Bazinga B. - 5th Period | Final Exam Blog Post
Influences of Postmodernism seen in Canterbury Tales
Introduction
Geoffrey Chaucer's, Canterbury Tales exams a journey to Canterbury with 24 pilgrims tall tales. Throughout the piece worlds are created, absorbed and ended, keeping a sequential flow. The Postmodernist elements of self- reflection and experience are intertwined with tales of knighthood and thievery. You can’t miss the obvious inclusion of life building upon story. While capturing great characters the tales allow us to see the pilgrims' souls in their stories, the whys and whats of their human. I argue Postmodernism allows us to speak our minds more freely by emotional expression, recollection and peculiar visual arts. We aren't defined by rules
Summary of Element One - Fragmentation
Canterbury Tales and Comment #3
Links to Postmodernism in Your Literary Tradition Text
In Canterbury Tales stories are grouped in ten fragments read in continuous order. Chaucer shows fragmentation by each tale will end, “For reverence of His Mother dear on high. Amen. HERE ENDS THE PRIORESS'S TALE” (Chaucer 129). When a new tale or prologue begins you will see a subheading stating the name of the new storyteller like “The Prioress's Tale” or “Prologue to Sir Thopas”. Chaucer is using narrative disruption by moving onto another character.
Links to Postmodern Media Source(s)
In Tenacious D’s “Tribute” music video their lyrics “this is not the greatest song in the world, no this is just the tribute. Couldn’t remember the greatest song in the world, no” so they create a scene that plays side by side to each other. We see what happened on the actual day and them in the present appearing to be in a tiny karaoke box recording the ridiculous song. The cut between one believable realistic version and a totally bizarre world is what makes the video appealing. It's like they didn't want anyone telling them "that didn't happen" so they showed it to them.
My Take - Couldn’t believe a bizarre music video and 600 year old story would have any connection, but in fact the
both display ties to fragmentation; the process of breaking into small parts. We are either seeing as two different settings being played back and forth or characters being switched from story to story.
Summary of Element Two - Paradox (internal experiences) & Self Reflexivity
Canterbury Tales and Comment #2
Links to Postmodernism in Your Literary Tradition Text- Paradox
Between the lines of Canterbury Tales you can find a hidden message from what Chaucer’s travelers are saying. For example the Wife of Bath says “Here may you see, though for a while we bide, Yet out it must; no secret can we hide. The rest of all this tale, if you would hear, …”(Chaucer 227). You can interpret ‘secrets can we hide” to be her way of expressing some hidden agenda. Reading more you find her story is not exactly all about her. Her story will highlight the theme of women's so-called desire for control and power in a marriage. “Because so long the secret must she hide; ...”, just another semantic said by the Wife of Bath who really wants us to know she has a secret (Chaucer 227).
Links to Postmodern Media Source(s)- Self Reflexivity
Nnamdi, “Semantics”
In his song “Semantics” which by Vocablary.com definition is the study of meaning in language”. His past tense self tells a story of his life, possibly a future that he is leading to. He frequently said “ I can’t change into someone I can’t fix” only once asking the question “ What if I change into someone I can’t fix?”( another hint that he's not there yet 😌).Throughout he makes the impression that he can’t possibly bother anyone with the tasks he's taken on, but the meaning behind his words make it seem like a cry for help. Like someone being asked “what’s wrong?” and they say “nothing” but you really know they just want you to keep pushing because they don’t want to feel like the person begging for attention.
My Take - The paradox and Self- Reflexivity both unbury the past or person's characteristics. Nnamdi gives us a feel for what he is going through presently while the Wife of Bath portrays a story that connects to herself and gives us a theme; women should have the most power in a marriage.
Summary of Element Three - Metafiction(story within a story)
Canterbury Tales and Comment #1
Your Literary Tradition Text
Before the wonderful world of the Canterbury Tales begins, Chacuer adds his prologue. It explains each character in immense detail then continues with his own dialogue “…The Canterbury Tales 19 Thus that his story first of all he'd tell…” - here he is talking about the first story told by the Knight. Canterbury Tales features 24 written stories in Middle English that will tell us of a long journey “In fellowship, and pilgrims were they all that toward Canterbury town would ride.”, telling each other their own story.
Links to Postmodern Media Source(s)
Tolstaya, Tatyana “ Unnecessary Things”
Everyone is so worried about what society thinks of us. The narrator pulled a modernist piece “A Rose for Emily” into her story, making her fear that an old bear is like a woman's dead husband. Good for her for not wanting to rot away but do we have to compare a snuggle with a childhood stuffed animal to a rotting corpse sleeping on her victims side of the bed. The bear is deemed “unnecessary” because of the fear the literary description provides.
My Take - The take away here is how both Unnecessary Things and Canterbury Tales were able to make their main narrative or answer around the story they included within their story. A Rose for Emily was used as the narrator's reason to get rid of her old stuffed animal, while Canterbury Tales included 24 different stories that connected the character telling them to their personal struggles, lives, loss, etc.
Conclusion
Often what we want people to hear and what we don’t want to say. We find reason to justify our life choices with stories of heroes, battles of war, tall tales, and epics.
