This lesson introduces students to one of the most admired characterizations in Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales," the Wife of Bath. Students read Chaucer's description of the Wife in the "General Prologue" to consider how he represents her, both as the poet of "The Canterbury Tales" and as a character in his own poem,…

Although modern readers often find the interpretation of medieval literature difficult, they should be encouraged to use their imagination to resolve the dilemmas they encounter. Often, these are the same issues with which medieval audiences had to wrestle and which the poets intended to raise. W. Iser's and H. R. Jauss's principles of…

The teacher can sucessfully present Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" to 11th- and 12th-grade students by concentrating on "The Prologue" and one of the tales--e.g., "The Pardoner's Tale." The structure and plan of the entire work, however, should first be considered before its various parts can be fully understood.…

This teacher's handbook is a guide to available paperback translations of primary material in the humanities field. The selections chosen to be included are recommended by the compiler as the best English translations available. The book is divided into sections chronologically: (1) ancient, to 450 A.D.; (2) medieval, 450-1500 A.D.; (3) early…