Canterbury Tales

Question 1

53. Prologue

Answer 1

It sets up the voyage that the pilgrims are traveling to Canterbury to visit shrines. The host introduces the contest of telling the best stories to the shrine. The pilgrimage is made of various people. He ranks the people from wealthy class to lower class, from the knight to the pardoner. It shows a snapshot of medieval times.

Question 2

54. The knight

Answer 2

He is characterized by the noblest of all. He is well respected and does not say anything mean. His son is a squire.

Question 3

55. Theseus

Answer 3

King of Athens. He helps wives to get their dead husbands bodies that were refused to them by the lord of Thebes. So he goes there to get the bones and allows the woman to have their funerals. Also there, he picks up two enemy soldiers and prisons them in Athens.

Question 4

56. Hippolyta

Answer 4

Theseus’s wife

Question 5

57. Palamon

Answer 5

He was first to fall in love with Emily just by a glimpse of her. After a few year, he escapes when Acrite returns to get Emily. They start to fight and then had to duel to each by Theseus’s rule. Before the fight, he prays to Venus to win in the name of love for Emily. But he loses the battle. Just then, Arcite dies by an earthquake and Palamon get Emily as he wished.

Question 6

58. Acrite

Answer 6

He is imprisoned. He falls in love with Emily. He is allowed to leave when his friend comes to free him. But he is jealous of Palamon because he cannot see Emily anymore. So he disguises himself and gets a job in Emily’s chamber. Palamon sees him and they fight. Before the fight, he goes to Mar to pray to win in victory of a battle. In the battle, he wins but an earthquake kills him. He allows to hand over Emily to Acrite.

Question 7

59. Emily

Answer 7

She is the sister in law of Theseus. She agrees to marry either victory of the battle between Acrite and Palamon.

Question 8

60. The Miller

Answer 8

He is crude and loves drinking. He tells dirty stories. He steals from people.

Question 9

61. Nicholas the Gallant

Answer 9

astronomy student who rents a place with the carpenter. He falls in love with carpenter’s wife, Alison. He makes a scheme to spend a night with her. He tricks the carpenter to sleep in a tub because a flood is coming. He gets branded by Absolon, who also loves Alison.

Question 10

62. Carpenter

Answer 10

He is fooled by Nicholas to sleep in a tub because a flood is coming. When Nicholas yells water, he drops down the tubs and crashes down. Everyone thinks he is crazy.

Question 11

63. Alison

Answer 11

Young wife of an old carpenter. She sleeps with Nicholas and tricks Absolon to kiss her bottom.

Question 12

64. Absalon

Answer 12

Blacksmith who loves Alison. He gets an iron and brands Nicholas on the butt.

Question 13

65. The Reeve

Answer 13

He takes the Miller’s tale as an insult because he used to be a carpenter. So in his tale he makes fun of the miller.

Question 14

66. John

Answer 14

A student who are very picky over the miller from stealing their corn. Because it gets late, he spends the night there. He did not want to spend the night alone so he moves a cradle into his room. When the miller’s wife went for a drink and came back she went to John’s room because it had the cradle that was supposed to be in her room. Therefore, he sleeps with the miller’s wife.

Question 15

67. Alan

Answer 15

A student who are very picky over the miller from stealing their corn. Because it gets late, he spends the night there. He goes to sleep with the Miller’s daughter. In the morning, the daughter tells him where her dad hides their flour. He then goes to wake up John, but goes to the room without the cradle and thus wakes up the miller, who gets angry that he slept with his daughter.

Question 16

68. Reeve

Answer 16

He is a steward of a manor. He is very precise in her job, never making a mess and losing animals.

Question 17

69. Simpkin

Answer 17

He is the miller who steals some grains from his customers. He has a wife and daughter. He is ignorant of the fact that John and Alan slept with his family. He does find out at the end but is too late.

Question 18

70. The Physician

Answer 18

He has thorough knowledge of astronomy and medicine. He is very cheap. He has many apothecaries that made him money.

Question 19

71. Virginius

Answer 19

Father of a beauty daughter. He is falsely accused of stealing a servant from Cladius which is his daughter. He kills his daughter and in the end the crowd saves him from death.

Question 20

72. Virginia

Answer 20

the beautiful daughter of Virginus who is loved by Appius the judge. Appius wants her and scheme to get her. She kills herself because she would rather die a virgin than not.

