A scholarly program that reaches out to students of The Canterbury Tales to relate its characters and themes to everyday life in late-14th-century England. Period art of exceptional richness is combined with location photography that retraces the April pilgrimage to Archbishop Becket’s shrine at Canterbury; excerpts are read from various tales; and the famous beginning is heard in Middle English. Written by Velma B. Richmond, produced by the University of California, Berkeley (1986).
Chaucer: Road to Canterbury (1:59:36)
Description: This video covers the life of English author, poet, philosopher, courtier, and diplomat Geoffrey Chaucer to middle age. Chaucer's 14th-century saw him survive the Black Death as a child, the plague that wiped out a third of the population of Europe, and become actively involved, both as a soldier and later as a secret agent, in the 100 Years' War—a war that was to leave England devastated. Despite these man-made and natural catastrophes, English literature went through a short Renaissance, and the program hints as to why this might have happened while considering the leading role that Chaucer was to play in it. Terry Jones (Monty Python) stars.
Geoffrey Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales (43 minutes)
Description: Written in the 14th century, The Canterbury Tales has stood the test of time as a landmark in the development of English literature. This innovative "frame story" owes its classic standing and impact to the diversity both of the narrators and of the styles of tales they tell. In this program, expert commentators Dr. Christiania Whitehead and Dr. Peter Mack, both of the University of Warwick, discuss the tradition of 14th-century poetry, the General Prologue, Chaucer’s social grouping of the pilgrims and the themes they explore, and the poem as a reflection of medieval English society. Dramatic reenactments of the pilgrims on horseback and numerous period images help bring the tales to life.
Chaucer and the Creation of Character
Description: Bloom describes Chaucer as the precursor to Shakespeare. Chaucer's wife of Bath is described as a contemporary of Shakespeare's character Falstaff.
English Goes Underground
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Geoffrey Chaucer: Father of English Literature (03:10) Description:
In choosing the English language instead of the more fashionable French for his poetry, Chaucer elevated the language and set an example for all writers thereafter. Chaucer wrote in English so that all of English society could enjoy his work.
