Recasting the Canterbury Tales: Stage 4 Final Draft

In the course of studying The Canterbury Tales it becomes blatantly obvious that many remarkable similarities exist between the works of other contemporary authors, such as the Gower’s The Decameron and Boccaccio’s Confessio Amantis, and the work of Chaucer himself. While some of these similarities are vague, such as the basic premise of The Decameron and Canterbury Tales or the similar story elements shared by the Boccaccio’s Tale of Florent and Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath’s Tale, others, like the Franklin’s tale of the timeless lovers, Arviragus and Dorigen, are too direct a usurpation of the original texts to pass as either original or adapted. However, the main difference in Chaucer’s iteration of the original works is the manner in which he utilizes his first person narrator differently than previous authors have. For instance Gower’s, in The Decameron, The First Day offers a description of three young men entering the church . Gower provides a very basic description, directly characterizing them as “debonair” and “chivalrous (078),” leaving little detail for the reader to infer on their own. However in Chaucer’s General Prologue, Chaucer describes the Merchant, a minor character, extensively, describing such minute insight as that “This worthy man kept all his wits well set; there was no one could say he was in debt (279).” Here Chaucer provides a unique insight that other author’s, such as Gower, may not have included. In this small observation, Chaucer goes beyond simply describing a character and provides insight to the readers that enriches the character’s background as well as allows the reader to infer for themselves about the nature of the Merchant’s hidden debt. So, Chaucer is able use keen personal observations to enrich the reader’s experience when reading the Canterbury Tales by providing insight that other authors would otherwise omit, as well as allowing the reader to infer things for themselves. Finally, Chaucer’s interpretation of the tales is also humorous in nature. This particular difference is one of the most important in setting the Canterbury Tales apart. While The Decameron tends to very bleak, taking place after the detrimental effects of the plague in a solemn church sanctuary, The Canterbury Tales initially takes place amongst the merriment of a Tavern and includes such characters as the Miller, who brings vulgar comedy into the mix. This distinction indicates that The Canterbury Tales may be more geared toward entertaining a more general audience than providing a moderately serious tale. Thus Chaucer’s purpose in writing the Canterbury Tales is to augment keen observation and humor to the original works, allowing for a more entertaining experience for the reader through his use of the Narrator’s sharp perspective and humorous characters that sets the work itself apart from other similar contemporary pieces.

It is this sense of humor and keen observation in Chaucer’s writing that gives birth to an idea for a new pilgrim to accompany the others on their way to Canterbury and the shrine of Sir Thomas Becket. The man’s name is of no importance, however he is best identified as a spunky old man. He is slightly hunched and often times a bit rowdy. He has experience with many things, many a mystery to the pilgrims. Outwardly, the old man can be cantankerous at times but generally is good humored, always laughing and adding a sly, often inappropriate comment to any situation. By his speech and choice of words, many think he may be an old sailor, but he maintains a polite nature towards women and, when merited, men. What sets this old man apart from a vulgar character such as the Miller, however is the keen sense of observation he possess. Much like Chaucer’s narrator his age and experience allow him to see through peoples facades and often times provide serious insight that is as shocking as it is true. Thus this character derives his nature from the characters of the Miller, the Knight, due to his chivalrous, experienced past, and Chaucer’s narrator himself.

The character will retell the Nun’s Priest’s Tale. The Nun’s Priest Tale describes the great lusty rooster Chanticleer. The tale itself unfolds as a fox stalks Chanticleer and his many wives in the chicken coop. The fox then proceeds to flatter Chanticleer on his glorious singing. As Chanticleer lets his guard down to such flattery, the fox snatches him by the throat and runs off. As the fox escapes with him, Chanticleer is able to convince him to boast to the hounds that are chasing them from the barnyard. As the fox turns to do so, Chanticleer escapes his jaws and flies into a tree, safe, and rejects the fox’s next attempts to flatter him from his safe place. The moral of this tale is to never trust a flatterer. The tale itself is told by the Nun’s priest companion and so the tale is meant to be a moral one, however the very promiscuous, often explicit, nature of the tale makes the source of its telling rather odd. It seems misplaced that a priest should tell such a vulgar tale, including such descriptions as Chanticleer copulating with his unwed lover, Pertelote, several times before sunrise (3177). Thus the tale seems better told by the rowdy Old Man. The often-inappropriate nature of the man will aid in the believability of him telling such a lusty tale, and his experience and observational skills will allow the theme, the dangers of flattery, to come across with real weight. The telling of this tale by this Old Man will thus embody Chaucer’s purpose in telling the tales: to provide a humorous and observant retelling of an old tale, keeping the reader engaged through raunchy humor that may have appealed during Chaucer’s time.

