Medieval Poetry

Geoffrey Chaucer's masterpiece The Canterbury Tales is among the most cherished poetic works of the English literary canon. In this topic, you took a snapshot look at Chaucer's life and some of the background context behind his story. You also explored literary techniques such as direct and indirect characterization and the use of allusions in literature to convey a message. In addition, you joined the pilgrims on their journey as you heard tales from three of the travelers: the Knight, the Pardoner, and the Wife of Bath. Lastly, you sampled some stories from another medieval poem, Rumi's Masnavi, which is also written in rhyming couplets.

Now that you have read excerpts from The Canterbury Tales, take a moment to return to the Warm-Up activity in this topic. Based on Chaucer's descriptions of the pilgrims, how many can you easily identify in Thomas Stothard's painintg?