U N I T 2 :T H E M I D D L E A G E S

1 0 6 6 - 1 4 8 5

E N G 1 2 A

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW…

• Unit Objectives

– Read, analyze, and interpret selections from the medieval period

– Identify and analyze elements of medieval poetry, including narrative poems and epic tales

– Identify causes and effects while analyzing the historical, social, and cultural context of the Middle Ages

– Write a literary analysis following the writing process

– Review phrases and the sentence base

• Texts

– Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

• “The Prologue”

• "The Pardoner’s Tale“

• "The Wife of Bath’s Tale“

– Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

UNIT OVERVIEW

• You will read literary works composed during the medieval era.

– Chaucer's narrative poem The Canterbury Tales, which presents various figures of medieval English society

and the tales they tell while traveling on a long journey

– Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a narrative poem based on the legends of King Arthur and his court.

• You will analyze literary elements such as:

– Character

– Narrator’s Voice and Perspective

– Tone

• You will examine the historical, social, and cultural climate of the Middle Ages by identifying causes

and effects.

• You will use the writing process to write a literary analysis about one of the pilgrims who are

voyaging to Canterbury for your Portfolio. This process involves a an outline and a final draft.

UNIT ASSIGNMENTS• Discussion (U2L4)

– DROPPED

• Portfolio (U2L7 & L12)

– Writing a literary analysis

– Outline due lesson 7

– Final draft due lesson 12

• Unit Test Study Guide

– Posted on the class website

What is an Allegory?

• The Canterbury Tales is an allegory.

• A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning.

• Usually a moral or political meaning.

Example:

A Pilgrim’s Progress is an allegory of the spiritual journey.

THE CANTERBURY TALES

THE PROLOGUE

• What is a prologue?

– An introductory part of a discourse, poem, or novel.

• In The Prologue, the speaker introduces the characters who will be going with him on a pilgrimage to Canterbury.

– Keep track of the characters by making notes about their character traits and completing the Characterization chart.

THE PARDONER’S TALE

• The Pardoner begins his tale by explaining

that he tells this story when he really

wants to make some money.

• His tale is about three greedy rioters who

go looking for vengeance against Death.

• As a result of their greed and treachery,

they all meet their own deaths.

Your literary analysis will be on this

portion of The Canterbury Tales. Please pay

close attention to this story. TAKE NOTES!

THE CANTERBURY TALES

THE WIFE OF BATH’S TALE

• Narrated by the Wife of Bath, who considers

herself very skilled at manipulating men.

• Married five times, she has grown rich from

her previous husbands' wealth.

• Despite women's inferior position in

medieval society, she has also learned how

to get and keep the upper hand in marriage.

• The Wife of Bath's tale, like the Pardoner's,

presents a moral lesson.

SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN

KNIGHT

• Written by an anonymous poet in the

1300s, refers to the legend of King Arthur

and the Knights of the Round Table.

• King Arthur's nephew, the noble Sir

Gawain, accepts a dangerous challenge

from a mysterious stranger.

• The quest that follows leads to numerous

tests of Gawain's courage and honor.

UNIT 2 PORTFOLIO: LITERARY ANALYSIS• Goals: In this task, you are to demonstrate your ability to…

– Construct analytical paragraphs that include strong topic sentences supported by well-selected

concrete detail evidence and developed with a thoughtful, analytical commentary.

– Establish an engaging introduction that provides an objective overview of the text before establishing

a thesis statement the essay will go on to analyze.

– Compose a strong conclusion that reviews, makes connections, draws conclusions, and brings

your essay to a convincing close.

– Follow the rules and conventions of standard American English and MLA formatting.

• Task:You will be writing a literary analysis essay discussing the characterization of the pilgrims

who journey to Canterbury in “The Prologue” of The Canterbury Tales. Your essay will be

a 5-paragraph, double-spaced essay. Make sure that you have a strong thesis statement at the

end of your introduction and clear topic sentences in each body paragraph.

