Despite huge differences in plot and subject matter, there are many striking similarities between “The Canterbury Tales” and “The Decameron” by Geoffrey Chaucer and Giovanni Boccaccio respectively. Both of these 14th century stories, The Decameron, by Giovanni Boccaccio, and “The Canterbury Tales”, by Geoffrey Chaucer, are strikingly similar in many ways, leading the reader to notice a significant amount of “borrowing” from some tales of Boccaccio by Chaucer in select Canterbury Tales.
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martedì 8 maggio 2012
Comparison of 'The Decameron' and 'The Canterbury Tales'
Despite huge differences in plot and subject matter, there are many striking similarities between “The Canterbury Tales” and “The Decameron” by Geoffrey Chaucer and Giovanni Boccaccio respectively. Both of these 14th century stories, The Decameron, by Giovanni Boccaccio, and “The Canterbury Tales”, by Geoffrey Chaucer, are strikingly similar in many ways, leading the reader to notice a significant amount of “borrowing” from some tales of Boccaccio by Chaucer in select Canterbury Tales.
Canterbury Tales Key Facts
full
title ·
The
Canterbury Tales
author
· Geoffrey
Chaucer
type
of work · Poetry
(two tales are in prose: the Tale of Melibee and the Parson’s Tale)
language
· Middle
English
time
and place written · Around
1386–1395, England
date
of first publication · Sometime
in the early fifteenth century
publisher
· Originally
circulated in hand-copied manuscripts
narrator
· The
primary narrator is an anonymous.The other pilgrims narrate most of
the tales.
point
of view · In
the General Prologue, the narrator speaks in the first person,
describing each of the pilgrims as they appeared to him. Though
narrated by different pilgrims, each of the tales is told from an
omniscient third-person point of view, providing the reader with the
thoughts as well as actions of the characters.
tone
·
The
Canterbury Tales
incorporates an impressive range of attitudes toward life and
literature. The tales are by turns satirical, elevated, pious,
earthy, and comical.
tense
· Past
setting
(time) · The
late fourteenth century, after 1381
setting
(place) · The
Tabard Inn; the road to Canterbury
protagonists
· Each
individual tale has protagonists, but Chaucer’s plan is to make
none of his storytellers superior to others; it is an equal company.
major
conflict · The
struggles between characters, manifested in the links between tales,
mostly involve clashes between social classes, differing tastes, and
competing professions.
themes
· The
pervasiveness of courtly love, the importance of company, the
corruption of the church
Quiz about Canterbury Tales
1.
Why are the pilgrims going to Canterbury?
(A)
To meet King Henry III
(B)
To see a medieval mystery play
(C)
To worship the relics of Saint Thomas Becket
(D)Because
they are tourists
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