Ultimately, through the composition of this project, the nature of the video as a visual aid, combined with the essay as a conceptual aid, joins together to create a seamless final composition in which the video, meant to entertain and give visual imagery to the concepts provided in the essay portion.

*DISCLAIMER: SOME OF THE LANGUAGE IN THE FOLLOWING VIDEO MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO SOME VIEWERS*




Citations:

Geoffrey Chaucer. _The Canterbury Tales_.
14th century.

John Gower. _The Decameron_.
1353.

Clint Eastwood. _Gran Torino_. Perf. Clint Eastwood.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, 2008.

Pete Doctor, Bob Peterson. _UP_.
Pixar Animation Studios, 2009.

Robert McKimson. _Looney Toons_. Foghorn Leghorn.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, 1946-1963.

George Carlin. _You are all Diseased_.
HBO entertainment, 1999.

Recasting the Canterbury Tales: Stage 2

I apologize in advance

Recasting the Canterbury Tales: Stage 1

I apologize for the length but my recent schedule has only permitted me to post this much.

New Character: A spunky (maybe even promiscuous) old man.
Thesis: Chaucer's purpse in telling the tales is for the purpose of entertaining the reader with satire and humor of the time.

Body 1: The man will tell retell the Nun's Priest's Tale.

-His promiscuous nature will enhance the humor in his "flattery never pays" message.
-Chaucer wrote many tales for humor, entertainment, and this reinforced this.

Body 2: He will tell a more modern version of the tale.

-Chaucer's tales were told to appeal to the time, even those set in ancient times.

Body 3: The telling will be humorous

-Nuff' Said.

Resetting the Canterbury Tales: Stage 5 Reflections

In general my essay evolved from one stage to another based on peer feedback. As my peers began to demand more from my paper, I began to give more. For instance my paper needed to set the mood better, so I worked based on what my peers wanted more of. In terms of using more than text, obviously there is a visual/audio component to the project which embodies the scene the text is creating. In terms of composition strategies, drafting all my ideas first, then formulating a flow and linking the word based on logical flow. This tactic works in any other rhetorical situation because it overcomes the hardest part, starting, by drafting all the basic ideas then moving in to a refined draft.

Blog Post 1: Translatio Studii et Imperii

To understand the concept of Translatio Imperii et Studii, it is important to first break down exactly what the latin phrase means. Imperii, first and foremost, refers to political power and legitimacy while Studii refers to knowledge and culture, specifically in writing. Translatio literally means transfer or movement. Together these elements refer to the geographical and chronological movement of knowledge, culture, political power, and political legitimacy between one civilization and another. The concept of this transfer begins in the Middle Ages with the struggle between nations for European supremacy. Nations called upon their Roman ancestry, as in the cases of France and England, to legitimize their claims to power. This declaration of power in the name of the Roman empire serves as a prime example of Translatio Imperii, as political power is transferred from the previous Roman empire to give legitimacy to the political power of both France and England.

