Monk

One: Research Questions What does your character do for a living? He hunts hares and rides horses instead of studying, praying, and working.

What does the need for this occupation tell us about the time period? That there were many reasons for true monks back then for many religous values but the need for one shows a more premitive time. What was his or her social standing? In other words, where are they on the social hierarchy? Are they a peasant, a member of the Church, a member of the Court?

What might your character’s day to day life be like? The Monk's day to day life would probably consist of hunting wild rabbits, eating lavish foods, rarely praying and living the monk way of life, tending his pure bred jorses and blood hounds, oh and he is probably buying nice expensive clothing to wear. What details about this character does Chaucer not include? That the Monk is a rather disgusting man, he spends more time outside his cloister than he should. He does not care at all about the rules laid down by St. Benedict and bears no guilt about the fact that he rides out instead of devoting himself to his monastic duties. What modern day occupation might correspond to your medieval character and why? Well the modern day occupation that would compare would have to be a pastor. Why because most men of faith have a bottomless pit of it but like the Monk corrupt men can infiltrate any fortress even one of God, we always here of pastors taking money from the church to "invest" or "set aside money for the church to fall back on" when the next day the pastor has a new hummer with 22's on it. 1. Paraphrase each line of the prologue describing your character. In other words, rewrite the character description into modern language.
 * Part Two: Text Examination **

Chaucer presents a corrupt Monk who loves the good life and finds more pleasure in hunting than studying in the cloister. The Monk’s weakness for good food and expensive clothing and his love for hunting violate the monastic vows of poverty and simplicity. He is riding a sleek berry brown horse on his way to Canterbury. The bells attached to his horse’s bridle tinkle pleasantly with the wind. Chaucer ironically pronounces that the Monk is perfectly suitable for the office of abbot. The Monk, Daun Piers, is an outrider; i.e. Chaucer ironically agrees with the Monk’s point of view and innocently asks why should the Monk make himself mad by pouring over a book in a cloister. The Monk’s pleasure in hunting is a fitting object of satire. In the Middle Ages Monks who took delight in hunting were severely condemned by the reformers. In fact hunting itself was considered an immoral activity. Chaucer’s Monk is a perfect hunter and one who takes extreme interest and pleasure in tracking and hunting wild rabbits. He thus keeps fine horses and well bred hunting hounds in his stable. The Monk is a worshipper of materialism. The sleeves of his coat are trimmed with the finest gray fur in the land. His hood is fastened under his chin with an exquisite gold love knot. His boots are supple and expensive. His bald - head and face shine radiantly as if anointed with oil. His large eyes roll in his head and gleam like a furnace under a cauldron. He is healthy and well fed and loves to eat a plump roasted swan. 2. Which lines in the prologue best describe your character’s physical appearance? He is large, loud, and well clad in hunting boots and furs.

3. Which lines describe his/her personality? The monks personality is very loud, lavish, enjoys the finer things in life, and is not much of a rule follower.
 * Part Three: Analysis **

1. What is Chaucer’s opinion toward this character?

Chaucer ironically concludes that the Monk is certainly a "fair prelat". Chaucer’s subtle ironic portraiture of the ‘manly’ Monk and repeated approbation of the Monk’s abilities only arouses the reader’s derision.

2. What specific lines or words tell you this?

Include a web 2.0 visual representation of your character.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Part Four: Visual Representation **

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">This can be a GOOD video you find on youtube, an animoto video you create yourself, or even a slide show. In other words, you need more than just one or two random pictures.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">You can embed your visual representation by using the Widget button at the top of your edit page

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