Chaucer: key themes + critics

Question 1

entertaining ribaldry or problematically cynical?

Question 2

one of…….unlovely…..all literature
- J. T

Answer 2

one of the most surprising pieces of unlovely virtuosity in all literature
- JSP. Tatlock

Question 3

the s……of…….
- T. C

Answer 3

the spirit of satirical fun
- TW Craik

Question 4

……most savagely…… angrily………..unsmiling……in our…..
- H. H

Answer 4

one of the most savagely obscene, angrily embittered, pessimistic, and unsmiling tales in our language
- Hugh Holman

Question 5

it pro…… a and a, rather………………
- J. B

Answer 5

it provokes malicious amusement and appreciation, rather than open and honest laughter
- JD Burnley

Question 6

misogynistic or proto-feminist?

Question 7

this port………..on side of……
- G. A

Answer 7

this portrayal of married love is on the side of the female
- Gail Ashton

Question 8

tr……….rail….
- R. J

Answer 8

traditional anti-feminist raillery
- Robert Jordan

Question 9

May: victim or cunning manipulator?

Question 10

Januarie’s r…….is i….
he thinks……..but…………….s..v.. is …… her
- T. W

Answer 10

Januarie’s ‘rape’ of May is ironic even: he thinks he is the sexually dominant partner, but we are made to know that all the sexual vitality is possessed by her
- Trevor Whitlock

Question 11

Januarie: sympathy or disgust?

Question 12

…. is a p…. of m…..
- H. H

Answer 12

Januarie is a perversion of marriage
- Hugh Holman

Question 13

one likes ……. to see…. grossly……
- N. C

Answer 13

One likes Januarie too much to see him grossly betrayed
- Nevill Coghill

Question 14

…… could be s……. due to……, but…….so r….. he evokes u……………….
- M. H

Answer 14

Januarie could be sympathetic due to some of his traits, but he is so repulsive he evokes universal contempt
- Maurice Hussey

Question 15

Knights, Chivalry and Gentils: satirical or aspirational?

Question 16

the…..ex….. the h…… k………….
- R. F

Answer 16

the tale… exposes the hollowness behind knightly pride
- Rosalind Field

Question 17

this tale is……… dressed…….
…… elements in…… deb…… by the………………
- H. C

Answer 17

this tale is a fabliaux dressed up as a romance… romance elements in the story are debased by the way they are handled
- Helen Cooper

Question 18

the aspirational merchant class: satirical or celebratory?

Question 19

the… of ex……..as……………….arouses as much….. as the………… of being……………….
- H. P

Answer 19

…the evil of exploiting others as objects, commodities or dupes, arouses as much moral horror as the spiritual personal evil of being absorbed in money
- Helen Phillips

Question 20

even…………. shares………with……
the………offers is o………………….. and his whole a…………. centred…………
- D. A

Answer 20

even Justinus… actually shares many commonplace assumptions with the old knight. the counsel he offers is obsessed with material possession and his whole approach to marriage is centred on his acceptance that it is another business transaction
- David Aers

Question 21

relationship between tale and teller

Question 22

presentation of love and marriage

Question 23

deception

Question 24

appearance and reality

Question 25

comedy

Question 26

use of animal imagery

Question 27

genre

Question 28

irony

Question 29

satire

Question 30

text structure