Stage 4.

When we were assigned to reset Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, I immediately began to think of places on campus that seemed to fit the general idea of a public house and tavern. Coffee shops like Starbucks, Jazzman’s, and Einstein Bros. came to mind first since most college students do not congregate in bars, the literal modern setting of Chaucer’s public house. Specific to Georgia Tech, students tend to congregate more in an outdoor setting – the Kessler Campanile on Skiles Walkway. This common meeting place has almost all the qualities of Chaucer’s original setting.
Chaucer chose his tavern very carefully. In the times in which he was writing The Canterbury Tales the citizens of England were experiencing deep schisms between social classes. The First Estate consisted of the clergy, the higher ups in society and power. The Second Estate consisted of the nobility and the knights. The Third Estate consisted of everyone else. Even in these Estates, there were deeper schisms. Women were always considered socially inferior and inept, despite how much money and land she may have. Anyone who made their fortune through work was looked down upon by those who came by their money the “old way” – family riches. Chaucer threw these social stereotypes away in his setting. The tavern was a place where all these people could meet with those of other societal status. The tavern was not Chaucer’s only commentary on social classes mingling – he set the tavern outside of London itself. Outside of London, the laws and regulations do not apply and no person is more important than another.
Here at Tech, I chose the Kessler Campanile because it holds many of the same values that Chaucer incorporated into his setting. At the Campanile, on days with nice weather, students gather because the multitude of seating and open space provides an ideal place to hold study sessions and group meetings. At this place, social class and other defining features do not matter. Indians mingle with the French and Americans talk with the Spanish. There are some people who have more money than necessary and some here who are taking every bit of financial aid they can. Our society is defined a bit differently today as compared to the time of Geoffrey Chaucer, but there are still some similarities.
The audio track I chose is by a band called Kings of Leon. The song is titled “My Party.” The opening lines of the song describe people on a journey, which I thought fit considering that is the idea behind The Canterbury Tales. The song contains a line that says “We wipe away frowns in the most crowded place,” which I believe fit the idea of people sitting around telling tales. Chaucer made his tales purposely humorous and full of satire to make people laugh. The crowded place obviously refers to a place like a tavern or a public house.
Geoffrey Chaucer set The Canterbury Tales in a public house in England. This setting brought together various social classes in a setting that was neutral to all. I chose to reset The Canterbury Tales to Kessler Campanile on Georgia Tech’s campus. This is a common meeting ground for many diverse students. It is a place with wide, open places to sit and hold conversations.