Canterbury Tales Flashcards
How many tales did Chaucer intend to write
120
Two for each person way there
Two on way back
What is the Canterbury tales About?
Pilgrims make a pilgrimage to Canterbury to visit the shrine of St. Thomas a’ Becket
How many tales did Chaucer complete
22
What genre is the Canterbury tales
Estates satire
Genre set out to expose and pillory typical examples of corruption at all levels of society
Estates satire
What does Chaucer avoid in explaining his characters
Making overall moral judgements
What do the pilgrims attributes clue
Their social rank and moral/ spiritual condition
Who is the host
The judge of whose tale is the best
The only fabliau
Millers tale
A short usually comedic, sometimes vulgar tale, popular in the 12th and 14th centuries
Fabliau
Poor widow who has many animals Chanticleer is ruler chicken He dreams of fox taking him away Fox asks chanticleer to sing Fox grabs chanticleer Partlet screeches and widow hopes to free chanticleer
Nuns priests tale
What are the morals of the nuns priests tale
Do not let flattery ruin ones judgement
Listen to dreams
Intimidating miller cheats people of their flour
Allan and John want revenge
Allan sleeps with millers daughter
John sleeps with wife of miller by moving baby crib
Allan gets In millers bed and brags
Reeves tale
Allison married to John - carpenter Nicholas flirts with Allison The two fall in love Absalom wants Allison He kisses her butt Comes back, Nicholas farts in face Yells water carpenter breaks arm
Millers tale
Merchant wife not happy in marriage
Slept with monk bc monk gave her money
Merchant finds out in end
Shipmans tale
Moral of shipmans tale
Promotes fidelity
Arveragus and dorigen married
Dorigen goes to garden meets Aurelius
Aurelius declares love, dorigen refuses
Aurelius visits magician and gets rocks of shore for 1,000 pounds
Dorigen has to marry Aurelius
Aurelius lets dorigen stay with actual husband and Aurelius doesn’t owe debt
Franklins tale
Moral of franklins tale
Don’t make promises you can’t keep
Wife cheats on Phoebus White crow good friends with Phoebus White crow sees wife cheating Tells Phoebus Phoebus kills wife - blames crow Takes white feathers off crow making them black and throws in hell
Manciples tale
Insults greedy summoner Summoner collects people Meets devil Both go to woman's house Summoner demands money Old lady wants devil to take summoner Devil takes summoner
Friars tale
Moral of Friars tale
All summoners are evil but they will repent one day
Don’t listen to temptation of the devil
Describe the prologue of the story
Tone is light and cheerful
Describes spring and April
Describes each pilgrim
What is so different and significant about the Canterbury tales
First to include every social class in his story
Describe chaucers retraction
He continuously apologizes and has dark and sorrowful tone
Almost seems sarcastic
Says he meets God and repents
Truly trying to keep from being arrested
