handsome, he loves hunting and keeps many horses. He is an outrider at his monastery (he looks after the monastery’s business with the external world), and his horse’s bridle can be heard jingling in the wind as clear and loud as a church bell. The Monk is aware that the rule of his monastic order discourages monks from engaging in activities like hunting, but he dismisses such strictures as worthless. The narrator says that he agrees with the Monk: why should the Monk drive himself crazy with study or manual labor? The fat, bald, and well-dressed Monk resembles a prosperous lord.
The next member of the company is the Friar—a member of a religious order who lives entirely by begging. This friar is jovial, pleasure-loving, well-spoken, and socially agreeable. He hears confessions, and assigns very easy penance to people who donate money. For this reason, he is very popular with wealthy landowners throughout the country. He justifies his leniency by arguing that donating money to friars is a sign of true repentance, even if the penitent is incapable of shedding tears. He also makes himself popular with innkeepers and barmaids, who can give him food and drink. He pays no attention to beggars and lepers because they can’t help him or his fraternal order. Despite his vow of poverty, the donations he extracts allow him to dress richly and live quite merrily.
Tastefully attired in nice boots and an imported fur hat, the Merchant speaks constantly of his profits. The merchant is good at borrowing money, but clever enough to keep anyone from knowing that he is in debt. The narrator does not know his name. After the Merchant comes the Clerk, a thin and threadbare student of philosophy at Oxford, who devours books instead of food. The Man of Law, an influential lawyer, follows next. He is a wise character, capable of preparing flawless legal documents. The Man of Law is a very busy man, but he takes care to appear even busier than he actually is.
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Analysis
The Canterbury Tales is more than an estates satire because the characters are fully individualized creations rather than simple good or bad examples of some ideal type. Many of them seem aware that they inhabit a socially defined role and seem to have made a conscious effort to redefine their prescribed role on their own terms. For instance, the Squire is training to occupy the same social role as his father, the Knight, but unlike his father he defines this role in terms of the ideals of courtly love rather than crusading. The Prioress is a nun, but she aspires to the manners and behavior of a lady of the court, and, like the Squire, incorporates the motifs of courtly love into her Christian vocation. Characters such as the Monk and the Friar, who more obviously corrupt or pervert their social roles, are able to offer a justification and a rationale for their behavior, demonstrating that they have carefully considered how to go about occupying their professions.
4. Show the stages of the plot development of Romeo and Juliet according to the given G. Freytag’s pyramid scheme below:
1. Exposition: · Feuding street fight between Capulet and Montague Families · Romeo SAD Rosaline is not interested in him · Juliet told to marry Paris (an older man)
2. Rising action: · Romeo and Juliet profess their love during balcony scene · Romeo and Juliet MARRY · Romeo runs in Tybalt
3. Climax: Romeo KILLS Tybalt
4. Falling action: Romeo learns of Juliet’s death · Romeo buys illegal poison from the Apothecary
5. Resolution: Suicide of Romeo and Juliet
5. Show the stages of the plot development of Dombey and Son according to the given G. Freytag’s pyramid scheme below:
The stages of the plot development of the literary work according to the G. Freytag's Pyramid scheme:
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Exposition:
The novel tells the tale of a dysfunctional family led by a heartless businessman. The businessman hopes his son, Paul, will take over his business empire. He ignores his daughter, Florence. Paul Dombey is the owner of Dombey and Son, a shipping company. The wealthy business owner dreams of having a son to take over the family business one day. He neglects his first child, a girl, because she is not the boy for whom he had hoped. Dombey’s first wife dies shortly after giving birth to his namesake son. This leaves both his newborn son and his six-year-old daughter, Florence, motherless. Mrs. Richards, whose nickname is Toodle, serves as a wet nurse to Little Dombey.
Rising Action:
Little Paul Dombey grows into a frail child who is often sick. He loves his older sister, Florence. For his health, his father sends him to the seaside city of Brighton, which does him good. Little Dombey receives an intense education in Brighton at Dr. and Mrs. Blimber’s school. At school, he becomes friends with his schoolmate Mr. Toots. Alas, Little Dombey’s health gets worse, and he dies at the mere age of six years old.
The death of his son causes Mr. Dombey to distance himself even further from Florence. In addition, Florence’s friend, Walter Gay, is sent to work in Barbados at a counting house of her father’s firm. On Walter’s way to Barbados, his ship is reported lost at sea. With one of her few friends presumed drowned, poor Florence is even lonelier than before.
Climax:
The wealthy widower Mr. Dombey is now an attractive potential husband. He is introduced to several potential brides and marries Mrs. Edith Granger. Edith is the widowed daughter of Mrs. Skewton. Mr. Dombey marries Edith because she has the correct family connections and accomplishments. Mr. Dombey does not love Edith. The proud Edith married because her family is facing financial difficulties. The marriage is not a happy one. The only reason Edith stays is because she has become fond of Florence. After an argument, Edith leaves the marriage by running away to Dijon with Mr. Carker. She hopes to ruin her husband’s reputation.
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The furious Mr. Dombey takes out his anger on Florence. He hits Florence, who then runs away from home. She goes to stay with a friend of Walter Gay, the retired Captain Edward Cuttle at the Wooden Midshipman. While the hook-handed man nurses Florence back to health, Mr. Toots is a regular visitor. Mr. Toots has loved Florence since they spent time together in Brighton.
Falling action:
Mr. Dombey goes in search of his wife, Edith, aided by Alice Brown, a vengeful former lover of Mr. Carker. In Dijon, Mrs. Dombey flees Mr. Carker, who was solely her means of escape. Mr. Carker has now lost love and employment. As Mr. Carker returns to England from Dijon, he dies after accidentally falling under a train.
Florence is delighted when her friend Walter Gay turns up alive at the Midshipman. He survived the shipwreck and was saved while floating at sea by a passing ship. Florence and Walter Gay marry. Walter’s uncle Solomon Gills, who had gone in search of Walter, also returns to England.
Walter writes a letter to Mr. Dombey alerting him of his marriage to Florence. He also makes a request to let bygones be bygones. Walter leaves the letter with Solomon Gills.
Dombey and Son goes bankrupt due to the criminal activities of Mr. Carker, a manager at the firm. Mr. Dombey sells everything in his home and dismisses all his servants. He lives in two rooms of the home by himself with a new housekeeper, Mrs. Richards. Now alone, Mr. Dombey is overcome with regret and love for his daughter. He misses Florence and thinks of her often.
Resolution:
Florence has a baby boy named Paul. She reunites with her father and introduces him to his grandson. Florence takes her father to live with her at Walter’s house. As Mr. Dombey’s health gets worse, his daughter cares for him.
Florence and Walter have two children. Walter Gay is a successful businessman. After years of neglecting his family, Mr. Dombey now understands that family is what matters. The formerly emotionally depraved man has been redeemed. The elder Mr. Dombey is a now an old man and doting grandparent to grandson Paul and granddaughter Florence. He is moved to tears each time he kisses his young granddaughter.
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