Transcript A Knight's Tale Background PPT

Background
to
“A Knight’s
Tale”
By Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer
• Geoffrey Chaucer (born 1340/44,
died 1400) is remembered as the
author of The Canterbury Tales,
which ranks as one of the greatest
epic works of world literature.
Chaucer made a crucial
contribution to English literature in
using English at a time when much
court poetry was still written in
Anglo-Norman or Latin.
Canterbury Tales
• Chaucer did not begin working on The
Canterbury Tales until he was in his early
40s. The book, which was left unfinished
when the author died, depicts a
pilgrimage by some 30 people, who are
going on a spring day in April to the
shrine of the martyr, St. Thomas Becket.
On the way they amuse themselves by
telling stories. Among the band of
pilgrims are a knight, a monk, a prioress,
a plowman, a miller, a merchant, a clerk,
and an oft-widowed wife from Bath. The
stories are interlinked with interludes in
which the characters talk with each
other, revealing much about themselves.
Pilgrimage Members