Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales Prologue, and The Pardoners Tale Flashcards
What is Geoffrey Chaucer called?
The father of English Poetry
When was Geoffrey Chaucer born?
1342
When did Geoffrey Chaucer die?
1400
Where was Geoffrey Chaucer born?
London
Where was Geoffrey Chaucer buried that is the same place where kings and queens are crowned?
Westminster Abbey
What was Geoffrey Chaucer’s father?
A wine merchant
What did Geoffrey Chaucer become?
A page to an important family
What advantage did being a page give Geoffrey Chaucer?
It exposed him to a world of fine manners and high-born people
Why is The Canterbury Tales considered a masterpiece?
It marks the beginning of a new tradition of writing in middle english, it focused on an assortment of people thrown together on a journey, and for it’s outstanding literary achievement
What is a frame story?
A story that provides a vehicle for telling other stories
What is a pilgrimage?
A trip made to a holy place for religious reasons
How many pilgrims go on the pilgrimage in The Canterbury Tales?
30
Where are the pilgrims going in The Canterbury Tales?
Canterbury
Why are the pilgrims going to Canterbury in The Canterbury Tales
To see the shrine of Thomas á Becket
Who suggests that they tell stories to help pas the time in The Canterbury Tales?
The host of the inn
Who was Thomas Becket?
He was the Archbishop of Canterbury who was assassinated by four barons sent by Henry II
What three segments of society did Chaucer draw his characters from?
The feudal system, religious life, and trades or professsions
What language did Geoffrey Chaucer write The Canterbury Tales in?
Middle english
What writing style was The Canterbury Tales written in?
Iambic pentameter
What is iambic pentameter?
a writing style where there are 10 syllables in each line
How many tales did Geoffrey Chaucer write for The Canterbury Tales
24
How many tales did Geoffrey intend to write for The Canterbury Tales
124
What month does the pilgrimage take place in The Canterbury Tales?
April
What is one reason we are told people go on a pilgrimage in line 18 of The Canterbury Tales?
To be healed if they are sick or injured
Where did the pilgrims meet to go on the pilgrimage in The Canterbury Tales?
The Tabard Inn
What does Geoffrey Chaucer say that he is going to tell us in lines 35-41 of The Canterbury Tales?
How the pilgrims are dressed, their occupation, and their personality
What set of rules does the knight follow in The Canterbury Tales
The code of chivalry
How many battles did the knight fight in The Canterbury Tales?
15
In what war did the knight participate in The Canterbury Tales?
The crusades
Why did the knight go on the pilgrimage in The Canterbury Tales
To pray because he has survived all of the wars he has fought
What is the relationship between the knight and the squire in The Canterbury Tales?
Father and Son
How old was the squire in The Canterbury Tales?
20 years old
What details in The Canterbury Tales suggest the squire is a ladies man?
He dressed nicely and was popular and young
In what war did the squire fight in The Canterbury Tales?
100 year war
What is a yeomen?
A nobleman’s attendant
What color are the yeomen’s clothes in The Canterbury Tales?
Green
What is the nun’s name in The Canterbury Tales?
Madam Eglantyne
What do the nuns appearance and possessions hint in The Canterbury Tales?
She longs for a worldly life
What kind of life was a monk supposed to lead?
A godly one that helps people
What detail in The Canterbury Tales suggests that the nun longs for a worldly life?
She wears an expensive necklace, her name is more proper than a nun’s, and she has a dog that she feeds instead of the poor
What evidence does Geoffrey Chaucer give in The Canterbury tales to suggest that the Monk is not true to his order?
He is fat which means he’s over-eating instead of feeding the poor and he does other things instead of his duties
What is the Friar’s name in The Canterbury Tales?
Hubert
Who does the Friar know better than the lepers and beggars in The Canterbury Tales?
The barmaids and innkeepers
In the Canterbury Tales, what does saying that the friar’s neck was whiter than a lily-flower mean?
He is sensual
The merchant in The Canterbury Tales is well-dressed and looks wealthy, but what is he secretly?
Poor
What school did the student in The Canterbury Tales go to?
Oxford
What did the student in The Canterbury Tales spend all of his money on?
