[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-318359-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-318359-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","canterbury-tales-prologue-27","Canterbury Tales Prologue - 27","","A nonfiction-style study guides readers through Geoffrey Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales, presenting how his worldly experience shaped the work’s realistic language and humor. It introduces the frame story of the pilgrimage to Canterbury, the inn meeting, and how the pilgrims’ tales form the core. It also previews key vocabulary, highlights major character groups and occupations, and explains Chaucer’s use of Middle English with a brief look at notable opening lines and translations.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/literature/","Literature",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/canterbury-tales-prologue-27/318359/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/canterbury-tales-prologue-27/318359.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Eliana","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-02","2026-09-20",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",9,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"Why is Chaucer often described as the father of English poetry, and how does the document qualify that view?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"The document notes that critics call him “the father of English poetry,” but emphasizes that The Canterbury Tales is anything but stuffy, pointing to its realistic language and coarse humor.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What is the frame story in The Canterbury Tales?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"The frame story is a pilgrimage narrative: pilgrims travel to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas à Becket, and at an inn their host suggests they tell stories to pass the time.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What is Middle English, and how does it differ from Modern English according to the text?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Middle English is described as the language Chaucer spoke, formed from Old English and Old French influences. The document explains that some pronunciations differ, and that the “silent e” in Modern English was often an audible syllable in Middle English words.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},318359,1790549615,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,91,95,100,105,110,115,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":89,"slug":90},80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":92,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":112,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},"Religion & 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phrase that makes him soundlike a stuffy sort of writer.However,The CanterburyTales—Chaucer's master-piece—is anything but stuffy.In fact,its realistic languageand coarse humor prompted  \ncritics to call Chaucer everything from\"observant\"to \"contemptible.\"  \nChaucer was a man of the world who knewhow a variety of people spoke and acted.Thisknowledge was invaluable to his writing.Boinin London into a middle-class wine merchant'sfamily,he became a page in the royal house-hold while still a teenager.Despite the lowlyduties of the job—making beds,carrying can-dles,running errands—the position offeredChaucer exposure to a world of fine mannersand high-born people.A few years later,hesaw more of the world when he served in amilitary campaign in France.  \nWhile in his twenties,Chaucer was made acourt official,an appointment that was thestart of many years of public service.Duringhis career,he traveled abroad on diplomaticmissions and was therefore exposed both toFrench and Italian literature and culture.Forthe rest of his life,he held a variety of govern-mental posts.  \nDespite these busy professional duties,Chaucer managed to create a large body ofwriting.His work is often divided into threedistinct periods.His early poetry,which isinfluenced by the French medieval tradition,includes the Book of the Duchess and theRomaunt of the Rose.Later,he wrote the  \nParliainent of Fowls and themasterful Troilus and Cressida.His most mature writing,crafted in his forties,includesthe Legend of Good Women andfinally The Canterbury Tales.  \nThe Canterbury Tales is con-sidered Chaucer's masterpiecefor several reasons.First,itmarks the beginning of a newtradition;Chaucer was thefist writer to use English in a  \nmajor literary work.Before him,literature wascomposed in French or Latin.Secondly,because The Canterbury Tales focuses on anassortment of people who are thrown togetheron a journey,it gives a lifelike and engagingpicture of a cross section of society during the1300s.Finally,it is an outstanding literaryachievement.Chaucer created approximately  \n17,000 lines of vivid poetry,which still attractnew readers centuries later.  \n“No poetry was ever more human thanChaucer's;none ever came more frankly andgenially home to men than his CanterburyTales.  \n—John Richard Green  \n“He does not,however,appear to havedeserved all the praise he has received,or allthe censure he has suffered.  \nSamuel Johnson  \nAlthough Chaucer's invented personagesare now six hundred years old,they are fleshand blood today;they are,in fact,the peoplewhom we have known all our lives.  \n—Louis Untermeyer  \nGeoffrey Chaucer was born about 1342 and died in1400.  \nCHART IT!Your fellow travelers probablyhave a variety of characteristics.Think aboutthe numerous possibilities.Which qualitieswould attract you?Which would you findunattractive?Chart your answers  \nSETTING A PURPOSE Read about a  \nmotley group of travelers and discover theirpersonalities.  \n# Frame Story\n\nThe Canterbury Tales uses a frame tale,a story that pro-vides a vehicle,or frame,for telling other stories.Theframe is about a pilgrimage,a trip made to a holy placefor religious reasons or just for fun and adventure.  \nIn Chaucer's work,twenty-nine pilgrims travel toCanterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas à Becket.When Chaucer's pilgrims first meet,at an inn,their hostsuggests they tell stories to pass the time.Their storiesbecome the main part of The Canterbury Tales.  \n## Real Characters\n\nChaucer's pilgrims are wel-rounded characters with per-sonalities and pasts.As one critic said,\"Not a whisper,nota wart,is omitted.\"  \nThe pilgrims'occupations reflect different aspects offourteenth-century society:  \n·Feudal System:Knight,Squire,Yeoman,Franklin,Plowman,Miller,Reeve  \n·Religious Life:Nun,Monk,Friar,Cleric,Parson,Summoner,Pardoner  \n# —     —VOCABULARY PREVIEW—  —\n\nsolicitous(sa lis'a tas)adj.fullof concern;p","cbCaifn3LOou0k7P","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaifn3LOou0k7P","pdf",3834254,27,"English","# Before You Read\n## Frame Story\n## Real Characters\n# Vocabulary Preview\n# Focus Activity\n# Background\n# The Language of Chaucer","[{\"question\":\"Why is Chaucer often described as the father of English poetry, and how does the document qualify that view?\",\"answer\":\"The document notes that critics call him “the father of English poetry,” but emphasizes that The Canterbury Tales is anything but stuffy, pointing to its realistic language and coarse humor.\"},{\"question\":\"What is the frame story in The Canterbury Tales?\",\"answer\":\"The frame story is a pilgrimage narrative: pilgrims travel to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas à Becket, and at an inn their host suggests they tell stories to pass the time.\"},{\"question\":\"What is Middle English, and how does it differ from Modern English according to the text?\",\"answer\":\"Middle English is described as the language Chaucer spoke, formed from Old English and Old French influences. The document explains that some pronunciations differ, and that the “silent e” in Modern English was often an audible syllable in Middle English words.\"}]","Canterbury Tales Prologue - 27 | PDF",1789940120,42]