"The Prologue" to The Canterbury Tales

Guidelines -- Oral Recitations

What: Lines 1-18 of the Prologue to The Canterbury Tales

How: From Memory -- you may also use props and costumes if you wish.

How graded: This will count as a test grade and will be scored according to the following criteria:

  1. lines forgotten
  2. words mispronounced or poorly enunciated
  3. frequency of prompting by the instructor
  4. projection, eye contact, and rhythm
  5. posture
  6. stage presence -- are you in control or suffering from stage fright? Are you smirking to your friends in class? Is everything you say in Middle English or do we hear: "Hold on, I'll get it." "Don't help me." "I know it, just wait." "I forgot that part."
Whan that Aprill with his shourës sootë
The droghte of March hath percëd to the rootë
And bathëd every veyne is swich licour
Of which vertu engendrëd is the flour,
Whan Zephirus eek with his sweetë breeth
Inspirëd hath in every holt and heeth
The tendrë croppës, and the yongë sonnë
Hath in the Ram his half cours y-ronnë,
And smalë fowelës maken melodyë
That slepen al the nyght with open eye,
So priketh hem Nature in hir corages,
Than longen folk to goon on pilgrymages,
And palmeres for te seken straungë strondës,
To fernë halwës kouthe in sondry londës.
And specially, from every shirës endë
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wendë,
The holy, blisful martir for to seke
That hem hath holpen whan that they were seekë.

Oh yeah. If you're not using a graphical viewer, you're probably seeing a buncha "ë"s. That's the code for one of those e's with the two dots above it.
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