Prologue & Pardoner's Prologue/Tale

Question 1

The Miller

Answer 1

Condition: 16 Stones (224 lbs), brawny, broad, red beard, wart on nose, big mouth
Occupation/Degree: Miller (mill things in a mill)
Apparel/Transportation: Walking (supposedly), sword and buckler at side

Question 2

Time of year

Answer 2

Springtime

Question 3

Where are they going?

Answer 3

Canterbury Cathedral

Question 4

How did the narrator join the group?

Answer 4

Started talking to the pilgrims who were staying at the inn

Question 5

The Host

Answer 5

Condition: Striking, bright eyes, a little tubby, merry, personable
Occupation: Tabard Inn owner, member of Parliament
Apparel: Horse, highly respected

Question 6

What does “And thus I preach against the very vice, I make my living out of avarice.”

Answer 6

Irony because he preaches against being greedy and immoral but that is how the pardoner makes a living

Question 7

What is the Pardoner’s purpose in the quote “Covetousness is both the root and stuff, Of all I preach.” ?

Answer 7

He teaches not to want materialistic things and to be immoral. He is able to ‘pardon’ you for your sins

Question 8

“What! Do you think, as long as I can preach
And get their silver for the things I teach,
That I will live in poverty from choice?
That’s not the counsel of my inner voice!”
What does that mean?

Answer 8

As long as he can trick people into giving him money, he will not live on poverty as he is supposed to be teaching, but that does not satisfy him

Question 9

“No! Let me preach and beg from kirk- to kirk
And never do an honest job of work,
No, nor make baskets, like St. Paul, to gain
A livelihood. I do not preach in vain.”
What does this say about him?

Answer 9

He is not afraid to just go around and not do his job honestly. He does not preach with high opinions of people

Question 10

Who is the Pardoner in his own words?

Answer 10

Cruel and violent and manipulative

Question 11

Who are these people?

Answer 11

Three rioters, young, drunk, rude

Question 12

What did they find out about the dead guy?

Answer 12

They knew the dead man, he died on a bench, and he died drunk.

Question 13

How did he die?

Answer 13

Death got him. Possible heart attack or plague.

Question 14

What does he know about death?

Answer 14

Death is just around the corner and that death is a worthy opponent.

Question 15

What is their plan?

Answer 15

Try and kill death.

Question 16

“Many and grisly were the oaths they swore,
Tearing Christ’s blessed body to a shred;”
What does this mean? How are they talking?

Answer 16

They are possibly anti-God or making deals with the devil.

They are talking rudely and making bad oaths

Question 17

” ‘Good look to you, my lords, and give you quiet!’
To which the proudest of these men of riot
Gave back the answer, ‘What, old fool? Give place!
Why are you all wrapped up except your face?
Why live so long? Isn’t it time to die?’ “
How did they treat the old man?

Answer 17

They were rude and told the old man to just die already

Question 18

What is the old man’s answer? (To the people harassing him)

Answer 18

He says that his age is not their concern and he comes to terms with it.

Question 19

What does the old man long for?

Answer 19

The man longs for death

Question 20

What do they want from the old man?

Answer 20

They want the old man to tell them where/how to find death

Question 21

What do they accuse the old man of?

Answer 21

Being death’s spy

Question 22

What does the old man represent?

Answer 22

Angel of death

Question 23

Where does the old man lead them?

Answer 23

An oak tree

Question 24

What distracts the travelers from death?

Answer 24

Gold coins (greedy)

Question 25

Why are the travelers of happy?

Answer 25

They’ll have wealth and power if they get the gold

Question 26

Why can’t they take the money at night?

Answer 26

They would be called robbers and a gang

Question 27

What is the plan to steal the gold?

Answer 27

One of the travelers will go to town to ‘fetch’ some bread and wine
Two will remain hidden waiting for the third to come back and nighttime to take the money away

Question 28

What plan to the two travelers make while the first is in town?

Answer 28

He says that they should kill the third so they can each get more money from the loot. Able to overpower him (2:1)

Question 29

The plan to kill is….

Answer 29

One pretends to play fight with the returning traveler, but then the one who is not wrestling or coming back will stab the returning traveler, then have the other join in

Question 30

What is the youngest thinking as he returns from town?

Answer 30

Jolly over the fact that they’re getting gold and realizes that he would be happiest if he had all the money to himself.

Question 31

Who put that idea of taking all the coins for himself in the youngest’s head?

Answer 31

An evil spirit of a demon

Question 32

What is the youngest planning?

Answer 32

Buy poison and poison the other two

Question 33

“But I’ll get even, as is only right,
With vermin that destroy a man by night.”
What is significant about these words?

Answer 33

He knows his ‘friends’ are plotting against him.

Question 34

“Why make a sermon of it? Why waste breath?
Exactly in the way they’d planned his death
They fell on him and slew him, two to one”
Is this funny?

Answer 34

He already knew and it’s not funny.

Why did I write ‘you already know’?

Question 35

“One thing I should have mentioned in my tale… It is an honor to you to have found”

What is he saying?

Answer 35

All the travelers deserved their fates

Question 36

“In any accident that may occur… And I advise our Host her to begin.”

What is he’s asking/saying?

Answer 36

He’s saying that if anything happens and people need their sins pardoned, he is there to do that.

Question 37

“The Pardoner said nothing, not a word;
He was so angry that he couldn’t speak.”
Why is he angry?

Answer 37

He can’t fool the pilgrims/host into his con

Question 38

“The worthy Knight immediately began… They kissed, and we continued on our way.”

What does the knight say?

Answer 38

The knight wants everyone to get along with one another.