Woden s Day, September 9: Geoffrey Chaucer

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Woden s Day, September 9: Geoffrey Chaucer EQs: What is medieval literature, and why is Chaucer the father of English? Welcome! Gather OLD WORK, pen/cil, paper, wits!

1 Woden s Day, September 9: Geoffrey Chaucer EQs: What is medieval literature, and why is Chaucer the father of English? Welcome! Gather OLD WORK, pen/cil, paper, wits! Overview: Notebook, Reading Journal, Canterbury Tales Work Your Work! ELACC12RL-RI2: Analyze two or more themes or central ideas of text ELACC12RI3: Analyze and explain how individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop ELACC12RL5: Analyze an author s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text ELACC12RL-RI9: Analyze for theme, purpose rhetoric, and how texts treat similar themes or topics ELACC12RL10: Read and comprehend complex literature independently and proficiently.

2 Vulgarity is about sociology. The word vulgar means common, in the sense of low. Saxon words meanings do not offend, but using Saxon at all seemed/seems low. Profanity is about ontology. Using the Lord s name in vain is offensive not because God is His name, but because calling on His Might when someone cuts in front of you at Taco Bell trivializes The Divine.

3 Periods of English Language, Literature Old English (OE):???? 1066 o Sometimes called Anglo-Saxon Example: Beowulf Medieval ( Middle ) English (ME): s o Development from Hastings to Spenser, etc. Example: Geoffrey Chaucer Modern English: 1500s today o Doesn t mean just like now! Examples: Shakespeare up to now Geoffrey Chaucer ( ) is from what is called the medieval era. He writes in what is called Middle English.

4 Now, about that. Middle English started in 1066, when William of Normandy defeated Harold of Wessex at the Battle of Hastings to become King of England. This set up that untenable situation we discussed: as of Christmas Day, 1066, Brits spoke three different languages: o The Nobility (William s buddies) spoke French, and held all positions of political and economic power. Not surprisingly, they enjoyed romantic stories of questing knights, fierce dragons, and fair damsels to be rescued (or seduced). o Commoners (Harold s surviving buddies) spoke Saxon, and had little power or wealth. Not surprisingly, they enjoyed dirty stories about clever peasants outsmarting rich folk and churchmen to steal their money, women and pride. o The Church and scholars continued to use Latin for religious, scientific, and philosophical writing. Not surprisingly, their stories were mostly sermons, meditations on the Gospel truths and saints lives. The classes stayed largely separate in language, customs and storytelling traditions except in a few power centers, like London, where some hybriding began to happen. In 1343, Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London.

5 Geoffrey Chaucer ( ) wrote tons of stuff, both sacred and profane. His most famous work, The Canterbury Tales, concerns thirty very different people sacred & profane, rich & poor, lovely & ugly, wise & ignorant, young & old, male & female all travelling together on a pilgrimage (journey of religious devotion) from London to Canterbury a long trip, so they tell tales to each other to pass the time. By combining the different stories, accents, vocabularies, and beliefs of all classes of Brits nobility, church, and commoners Chaucer more or less created a new language for English poetry. He is therefore called The Father of English Poetry. Let s discover how that looked and sounded.

6 Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales: Middle English Full text in Middle English, with translation: Whan that aprill with his shoures soote The droghte of march hath perced to the roote, And bathed every veyne in swich licour Of which vertu engendred is the flour; 5 Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth Zephirus: Greek God of the warm West Wind Inspired hath in every holt and heath The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne yonge sonne yronne: the springtime sun Hath in the ram his halve cours yronne, is halfway through Aries, so it s early April And smale foweles maken melodye, 10 That slepen al the nyght with open ye (so priketh hem nature in hir corages); Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages, And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes, To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes; 15 And specially from every shires ende shire: a district, like a county, in England Of engelond to caunterbury they wende, caunterbury: holiest site in England; big cathedral The hooly blisful martir for to seke, hooly blisful martir: Thomas Beckett, martyred for That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke. insisting king has no power over church seeke: physically ill Bifil that in that seson on a day, 20 In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay Southwerk: south London; Tabard: famous inn Redy to wenden on my pilgrymage To Caunterbury with ful devout corage, At nyght was come into that hostelrye Wel nyne and twenty in a compaignye, 25 Of sondry folk, by aventure yfalle sondry: various, very diverse In felaweshipe, and pilgrimes were they alle, That toward Caunterbury wolden ryde. The chambres and the stables weren wyde, And wel we weren esed atte beste. 30 And shortly, whan the sonne was to reste, So hadde I spoken with hem everichon That I was of hir felaweshipe anon, And made forward erly for to ryse, To take oure wey ther as I yow devyse. 35 But nathelees, whil I have tyme and space, Er that I ferther in this tale pace, Me thynketh it acordaunt to resoun To telle yow al the condicioun Of ech of hem, so as it semed me, 40 And whiche they weren, and of what degree, And eek in what array that they were inne; And at a knyght than wol I first bigynne.

7 Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales Reading Guide: General Prologue, ll In what season of the year do we find ourselves? 2. According to the narrator, what is the weather like THIS month? 3. According to the narrator, what was the weather like LAST month? 4. According to the narrator, what does this weather cause to happen? 5. What has Zephirus inspired literally, breathed life into as it blows? 6. What smale animals are described, and what are they doing? 7. What are they NOT doing and why not? 8. What are they doing INSTEAD? (YOU have to figure it out) 9. This, according to the narrator, is when folk to on pilgrimages. 10. How much of what he has described has to do with Christian spiritual longing? 11. So would you say their reasons for going now spiritual or physical? 12. Especially, says the narrator, pilgrims from England like to go to what city? 13. Whom do they visit there? 14. What help do they want spiritual or physical? 15. How many people does the narrator meet at the Tabard? 16. These people were by yfalle / In. 17. Translate that, roughly: 18. What does the narrator do with each one? 19. The narrator promises that he will tell us the Of ech of hem, so as it, And whiche they weren, and of what, And eek in what that they were inne. 20. Translate that, roughly: 21. He says he will begin his description with which pilgrim?

8 TURN IN TODAY Reading Guide: Chaucer in Middle English (Canterbury Tales ll. 1-42) Reading Journal Entry quoting and reflecting (100 words) passage from Canterbury Tales (Middle English)

Geoffrey Chaucer 1300 s in England; most likely born in 1340 s (uncertain) Worked for royalty, therefore had exposure to many personalities

Geoffrey Chaucer 1300 s in England; most likely born in 1340 s (uncertain) Worked for royalty, therefore had exposure to many personalities The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer Lived @ 1300 s in England; most likely born in 1340 s (uncertain) Worked for royalty, therefore had exposure to many personalities and worlds