THE CONTEMPORARY TALES

Introduction

This section details the steps you need to follow to get to the final result, namely a performance of your group's tale, which will be one of six Contemporary Tales that your class as a whole will stage. Before actually doing the steps of this page read through the entire page first.

You have been assigned to a team of four students. The four of you follow the steps outlined below. The periods are mentioned to help you plan your activities. It is okay to take somewhat longer or shorter for a task, depending on your focus. However, make sure your work is completed by the end of the 5th period. The performances will be held during the 6th period.

Period 1

1.    Create two documents. Together they form your Web Quest Log.

The first document, your Personal Log, is a page on which you record your answers to the questions under 2. 3 and 4. Write your name at the top.

The second document, your Group Log, is a group page that all members should have access to (tip: use Google documents). Write your names at the top.

Both documents need to be printed out and turned in to your teacher at the end of the day. Your mark will be based partly on these two documents. You may want to have a look at the Evaluation page in order to get an idea of how your teacher will arrive at your mark.

The following introductory steps are performed individually. These steps will help you get acquainted with The Canterbury Tales. After completing step 4 you will have enough initial background information in order to get started on your own tale. After you complete 4.3 you need to show your document to your teacher to get the okay to continue as a group.

2.    Open attachment 1 and read it. Read the following questions about Geoffrey Chaucer and record your answers (Personal Log):

2.1 Copy and complete: Geoffrey Chaucer was born in the .... half of the ....th Century in .....

2.2 Was Chaucer's family poor or well-to-do? Explain your answer.

2.3 Why did Chaucer travel to Italy so often?

3.    Open attachment 2. Record the answers to the following questions in your Personal Log.

3.1 Read the introduction (nr.1). Open an online dictionary and look up the words: haberdasher and bawdy.

3.2 Find a map of England on the web. What is the distance between London and Canterbury?

3.3 How long do you think it would take for a group to travel the distance on horseback?

3.4 Search the web to find the following information: When was the Cathedral in Canterbury built?

3.5 When did Thomas a Becket live? How many years approximately are there between Becket's death and the pilgrimage of Chaucer's Tales?

3.6  Read the text of the Prologue (nr. 2 in the attachment) about the cook and the sailor while you listen to someone reciting it in Middle English. Use this link to the audio file.

3.4 Find the poems about the cook and the sailor in nr. 3 of the attachment: The Prologue, and listen again, this time following the text in modern English.

4.    Open attachment 3 and read the summary of three of the Tales: The Miller's Tale, The Wife of Bath's Tale and The Summoner's Tale.

4.1 Look up any words that aren't familiar in an online dictionary. List at least five words (Personal Log).

4.2 Choose one of the three stories and retell it in your own words (Personal Log).

4.3 Exchange Personal Logs with the other team members and read each other's summaries. Help each other with content and use of the English language.

At the end of step 4.3 check in with your teacher as a group in order to get the go-ahead for the group phase.

Period 2 and 3

Group phase: Do the following steps together and record your work in your Group Log:

5.    Decide on the setting for your group's  Contemporary Tale. It could be any place where a variety of people are assembled who will have to spend some time together. Chaucer imagined his characters were on a religious pilgrimage. What type of 'pilgrimage' do people today engage in? Think of an outdoor pop festival, the beach, a Euro Rail train, a coach on the way to Spain, EO Youth Day, etc.

6.    Decide on the time for your play: time of year, time of the day. Include this information in your group document. Make sure you choose a clear theme for your play. Chaucer in his stories, e.g., used the themes of marriage and infidelity, or the theme of greed. Also, make sure your Tale has a clear story line with a climax at the end: the plot. Just like Chaucer, you will want to keep your audience's eyes fixed on you during the duration of your play.

7.    Decide on the four parts that make up your play. The more you�re able to blend in authentic Canterbury Tales characters, the better it is. In order to achieve this you will have to look again at attachment 2 and scan the prologue. You'll find descriptions of various pilgrims. You might want to surf the net and see what other type of characters feature in the stories the pilgrims tell. Now create a parallel that fits our time: decide on a narrator, a person who is telling the story. What is the story about? Decide on the characters that appear in the story.

One of you could be the narrator who tells the story as it is played out. Another possibility is to have someone narrate only the beginning and the end to the story, so that that person is available to take on a role in the story. The minimal option is for the narrator to only introduce the story. If you have more roles in your story than you have people in your group, work it out in such a way that one person portrays several characters.

8.    Think up a story outline and create the lines that each character is going to say. You may use monologues, or dialogues and conversations. Chaucer used exaggeration, humor and lots of graphic, suggestive detail to add interest. Follow in his footsteps and spice up your story with intrigues and ploys. (When you're not sure if including a certain idea is in good taste, imagine that your grandparents are in the audience... would you still include it if they were there?)

Make sure you include stage directions and indicate the props used. Be creative when it comes to props. Have a look at some of the "sweded" films on youtube (e.g. search: sweded lord of the rings). They should provide you with lots of inspiration. Aim for two A-4 pages of text, or about 5 to 8 minutes of performance time. The entire screenplay needs to be turned in together with your Personal Log and Group Log. At the end of step 8 the group consults again with the teacher.

4th and 5th Period

9.    Practice, practice, practice. Try not to rely too much on reading from page. It is best when you�re able to improvise as much as possible on the basis of your written outline. See if you can mix in one or two authentic Chaucer lines (see attachment 2) as a way to link The Canterbury Tales with your very own Contemporary Tale. These lines will serve as a wink to the past.

6th Period

10.   Each group has 8 minutes to put up their play in front of an audience that consists of classmates. The six plays together form The Contemporary Tales of your class. Students will take turns filming the various plays, so that next week we can take another close look at the work you did today.

The attachments are based on the sites listed below. You are encouraged to check out these sites for additional information. The source of the sound file (available here through a link to the teacher's home page) is the site of the British Library. For more sound tracks of recited poetry from The Tales: search Youtube.

Whenever you are asked to search on the web for certain information without there being mentioned a specific site, it means that the information is readily available: it can be found in various places and is not dependent on one specific site only.

British Library

Fordham Internet Medieval Source Book 

Harvard Geoffrey Chaucer Page

Portland University's Kid's Page on Chaucer