The Canterbury Tales Flashcards
Iambic Pentameter
A line of verse having five metrical feet
Heroic couplets
Rhyming lines of iambic pentameter
Framework story structure
A story within a story; the frame is the pilgrim road trip; the picture is the tales of the pilgrims
Satire
The use of exaggeration to mock someone or something
Ballad
A narrative poem, usually brief and anonymous, that is the oral tradition of people
- usually has a tragic tone
- lots of repetition
A stanza
A group of lines that work together as a unit
Who wrote the Canterbury Tales?
Geoffrey Chaucer
- famous English poet
- first to write in iambic pentameter
Overview of the Canterbury Tales
- a collection of stories told by a group of 29 pilgrims on a pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral to pay homage to Thomas a Becket
- written in Middle English
General prologue takeaways?
- spring brings rain
- Easter is near
- growing is important
- it’s supposed to be a holy trip but the pilgrims aren’t really doing it for religious reasons
Exemplum
An anecdote or example inserted into a sermon to teach a moral lesson
Verbal irony
When you say one thing but mean another
Situational Irony
What actually happens is different from what you expect
Why is it ironic at the pardoner preaches a story with this particular moral?
It’s ironic because he is full of greed, and even brags to the other people about how much he lies in such for money
What is Chaucer satirizing in “The Pardoners Tale”?
He is satirizing the fact that the church goes against their own policies, considering in this tale the pardoner explains how greed is a deadly sin yet the pardoners full of so much greed
In “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”, the knights quest is to find out what women want what irony is in this?
The irony is that he raped a woman and is now on this quest
What does the knight do at the end of “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”?
He lets the women choose whether she is to turn ugly or beautiful because he learned he can’t assert his control on a women
How many husbands has the Wife of Bath’s had?
5
Who are the characters in “The Millers Tale”?
John ( the old husband), Allison (18 year old wife), Nicholas (predicts the future), Absalon (works for church)
What does the student Nicholas look like? How does he use this to his advantage?
He is handsome, and has a meek, girlish look which he uses to seduce women
I’m what way are John the carpenter and his wife mismatched? How does this affect his behavior to her?
John is much older and so he keeps her in a cage because he fears she will be unloyal.
What does Nicholas persuade Allison to do?
He convinces her to sleep with him and love him in secret
Who is Absalon? Identify at least two or three of his traits that make him seem ridiculous.
He likes to dance, sing, and play the fiddle. Also, he tries to seduce women with a “love-lorn look”.
What do we learn about Alison’s bedroom?
It is low to the ground
On Saturday, Nicholas starts acting strangely. How? Why?
Nicholas took a days worth of food up to his room because Alison and him came up with a plan to trick John.
What “prediction” does Nicholas give John? Why does John fall for it?
Nicholas claims that a flood is to sweep the earth of humans, and he is believed because he uses astrology and signs from god to predict the future.
How does Nicholas keep John out of the way while he and Alison follow their “guest of fun”?
He makes John get 3 tubs and hang them on the roof to let the 3 of them survive the “flood”.
How does Nicholas humiliate Absalon?
Nicholas makes fun of him after he kissed Alison’s butt.
How does Absalon get revenge?
When Nicholas sticks his “arse” out the window for Absalon to kiss, instead he takes a hot iron and brands his rump.
Of the four main characters in “The Millers Tale”, who is the only one who escapes any punishment?
Alison
What is the reward for the best tale?