Question 21

73. Cladius

Answer 21

– Evil man who is part of Appius scheme to seduce Virginia. He accuses Virginus of stealing a servant from him which is his daughter.

Question 22

74. Appius

Answer 22

The evil judge who loves and wants Virginia. He dies at the end by the public.

Question 23

75. Pardoner

Answer 23

He sells salvation to earn a profit for himself. He is corrupted and greed but tells a story of greed. He sells fake relics to get money. He preaches that Greed is the root of all evils.

Question 24

76. Death

Answer 24

Three friends are in search of Death because it killed their friend. Death is allow greed that kills all of them.

Question 25

77. 3 friends

Answer 25

Three friends are in search of Death because it killed their friend. An old man directs them to a tree, where they find gold. One friend goes to get food and poisoned two of the drinks so he could get all the gold. Similarly, the other two friends group up to kill their friend who went to get food so they each will have more gold among themselves. In the end, the two kill their friend but they drink the poisoned drinks and die.

Question 26

78. Shipman

Answer 26

He has sailed for years and went to every bay and river in England. He often steals wine from his ship.

Question 27

79. Merchant

Answer 27

He is a rich man with a beautiful wife. He is very friendly with a monk who he considers as his brother. He is left in oblivion when his wife spends his money and the monk sleeps with his wife.

Question 28

80. Merchant’s wife

Answer 28

She asks the monk for some money to buy clothes because her husband is too cheap. In return, she had to sleep with him. Then, she is scolded by her husband for not telling him that the monk repaid her the loan. She said she spent it and will repaid it in sexual desires.

Question 29

81. Sir John, Monk

Answer 29

He is very friendly the merchant. He get money from the merchant to give to his wife. In return he sleeps with her. He tells the merchant that he repaid his loan to his wife.

Question 30

82. Squire

Answer 30

He is the apprentice of his father, the knight. He is a beautiful boy and well dressed in hopes of wooing the ladies. He has talents of singing and playing the flute. He is ranked second after his father.

Question 31

83. Canace

Answer 31

She gets a gift from her father of a magical ring that allows her to hear and understand any language

Question 32

84. Wife of bath

Answer 32

She has five husbands and believes women should have all the power. She marries for money and sexual desires. She is deaf in one ear because her fifth husband beated her for ripping pages out of his book.

Question 33

85. Knight from Wife of bath tale

Answer 33

He rapes a girl and thus is sentence to death. The queen gives him another chance to live if he could answer correctly who women desires the most. An old hag helps him, but he had to marry her.

Question 34

86. Merchant

Answer 34

He is ranked somewhat high by the Host. He constantly speaks about money and is good at borrowing money, but does not reveal that he is in debt.

Question 35

87. January

Answer 35

A blind man to marry May. His wife is cheating on him but is tricked with when his vision comes back.

Question 36

88. Placebo

Answer 36

January’s friend who says to marry as he chooses. He encourages him to marry but does suggest reasons. Placebo cited Solomon, advising January that it would be excellent to marry a young wife, and telling him to do exactly as he pleased.

Question 37

89. Justinius

Answer 37

January’s friend who says to pick the prefect wife. It’s not child’s play to pick a wife. He refuses for him to marry based on his experience. Justinus cited Seneca, arguing that January should be more careful and more thoughtful before taking a wife, warning that a young wife would cheat on an old husband. January does not follow his advice.

Question 38

90. May and Damian

Answer 38

May is the Wife of January, who is in love with Damian. She covers up her action of kissing Damian by saying his vision is playing games with him. Damian is A man who is deeply in love with May and falls ill because of it. May comes help and he send a letter to her about his feelings. Turns out, she also loves him.

Question 39

91. Franklin

Answer 39

He is a wealthy gentleman farmer, with a lot of food. He was known of his wine and his house is always filled with bread and meat.

Question 40

92. Arverage

Answer 40

He marries Dorigen. He is very loyal and keeps all promises. He prompts Dorigen to keep her promise to marry Aurelius.

Question 41

93. Dorigen

Answer 41

She is the wife of Arverage. Aurelius loves her, but she does not. She jokingly says she will marry him if he can move all the rocks from the coastline.

Question 42

94. Aurelius

Answer 42

Falls in love with Dorigen. With help from a magician, he moves to rocks from the coastline. But when Dorigen’s husband allows her to keep up the promise, he sends Dorigen back.