Question

(1) Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories told by pilgrims who are journeying to the shrine of St. Thomas Becket at Canterbury. (2) Such pilgrimages were common in the Middle Ages. (3) They often served to bring people from different backgrounds together. (4) Chaucer's pilgrims, who form such a heterogeneous group, include representative medieval social classes, but they are also presented as real people with real biographies. (5) Chaucer's pilgrims are introduced to the reader in "The Prologue" of The Canterbury Tales. (6) By describing people from all walks of life, the narrator of ""The Prologue"" paints a picture of fourteenth-century England. (7) The Canterbury Tales displays the entire range of medieval society: the nobility, clergy, learned professions, skilled workers, tradesmen, and laborers. (8) Each pilgrim represents a group. (9) Perhaps that is why the narrator does not refer to them by their names. (10) He instead identifies the pilgrims by their class, like the Knight; or by their occupation, like the Merchant; or by their situation in life, like the Wife of Bath. (11) The first pilgrim the narrator introduces is the Knight. (12) The treatment of this nobleman is a good example of how the narrator combines the general and the particular. (13) He starts by describing the Knight as a "worthy" man. (14) This quality might seem ordinary to a modern reader. (15) One modern translation renders this term as "excellent" and another as "most distinguished." (16) Some of the other qualities the narrator attributes to the Knight, such as chivalry, are also indefinite to a modern reader.(17) But the narrator doesn't stop with these rather generic qualities; he also presents the Knight as an individual. (18) This nobleman becomes much more than a mere fact of social history. (19) The narrator describes the Knight's military career in very specific detail. (20) He mentions all the foreign places where the Knight has fought, both near and far, such as Spain, Egypt, Turkey, and Russia. (21) The narrator also depicts him fighting fiercely in tournaments, which were a knight's dangerous recreation, and in which the Knight "always killed his foe." (22) However, despite all his soldiering, this tough, deadly fighter has remained as "meek as a maiden." (23) In this way, the Knight becomes more than a mere role model for chivalrous behavior. (24) He starts to exist as a real person with a full biography.

Question
How might you revise the syntax of sentence 4 for a more engaging effect?
Select one:
a. Chaucer's pilgrims form such a heterogeneous group. They include representative medieval social classes, but they are also presented as real people with real biographies.
b. Chaucer's pilgrims form such a heterogeneous group, and include representative medieval social classes, and are also presented as real people with real biographies.
c. Chaucer's pilgrims form such a heterogeneous group and include representative medieval social classes. However, they are also presented as real people with real biographies.
d. Chaucer's pilgrims form such a heterogeneous group. They include representative medieval social classes. They are also presented as real people. They have real biographies.

Answer 1

To make sentence 4 more engaging, we could use: 'Chaucer's pilgrims form such a heterogeneous group and include representative medieval social classes. However, they are also presented as real people with real biographies.'

Step-by-step explanation:

To revise sentence 4 of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales Prologue for a more engaging effect, we could choose option (c): "Chaucer's pilgrims form such a heterogeneous group and include representative medieval social classes. However, they are also presented as real people with real biographies."

Chaucer's pilgrims form such a heterogeneous group that includes representative medieval social classes. However, they are also presented as real people with real biographies, which adds depth to their characterization and makes them relatable to the readers.

This option maintains the complexity of the original sentence while injecting a contrasting conjunction that heightens the tension between the general representation of the classes and the individuality of the pilgrims. It also allows the statement to flow smoothly, keeping the sentence both informative and engaging.