Works Cited
Literacy Tradition Text
Chaucer, Geoffrey. From The Canterbury Tales. 1387. Translated by Nevill Coghill, myPerspectives, English Language Arts IV, Edited by Morell, Ernest, PhD.,et al.,Pearson,2006.pp.185-228. Accessed May 13, 2025
Image
Gray, Melissa. “Ancient Pompeii Victim was not crushed by a stone block, after all, archaeologists say”. 30 June 2018, CNN, www.cnn.com/2018/06/30/europe/pompeii-victim-new-findings/index.html. Accessed May 13, 2025.
“Guitar Hero Poster- Bone Devil”. Nerd Kung Fu, www.nerdkungfu.com/guitar-hero-poster-bone-devil/.Accesed May 13, 2025.
Reynolds, Brooks. “Toy Story 3: Final Scene Breakdown”. 26 July 2016, Medium, medium.com/@brooksreynolds/toy-story-3-final-scene-breakdown-13bd04561767. Accessed 13 May, 2025.
Roberts, Priscilla. “A Rose for Emily”. May 2014, Research Gate, www.researchgate.net/figure/William-Faulkner-A-Rose-for-Emily_fig7_301747069. Accessed 13 May, 2025.
Schuman. M. “Inquiring Deeply About Self-Reflection” 2017, Dr. Marjorie Shuman, www.drmarjorieschuman.com/inquiring-deeply-about-self-reflection/. Accessed 13 May, 2025
"The Canterbury Tales" Geoffery Chacuer, Geraldine McCaughearn, 3 September 2015, Penguin
Books, https://www.penguin.co.nz/books/the-canterbury-tales-9780141366715. Accesed 13 May, 2025.
GIF
“Broken Toy GIF”. 26 July 2017. Tenor, tenor.com/view/loud-house-loud-house-series-loud-house-gifs-eye-pop-old-toy-gif-9315734. Accessed 13 May, 2025.
“Grand Imagination Playtime GIF”. 2020. Tenor, tenor.com/view/grand-imagination-playtime-kid-playing-playing-with-toys-gif-16707569. Accessed May 13, 2025.
“Jack Black Gold Coast GIF”. 2025. Tenor, tenor.com/view/jack-black-jack-black-gold-coast-kung-fu-panda-gif-12904697100931421514. Accessed May 13, 2025.
“Just Livin Life GIF”. 5 January 2018. Tenor, tenor.com/view/kourtney-kardashian-my-vibe-right-now-is-just-living-life-life-living-nbd-gif-10699019. Accessed 13 May, 2025.
"Karen On GIF". 22 June 2024. Tenor, https://tenor.com/view/karen-on-the-phone-gif-17132787370278745451. Accessed 13 May, 2025.
“Omori Omori Basil GIF”. 11 November 2024. Tenor, tenor.com/view/omori-omori-basil-staring-window-something-gif-968761731313493511. Accessed May 13, 2025.
"Sheldon Cooper Young Sheldon Meme". 6 December 2024. Tenor. tenor.com/view/sheldon-cooper-young-sheldon-sheldon-chat-bubbles-gif-13209781094865289776Video. Accessed 13 May, 2025.
Video
Black, Jack, “Steve’s Lava Chicken” Youtube, 9 April 2025, www.youtube.com/watch?v=41O_MydqxTU. Accessed May 13, 2025.
Hovermale, Steven, “Remember the Titans Leadership Example”, Walt Disney Studios, Youtube, 6 September 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYU2MCpEgXM. Accessed May 13, 2025.
Nnamdi, “Semantics” Youtube, 2 April 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSDiXzFjMTE. Accessed May 13, 2025.
Sawyer, Jenny, “AP English Literature and Composition Terms| SATIRE”, 60 Second Recap, Youtube, 6 March 2010, www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvhHsRAwDz4. Accessed May 13, 2025.
Tenacious D., “Tribute” Youtube, 10 October 2010, www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lK4cX5xGiQ. Accessed May 13, 2025.
“The Importance of a Support System”, The Live Laugh Love Foundation, Youtube, 12 September 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7SdK7qnwLg. Accessed May 13, 2025.
Lyrics
Tenacious D. “Tribute Lyrics” 6 July 2002. GENIUS, 10 October 2010, genius.com/Tenacious-d-tribute-lyrics. Accessed May 13, 2025.
Article
Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily”, Faculty Web, facultyweb.wcjc.edu/users/jonl/documents/RoseforEmily.pdf. Accessed 13 May, 2025.
Tolstaya, Tatyana. “Unnecessary Things”, The New Yorker, 9 August 2017, moodle.carmelunified.org/moodle/pluginfile.php/110790/mod_resource/content/1/Unnecessary%20Things%20by%20Tatyana%20Tolstaya.pdf. Accessed 13 May, 2025.
Wow, I wasn’t expecting The Canterbury Tales and Tenacious D to be in the same conversation, but somehow it totally works! I love how you made fragmentation feel super visual switching between karaoke booth chaos and medieval pilgrim tales made that postmodern break in structure click for me. You also did a great job showing how both Chaucer and Nnamdi layer meaning in ways that feel deeply personal but still messy and open-ended. That Wife of Bath/Nnamdi comparison? Genius. It’s like they’re both saying “I’m fine” when they’re obviously not. Your breakdown made these complex ideas way more relatable, and your takeaways helped connect the old-school texts to the emotional rollercoaster of modern storytelling. Really engaging read!