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Character Analysis - Identify the Character

Group 1: Mystery Characters A, B, C

Mystery Character A

Ther was a man with a forked berd,
In mottelee, and hye on horse he sat;
His resons he spak ful solempnely,
Sownynge alwey th' encrees of his wynnyng.
Ther wiste no wight that he was in dette,
So estatly was he of his governaunce
With his bargaynes and with his chevyssaunce.
For sothe he was a worthy man with alle,
But, sooth to seyn, I noot how men hym calle.

Mystery Character B

Of clooth-makyng she hadde swich an haunt
She passed hem of Ypres and of Gaunt.
In al the parisshe wif ne was ther noon
That to the offrynge bifore hire sholde goon;
And if ther dide, certeyn so wrooth was she
That she was out of alle charitee.
Housbondes at chirche dore she hadde fyve,
Withouten oother compaignye in youthe

Mystery Character C

Ther was a man with us in that place,
That hadde a fyr-reed cherubynnes face,
For saucefleem he was, with eyen narwe.
As hoot he was and lecherous as a sparwe,
He was a gentil harlot and a kynde;
A bettre felawe sholde men noght fynde.
He wolde suffre for a quart of wyn
A good felawe to have his concubyn
A twelf month, and excuse hym atte fulle

Group 2: Mystery Characters D, E, F

Mystery Character D

Ther was a stout carl for the nones;
Ful byg he was of brawn, and eek of bones.
At wrastlynge he wolde have alwey the ram.
He was a janglere and a goliardeys,
And that was moost of synne and harlotries.
Wel koude he stelen corn and tollen thries;
And yet he hadde a thombe of gold, pardee.

Mystery Character E

With hym ther rood a gentil man
This man hadde heer as yelow as wex,
A voys he hadde as smal as hath a goot.
No berd hadde he, ne nevere sholde have;
I trowe he were a geldyng or a mare.
But with thise relikes, whan that he fond
A povre person dwellynge upon lond,
He made the person and the peple his apes.
He was in chirche a noble ecclesiaste.

Mystery Character F

As leene was his hors as is a rake,
And he nas nat right fat, I undertake,
But looked holwe, and therto sobrely.
Ful thredbare was his overeste courtepy,
For he had not yet gotten hym no benefice,
Of studie took he moost cure and moost heede.
And gladly wolde he lerne and gladly teche.

Group 3: Mystery Characters G, H, I

Mystery Character G

Ther was a sclendre colerik man.
His berd was shave as ny as ever he kan;
Wel koude he kepe a gerner and a bynne;
Ther was noon auditour koude on him wynne.
He koude bettre than his lord purchace.
Ful riche he was astored pryvely.
His lord wel koude he plesen subtilly,
To yeve and lene hym of his owene good,
And have a thank, and yet a cote and hood.

Mystery Character H

A landowner was in his compaignye.
Whit was his berd as is the dayesye;
Wel loved he by the morwe a sop in wyn;
To lyven in delit was evere his wone,
For he was Epicurus owene sone,
An housholdere, and that a greet, was he;
It snewed in his hous of mete and drynke

Mystery Character I

A skilled man they hadde with hem for the nones
To boille the chiknes with the marybones,
And poudre-marchant tart and galyngale.
Wel koude he knowe a draughte of Londoun ale.
He koude rooste, and sethe, and broille, and frye,
But greet harm was it, as it thoughte me,
That on his shyne a mormal hadde he.
For blankmanger, that made he with the beste.

Group 4: Mystery Characters J, K, L

Mystery Character J

A sailor was ther, wonynge fer by weste;
And certeinly he was a good felawe.
Ful many a draughte of wyn had he ydrawe
Fro Burdeux-ward, whil that the chapman sleep.
Of nyce conscience took he no keep.
If that he faught and hadde the hyer hond,
By water he sente hem hoom to every lond.

Mystery Character K

With us ther was a learned man;
In al this world ne was ther noon hym lik,
To speke of phisik and of surgerye,
For he was grounded in astronomye.
Ful redy hadde he his apothecaries
To sende hym drogges and his letuaries,
For ech of hem made oother for to wynne.
For gold in phisik is a cordial,
Therefore he lovede gold in special.

Mystery Character L

A good man was ther of religioun,
And was a povre preest of a toun,
But riche he was of hooly thoght and werk.
That Cristes gospel trewely wolde preche;
This noble ensample to his sheep he yaf,
That first he wroghte, and afterward he taughte.
But Cristes loore and his apostles twelve
He taughte; but first he folwed it hymselve.

The Detective Assignment

Your mission: Solve the mystery of who these characters are and what Chaucer is really saying about them.

For each of your mystery characters, determine:

  • What is their profession/social role?
  • What clues in the text reveal this?
  • What does Chaucer say that sounds positive? And negative?
  • Is there a gap between appearance and reality?
  • If this character existed today, who would they be? What modern profession or type of person matches?

Presentation

  • Reveal the identities of your mystery characters
  • Show one specific example of contradiction or irony from the Middle English text
  • Explain what this reveals about medieval English society
  • Present your modern equivalent - how would we understand this today?