week 3

Question 1

audiences in the CT

Answer 1

the readers & the pilgrims

Question 2

lyrical words

Answer 2

technique, style, formatting used by writers and speakers to masterfully emphasize, embellish or strengthen their compositions
- convay the message of something very poetic
–> nature is waking up after the sleep of winter = things are going to start over again

Question 3

estate satire

Answer 3

medieval literary genre which gives an analysis of the vices and follies of certain social functions, and professions (e.g. monks, physicians, millers), hence of social stereotypes not of individuals. Pokes fun at classes of society by making fun of stereotypes

Question 4

non-moral Chaucer

Answer 4

middle-class man employed at court
- he belonged to 50% of the society
trained as clerk (contemptus mundi) but enjoyed life at court
traveler, cosmopolitan, soldier, poet

Question 5

voices of the CT

Answer 5

• chaucer the poet
• chaucer the pilgrim
• the conventional estates satirist
• the other pilgrims

Question 6

why did Chaucer write the CT?

Answer 6

chaucer wrote the CT because the pilgrims were very criticized
- their souls need to be regenerated, that’s why they go on pilgrimage
- they have to thank the holy saint who helped them when they were sick –> St. Thomas à Becket (1118 - 1170)

Question 7

high style

Answer 7

a style of rhetoric, noticeable for its use of figurative language and for its ability to evoke emotion

Question 8

medieval ‘clerk’

Answer 8

• could also be a scholar
• everyone who could read and write learned a professional class
• highly represented in the CT
• chaucers explanation of the monk confirms the corruptness (he also does this with friars and nuns)
  –> nun shows forehead, swears a lot