UNPACK

THE

PROMPT

Prompt: The description of each pilgrim

provides insight into not only the characters,

but also medieval culture and the view

Chaucer has about the culture. Choose one

character from “The Prologue” to

analyze, focusing specifically on:

• Your character’s traits - qualities, motivation,

flaws (first body paragraph)

• How your character reflects medieval

culture (second body paragraph)

• Chaucer’s opinion about the culture through

your character (third body paragraph)

CHOOSE ONE CHARACTER FROM “THE PROLOGUE” TO ANALYZE

• Your character’s traits - qualities,

motivation, flaws (first body paragraph)

• How your character reflects medieval

culture (second body paragraph)

• Chaucer’s opinion about the culture

through your character (third body

paragraph)

• You will use the characterization chart

to keep track of your notes.

CHARACTERIZATION

• Characterization refers to the techniques a writer used to develop characters.

• In “The Prologue,” Chaucer offers a vivid portrait of English society during the Middle Ages.

• Some of the way Chaucer characterizes the pilgrims include:

– Description of a character’s appearance

– Examples of a character’s speech, thoughts, and actions

– The responses of others to a character

– The narrator’s direct comments about a character

• As you read, look for details that reveal the character traits, or consistent qualities, of each

pilgrim.

Keep track of

your character’s

appearance,

clothing, actions,

your own

thoughts and the

narrator's

thoughts

Use the chart to keep

track of FOUR

characters. When you

write the essay, you will

choose the ONE you

have the most in-depth

information about.

THESIS: THE ANSWER TO THE PROMPT

• What is our prompt?

– The description of each pilgrim provides insight into not only the characters, but

also medieval culture and the view Chaucer has about the culture. Choose one

character from “The Prologue” to analyze, focusing specifically on :

• Your character’s traits - qualities, motivation, flaws (first body paragraph)

• How your character reflects medieval culture (second body paragraph)

• Chaucer’s opinion about the culture through your character (third body paragraph)

HOW TO WRITE YOUR THESIS• Pick a character.

• Thesis should be one sentence at the end of your introduction.

• It should mention (without going into great detail) what you plan to discuss i.e appearance,

how the character reflects medieval culture and Chaucer's opinion about the culture

• A thesis is a direct statement that explains the topic of your essay, what you believe about that

topic, and why you believe it.

• A thesis statement is made up of three parts:

– Topic: Identify what you are talking about. When writing a literary thesis, this will be the title of

literature and the author.

– Claim:What do you believe about the topic based on the question or prompt?

– Direction: What are the 3 main reasons you can support your claim? This will basically outline the

body paragraphs of your essay. In a literary essay, you will need specific examples from the text to

support each reason.

• Identification of Topic (title and author) + Claim (belief about topic) + Direction (reason

1, reason 2, and reason 3)

PROMPT – WRITE A THESIS

• The description of each pilgrim provides insight into not only the characters, but also medieval

culture and the view Chaucer has about the culture. Choose one character from “The

Prologue” to analyze, focusing specifically on:

– Your character’s traits - qualities, motivation, flaws (first body paragraph)

– How your character reflects medieval culture (second body paragraph)

– Chaucer’s opinion about the culture through your character (third body paragraph)

• Identification of Topic (title and author) + Claim (belief about topic) + Direction (reason

1, reason 2, and reason 3)

– In “The Prologue” of The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer illustrates the character (character name)

through their traits, as being a reflection of the medieval culture, and Chaucer’s opinion about the

medieval culture.

Only use The

Canterbury

Tales for a

source. No

outside

sources

Your character’s traits - qualities,

motivation, and flaws

How your character reflects

medieval cultureChaucer’s opinion about the

culture through your character

C I TAT I O N

NEED:

• Quote must be in quotation marks.

• Author’s name and page number where the quote was found in

the textbook in parenthesis.

• Sentence punctuation goes AFTER the citation.

“Quote goes here” (Chaucer 435).

QUESTIONS?

• Always start by going to the Class Website

• Use the 3B4Me policy to see if you might answer your own

questions first.

• Contact me! Call, text, WebMail, or book an appointment