Question of the Week (10/29/10)

Canterbury Tales Re-Mix

Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales is about a group of 14th century pilgrims from all walks of life who travel together for several days on their way to a shrine in Canterbury. They entertain each other on this journey by telling stories. The person who tells the most entertaining story wins dinner at the local tavern, courtesy of the other story-telling pilgrims

Your task for this project is to create (as a class) a contemporary version of The Canterbury Tales. This means thinking of a fictional scenario in which a group of diverse people find themselves traveling together for several days toward a common destination. It also means deciding on a theme for the competitive story-telling element, and creating your own character and rhyming story. As in the original contest, whoever tells the most entertaining story wins dinner.

Here is my example. Let's vote on which setting we want before Monday, so that we may begin this project. You must cast your vote by class time on Monday -- if you don't we'll take the majority of those who voted at that time. Be detailed and specific in your proposal and make sure it is very clear. Include the destination, mode of transport (horses, Segways, vespas, foot, etc.), narrator (host), story-telling theme (*this is most important*), and a sampling of characters.

Destination: Chuck and Cindy’s wedding, San Diego, California.

Mode of transport: A Greyhound bus departing from West Virginia

Narrator: The bus driver (Hank)

Story-telling Theme: Each person on the bus will be giving a toast at the reception. These toasts will serve as our “stories”. They will, 1) explain how your character knows either the bride or groom, and 2) be written in rhyme (like the original tales). They should also aim to be clever and entertaining, as those are among the criteria the judges will use to determine who wins the free dinner. **Please see notes on appropriate content.

Additional Project Details:
1.We decided we will dress in character on the judging day. How well your costume captures the personality of your character will be one of the judging categories as well as a grading component.

2.We will read our toasts aloud to a small audience. The judges, of course, will be in the audience. Whether other students will be welcome to attend will be up to you. As a class, we will decide on the best venue for the toasts. The atrium, caf, the stage, or room 202 are all options.

3.Each of us will choose one judge for the panel. The judges need to be teachers or trusted students, and should be familiar with the original Canterbury Tales. The judges will receive typed anonymous copies of each toast ahead of time, and will attend the live performance.

4.In case of a tie, the winner will be decided by a rap battle between characters. (I’m only half serious about this one, but as a group, we should think about how to handle a tie.)

5.Let's decide on a prize


Points, Due Dates, etc:

Nominate Judges: Monday, November, 1

Confirm Judges: Tuesday, November 2

Rough Draft of Tale: DUE Thursday, November 4 (40 pts)

Final Draft of Tale: DUE Tuesday, November 9 (50 pts)

Dress Rehearsal: Monday, November 8 (10 points)

Performance: Thursday, November 11 (100)

Total Points for Project: 200

Judging and Grading Criteria:
Your tale must include the following:

Creation of a Vivid and Interesting (original) Character: 5

Rhyme, Rhythm, Meter: 5
Must be iambic pentameter and rhyming couplets or rhyme royal

Explanation of Relationship to host: 5

Format (for basic tale—see attached): 5

Grammar, Mechanics, must be 50 lines (prologue and tale): 10

Costume: 5

Performance, Delivery: 5
Must perform in the voice of your character and maintain your persona

Time limit: 5
Must be 3 minutes, but under 4 minutes. For every 10 seconds after 4 minutes points will be deducted.


Judges’ Average Score: 5

Total Points for Final Draft: 50

Notes on Taste and Appropriateness:

While humor, wit, and social satire are encouraged in this project, it is important to respect the boundaries of appropriate and tasteful content. We want to entertain our audience, not offend them. Good social satire is delicate: we want to illuminate the quirks and flaws of our characters, but we also want to avoid stereotyping or culturally insensitive humor.

Not appropriate:

1. excessive alcohol references
2. drug references
3. sexual references
4. swearing
5. any comments that are derogatory or could be offensive to members of racial, cultural, religious, sexual orientation, or gender groups.

** If you are having a hard time determining whether something is appropriate, ask yourself whether you would say it in front of your grandmother.

Just as an example: This would be how your would write your toast.

Before You Begin
Start off by writing down thoughts freely about the bride and groom and your relationship to them.
1.How do you know them?
2.Why did they choose you to make this toast?
3.How would you describe each of them? What are the first five adjectives that come to mind?
4.What was the groom like before he met the bride? How has he changed knowing her? (Reverse this, obviously, if you are acquainted with the bride)
5.How did they meet? How did the groom tell you about her? (Or how did the bride tell you about him?)
6.If you are married, you may wish to think about marriage advice you've received or have learned.
7.Are there any particularly amusing anecdotes that illustrate who the bride and/or groom is?
Beginning
Start off by introducing yourself, as not everyone in the room will know who you are. You might say "Excuse me everyone, if I could have your attention for a moment. I'd like to take a few moments to say a few words about our bride and groom. I'm_______, _______'s longtime good friend (or brother, cousin, etc.)" *This might also be an opportunity for you to say something about your journey.
Middle
Tell a funny story about the bride and/or groom, give your thoughts on love and marriage, tell the story of how they met, or talk about how you've seen them change through their relationship. Give interesting details. At all costs, avoid ex-girlfriend/boyfriend stories and keep it rated PG for kids and grandmothers in the room.

Closing
It's often good to wrap up your toast with a wish, traditional toast, or blessing for the bride and groom. Raise your glass with a resounding congratulations, cheers, l'chaim, prost, or salud, and don't forget to drink to your own toast.