THE CANTERBURY TALES

By the end of this unit, students will be able to: evaluate The Canterbury Tales in terms of its historical context, as well its importance and appeal to modern-day readers; analyze the use of humor, wit, and sarcasm in the tales; identify the characteristics of an English romance, fabliau, exemplum, and beast fable and analyze how various tales function as examples of these genres; examine the use of verbal, dramatic, and situational irony in the tales; analyze feminist and anti-feminist messages within the text; evaluate the ways Chaucer uses metaphor, simile, personification, allusion, and imagery in the text; analyze the ways Chaucer uses characterization and establishes diverse and unique narrative voices; and discuss the different rhetorical levels in the text.