Simultaneously, as political power transferred from culture to culture, so too did knowledge and ideas. When looking at the emerging literature before and after the Medieval period, for example, there are many correlations between the romantic motiffs of Anglo-Norman text and the later writings of Sir Thomas Malory(Schwartz).
Translatio Studii becomes increasingly important when considering the scope of this class. Look no further than the direct correlations between the stories and settings presented in Boccaccio's The Decameron and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. In fact, these two works, with the addition of John Gower's Confessio Amantis, provide us with important examples of knowledge and ideas in literature transferring between cultures and times periods. For instance, let us consider the Wife of Bath's Tale as presented by Chaucer. This particular tale correlates directly with many of the story elements and themes in Gower's Tale of Florent, which was written around the same time. For instance, the idea of woman's sovereignty, as well as chivalry amongst men, contributes heavily to both stories, as well as many shared plot and setting elements. This case provides a great example as to how certain motifs can transfer between authors of the same period, while The Decameron, which shares a very similar structure and purpose with Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, provides a great example as to how idea transfer between cultures and times. In regards to the scope of this class, Translatio Studii is a primary explanation as to how literature is adapted over time and space.

Think and Respond!!:

Can you think of any contemporary trends in which Tranlsatio Imperii et Studii takes place?

How can Translatio Imperii et Studii be applied to domestic sovereignty, as in the Tale of the Wife of Bath?

At what point does Translatio Studii deviate from a new system of thought, using old ideas, to a simple recasting of the original text?


Citations:

Schwarts, Deborah. "Translatio Studii et Imperii." 1999-2002.
http://cla.calpoly.edu/~schwart/eng513/courtly/translat.htm.

Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. "Translatio Imperii." Wikipedia(2009).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translatio_imperii.

Resetting The Canterbury Tales: Stage 4

As the prologue to Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales unfolds and the gentle ebbs of spring rush in, so too do a small band of pilgrims on their way to honor the resting place of Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury. As each of the pilgrims sits, journey worn, in the Tabard Inn tavern, Chaucer takes the opportunity to provide a unique glimpse at this particular caste of characters. What makes this glimpse unique is not the variety of characters, but the setting itself. Each pilgrim, though of different social classes and backgrounds, seems devoid of rank. As pilgrims, a lowly Miller sits with as much distinction as a respected Clergyman, or so Chaucer makes it seem. This lack of class division and distinction allows the reader to carefully analyze each character; casting aside any social pretense or stereotypes and allowing said reader to see these characters in new lights. For instance, amongst the group is a Pardoner, a man of the church, and as such readers of Chaucer’s time would expect him to be virtuous, however, he is described as one of the most dishonest characters of the group. Among them there is also a Monk, who, despite his holy vows, is one of the most gluttonous, secular characters in the party. Though Chaucer does take the time to establish characters both entertaining and familiar, such as the promiscuous Wife of Bath or the foul-mouthed Miller, even in those characters, Chaucer utilizes them to present new ideas to the reader, such as sovereignty and the presence of vulgarity. Thus, as Chaucer utilizes the setting of a pilgrimage as a tool to strip social pretense from his characters, The Canterbury Tales functions as a social commentary for its time, using the guise of a pilgrimage to provide the reader with a unique observation of each of the main characters, who represent new looks at the old stereotypes of Chaucer’s time.
Thus, with Chaucer’s use of setting as a means to take a fresh look at society, this project intends to follow to do the same. This resetting of the Canterbury Tales takes place during one of the great contemporary American pilgrimages…holiday traveling. This new take starts in an airport terminal in the wake of an unrelenting blizzard. As a result, many flights are delayed indefinitely; however leaving the airport in this weather is not an option. Thus a flight of passengers, stranded in the airport, band together in the local terminal pub to kill the time with drinks and merriment. While there, the captain, not drinking of course, proposes that they all go around telling jokes and that the passenger with the best joke gets a drink and a meal paid by all. The setting chosen for this project correlates closely to Chaucer’s setting in that it follows a group of weary travelers however puts an obviously modern twist on an old story. Either way, the setting will effectively strip the characters of their pretense, as all of them will be trapped in a similar, tiresome situation. So, the setting of an airport, and bar therein, will effectively mimic Chaucer’s tactic of placing a large amount of various people in a similar, precarious situation, forcing them to ignore distinctions and join together and provide news takes on old stereotypes. Thus, in the end, Chaucer’s basic tool for bringing a story like this to an audience is just as effective, as seen in this reincarnation and contemporary readings of the Canterbury Tales.




Citations:

Minus the Bear. "Absinthe Party in the Fly Honey Warehouse." Highly Refined Pirates. Suicide Squeeze, 2002.