Books
What did the Canterbury Tales say the student would do?
Gladly learn and teach
How does Geoffrey Chaucer describe the lawyer in The Canterbury Tales?
Less busy than he seemed to be
What is a Franklin?
A wealthy land owner
What does Geoffrey Chaucer say about the Franklin in The Canterbury Tales?
He loves to feed people
What does the cook have on his knee in The Canterbury Tales?
An ulcer
What color is the cook’s ulcer in The Canterbury Tales?
White like the sauce that he uses inn the creamed chicken pie
Which pilgrim in The Canterbury Tales was a heavy drinker, a pirate, and a murderer?
The skipper
What did the doctor in The Canterbury Tales have little knowledge of?
The Bible
What was the doctor in The Canterbury Tales a great lover of?
Gold
What was the woman of Bath’s disability in The Canterbury Tales?
She was deaf in one ear
How many times has the woman of Bath been married in The Canterbury Tales?
5
What are three things we learn about the woman of Bath in the Canterbury Tales?
She had a gap in her teeth, she wears a red dress and stockings, and she liked to gossip
Whose life was the perfect example of a true Christian priest in The Canterbury Tales?
The parson
Who is the parson’s brother in the Canterbury Tales?
The plowman
What is the Miller like in The Canterbury Tales?
He was stout, big boned, strong, and had a wart at the end of his nose
What position did the Miller ride on the trip to Canterbury in The Canterbury Tales
He was the leader
What was the manciple in charge of in The Canterbury Tales?
Purchasing food for the lawyers
What does it say about how smart the manciple is in The Canterbury Tales?
He is illiterate but is really smarter than the lawyers
What does the reeve look like in The Canterbury Tales?
He is an ugly old man that always looks mean and scowling
What position did the reeve ride on the trip to Canterbury in The Canterbury Tales?
In the back
Why were the children afraid of the summoner in The Canterbury Tales?
He was drunk all the time and smelled bad
What did the pardoner look like in The Canterbury Tales?
A girl
How many stories will each pilgrim tell in The Canterbury Tales?
4
What will be given to the person who told the best tale in The Canterbury Tales?
A free dinner by all the other pilgrims
Who judges the Tales in The Canterbury Tales?
The host of the inn
How is the first storyteller determined in The Canterbury Tales?
By drawing straws
What is an exemplum?
a specific example of a general rule
What is the moral of the story of The Pardoner’s Tale?
Greed is deadly
how many rioters were there in The Pardoner’s Tale?
3
What did the rioters ask the tavern-knave to do in The Pardoner’s Tale?
To see who’s funeral was being held
Whose body was in the coffin in The Pardoner’s Tale?
A friend of the rioters
How was the rioter’s friend killed in The Pardoners Tale?
He was stabbed in the back by a thief called Death
What was the reaction of the rioters about the death of their friend in The Pardoner’s Tale
They were cautious of Death but were also mad
What do the rioters vow to do in The Pardoner’s Tale?
Kill Death
What do the rioters ask the old man in The Pardoners Tale?
Why he wasn’t dead yet
What was the old man’s reply to the rioters when they asked him why he wasn’t dead in The Pardoner’s Tale?
He hasn’t found anyone to trade his age with so it’s his own
Who do the rioters think the old man is in The Pardoner’s Tale?
Death’s spy
What do the rioters find under the oak tree in The Pardoner’s Tale?
A pile of gold
How do the rioters react to the gold in The Pardoner’s Tale?
They were thrilled
When do the rioters plan to move the gold in The Pardoners Tale?
Night time
While the youngest rioter goes to town, what plan is devised by the two left guarding the gold in The Pardoner’s Tale?
That one would stab and kill the youngest while he was play wrestling with the other
What plan is devised by the youngest rioter in The Pardoner’s Tale?
To poison the other two with the drinks
What happens with the rioters in The Pardoner’s Tale?
The two stab the youngest and then unknowingly drink the poison when celebrating
Why or why not do the rioters keep the pledge they made in the tavern in The Pardoner’s Tale?
They didn’t defend each other against death, but instead turned death onto eachother
