English 201
C. Knight
Fall 2001
The first paper should be a discussion of one of the characters presented by Chaucer in
the "General Prologue" to the Canterbury Tales.
In particular, consider the following questions (though you need not organize your paper specifically around them, and they will apply in different ways to different characters).
(1) How realistic is the character? Does it seem like an actual person or like a typical figure? What, in the description, makes you come to this conclusion?
(2) What relationship (if any) is established between the character's internal personality (or beliefs) and the details of the character's physical features, dress, manners, and external behavior?
(3) Does the description suggest that you should evaluate the status and behavior of this character? To what degree does it imply a judgment or just record interesting details? (And what is the relationship between the two?) What do you think you ought to think about the character, and why do you think so?
(4) Why is this a significant character? Why should Chaucer bother writing about him or her? Why should you bother reading?
The paper should be 500-1000 words long (2-4 pages). Read, discuss, and respond to the Middle-English version of Chaucer's text. It is essential that you attribute any outside information (and especially opinions) to the source in which you found it. But it is not necessary to use outside sources at all, and I am most interested in what the paper can tell me about your techniques and capacities as a reader. To that end, you should probably not write about one of the characters discussed at length in class, unless your treatment of the character differs from that in class or adds significantly to it. If at all possible, please type your paper. It should be as clearly focused and coherent as you can make it.