Thoughts on chaucer stuff....

Through reading the literature on Chaucer and ‘The Pardoner’s Tale’ I have realised what a deep insight into human nature he has been able to present. He had a gift for developing characters; I had no idea that the tales were such a psychological journey into the minds of such a variety of characters. This was probably facilitated by his experience as a public servant, his wide reading and his work in customs, through this he would have met a wide variety of people and experienced many different personalities (clearly he was also very talented). Also I am a bit taken aback by the character ‘The Wife of Bath’, she must have been quite controversial at the time. It has encouraged me reading these materials as I think there is a great deal to work on with Chaucer as the personalities and human flaws are all relevant today. Children will surely be able to relate to this and find parallels of the characters that exist in the modern day, for example a character like ‘The Pardoner’ is akin to a shrewd salesman. This could be linked to modern day marketing or a debate on today’s consumer society?... Also the theme of manipulation and preying on the vulnerable could be explored. The pardoner’s character is much like a spiritual guide/tarot reader who claims to provide direction and answers to those searching for the right path. There are a plethora of modern day parallels that could be explored and used for inspiration for classes exploring the text.
As for the activities the questions all seem quite sophisticated and you would have to have really engage the pupils with the text to reach that level of analysis. I can see why ‘The Wife of Bath’ is such a central tale for study as it really does have relevance to the modern day. I really liked the activity on how she would debate the church fathers. I think using debate like this would really engage pupils, highlighting how the morals and the religious ideas in Chaucer’s society were radically different from today’s society. Depending on the age group you were teaching Chaucer to I think you would really have to get creative with it and I did like what we did as a group dramatising ‘The Pardoner’s Tale’, it made it less daunting. The dramatisation would perhaps be good with younger secondary children as a way in, whereas older pupils (e.g. A’level students) may not need this as much and engage more readily in comprehending the text?

Yes, I agree entirely - the similarities are far greater than the differences. It still has a lot to say to kids/adults today. Good.

I really want to read The Wife of Bath now, she sounds like an entertaining character! I like your ideas about The Pardoner’s Tale in a Consumer Society, the psychological insight sounds interesting too.