A free meal
The Knights description
- the knight is admired and the noblest of the pilgrims
- he is loyal, generous, and kind
- he fought in the Crusades
The Squires description
- the son of the Knight and is 20 yrs old
- strong, beautiful, curly-haired young man dressed in clothes embroidered w dainty flowers
- he fights in hope of winning favor w his lady
- he loves very passionately
The Yeoman description
- a freeborn servant that accompanies the Knight and Squire
- wears green from head to toe and Carrie’s an enormous bow and beautifully feathered arrows, as well as a sword and small shield
- his gear suggests he is a forester
The Prioress description
- her name is Madame Eglentyne
- she isn’t part of the royal court but she does her best to imitate it’s manners
- speaks French w an English accent
- she’s pretty, but has an enormous forehead
- she wears a set of prayer beads, from which hangs a gold brooch that says “Love Conquers All”
- another nun and 3 priests accompany her
The Monk description
- extremely handsome, he loves hunting and keeps many horses
- you can hear his horse bridle jingling
- he is aware that the rule of his monastic order discourages monks from hunting but he doesn’t care (the narrator agrees w the monk)
- the fat, bald, and well dressed monk resembles a prosperous lord
The Friar description
- member of a religious order who lives entirely by begging
- he is jovial and well-spoken
- he hears confessions and assigns easy penance to those who donate
- makes him popular w wealthy landowners
- despite his poverty, the donations he excepts keep him dressed richly
The Merchant description
- attired in nice boots and an imported fur hat, he speaks constantly of his profit
- he is good at borrowing money, but clever enough to keep anyone from knowing that he is in debt
The Clerk description
- a thin and threadbare student of philosophy at Oxford
- he devours books instead of food
The Man of Law description
- a wise character, capable of preparing flawless legal documents
- he is very busy but tries to appear busier than he actually is
The Franklin description
- white-bearded, wealthy gentleman farmer, possessed of lands but not of noble birth
- chief attribute is his love for food
The 5 Guildsmen descriptions
- dressed in the livery, or uniform, if their guild (artisan)
- the narrator compliments their shiny dress and says they are fit to be a city official
The Cook description
- is the Guildsmen’s chef
- Chaucer would praise fully if it weren’t for the ulcer on his shin
The Shipmen description
- wears a dagger on a cord around his neck
- when he’s on his ship, he steals wine from the merchant he is transporting while he sleeps
The Physician description
- bases his practice of medicine and surgery in a thorough knowledge of astronomy and the 4 juniors
- well acquainted w ancient and modern medical authorities l, but reads little Scrioture
- Chaucer jokes that the doctors fav medicine is gold
The Wife of Bath description
- a keen seamstress who’s always first to the offering at Mass
- she wears heavy head coverings to mass
- she has had 5 husbands and has pilgrimages to Jerusalem 3 times
- her teeth have gaps between them, and she sits comfortably astride her horse
The Parson description
- true to the teachings of Christ and enjoys preaching but hates excommunicating those who can’t pay their tithes
- he walks his staff to visit all his parishioners
- believes he is to be pure and serve as a role model since he is priest
- he is kind to sinner and preaches rather than scorns
The Plowman description
- accompanies his brother The Parson
- works hard, loves God and his neighbors, labors for christs sake, and pays his tithes on time
The Miller description
- red-haired, loves crude, bawdy jokes, and drinking
- strong and able to lift doors off their hinges or knock them down
- has a wart on his nose w bright red hairs sticking out of it like bristles, black nostrils, and a mouth like a furnace
- wears a sword and buckler
- likes to tell dirty stories, steal from his customers, and play the bagpipes
The Manciple description
- stocks a school of law w provisions
- though uneducated he is smarter than most of the lawyers he serves
The Reece description
- hair so short like a priest
- he manages his lords estate so we’ll that he is able to hoard his own money and property in a miserly fashion
- he is a good carpenter and he always rides behind everyone else
The Summoner description
- brings people before court that are accused of violating Church law
- when drunk he tries to speak Latin
- his face is bright red + he has pimples
- he uses his power corruptly
- uses his position to dominate young women in his jurisdiction
- in exchange for a quart of wine, he would let another man sleep w his girlfriend for a year than pardon him completely
The Pardoner description
- has long, flowing yellow hair
- brings souvenirs from his trip to Rome
- his voice is high like a goat
- him and the summoner were close…
- manipulates the poor for his own material gains (sells fake artifacts)
- he’s in charge of selling papal indulgences, but counterfeits pardons and pockets the money
Of The Wife of Baths 5 husbands, how many have been good and how many bad?
3 good, 2 bad
What does The Wife of Bath think makes a good husband?
They are rich, old, and submissive
What was the Wife of Baths 4th husband/marriage like?
- this husband was bad and he had a mistress
- she married him when still young
- she says she was his purgatory on Earth, always trying to make him jealous
- he dies while she was on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem
What does The Wife of Bath say about her 5th husband?
- although he beat her she loved him
- he was diff than the other 4 cuz she married him for love not money
- he was named Jankyn
- he was 20 and she was 40
- to annoy her, he read out of his “book of wicked wives” every night
How did The Wife of Bath become deaf in one ear?
One night she tore 3 pages out of her 5th husbands book and punched him in the face. Then he strikes her on the head making her go deaf in one ear.
Translate: Radix malorum eat Cupiditas
“Greed is the root of all evil”
Foil
A character who is presented a a contrast to a second character (Ex. The Parson and The Pardoner)
Irony
A situation in which there is a contrast between expectation and reality
Fabliau
A metrical tale, typically a bawdily humorous one
