Full Description
Six-hundred-year-old tales with modern relevance. As well as the complete text of the Merchant's Prologue and Tale, the student will find illustrated information on Chaucer's world, including a map of the Canterbury pilgrimage, a running synopsis of the action, an explanation of unfamiliar words, and a wide range of classroom-tested activities to help bring the text to life. Guided by the suggestions for study and the wide range of helpful information, students will readily appreciate Chaucer's wit and sense of irony, his love of controversy and his delight in character portrayal.
Contents
Introduction; What are the Canterbury Tales; Chaucer's language; The Merchant's contribution; The Portrait of the Merchant (from the General Prologue); The Merchant's Prologue; The Merchant's Tale; The Merchant's Epilogue; Looking back at the Merchant's Tale; Chaucer's pilgrims; Pilgrims and pilgrimages; Geoffrey Chaucer; Merchants in Chaucer's day; Courtly love; The debate on marriage; The myth of Pluto and Proserpina; Themes in the Merchant's Tale; Glossary of frequently-used words
