We don't mean to sound biased… but The Canterbury Tales, and specifically "The Pardoner's Tale" and his "Prologue," is some of the best literature to teach. We know, we know, Olde English and whatnot, but we promise you can make a compelling case to the groaniest of high schoolers for the Pardoner and his crew.

First, the entire thing is a great idea—29 people heading on a journey and the reader learns about them through the author's description and the stories that they tell. An archaic convention? Think about the films Crash, Babel, and Magnolia, and even one of the first movies to apply this technique in the 1970s, Nashville. The directors used the exact same approach: independent stories gently woven into a common fabric that unites the individual aspects.