Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ________________________

Period (CIRCLE ONE): A3 A4 B1 B3

The Canterbury Tales Quiz

Directions: For each of the following questions, WRITE the correct letter answer on the line. Each question
has ONLY ONE correct answer.

1. The author of The Canterbury Tales is

a. Oscar Wilde c. Geoffrey Chaucer
b. Sir Gawain d. William Shakespeare
2. The Canterbury Tales is written in which form of narrative
a. Frame Narrative c. Epic Poem
b. Biography d. Summary
3. The author writes in the form of:
a. Sonnet c. Iambic Pentameter
b. Free verse d. Allegory
4. What language was the Canterbury Tales written in?
a. Old English c. Modern English
b. Middle English d. Latin

5. A pilgrim is:
a. A person making a journey c. A person who works for the
to a holy place church
b. Someone who learns from a d. A person who is not free to
master make their own decisions

6. All of the following are estates in the Middle Ages EXCEPT

a. Clergy c. Nobility
b. Ironworkers d. Peasants
7. How many pilgrims were travelling to Canterbury?
a. 33 plus the donkeys c. 29 plus the Host
b. 18 minus the peasants d. Hundreds of thousands
8. In what season were the pilgrims traveling?
a. Spring c. Fall
b. Summer d. Winter
9. In the General Prologue, which characters does the narrator describe?
a. Only the men c. Only the princesses
b. The ones who tell the d. All of them
best stories

10. The Knight would have been part of which estate?

a. Clergy (First) c. Peasantry (Third)
b. Nobility (Second) d. Ironworkers (Fourth)
11. The Nun would have been part of which estate?
a. Clergy (First) c. Peasantry (Third)
b. Nobility (Second) d. Ironworkers (Fourth)

12. The Skipper (a pirate) would have been part of which estate?
a. Clergy (First) c. Peasantry (Third)
b. Nobility (Second) d. Ironworkers (Fourth)

13. In The Wife of Bath’s Tale, which crime does the Knight commit?
a. He steals a loaf of c. He commits treason
bread
d. He covets what he does
b. He rapes a maiden not have

14. The Knight’s punishment is to find the answer to a question. What is that question?
a. What do women most c. What is the meaning of
desire? life?
b. What is the secret to d. Do soulmates exist?
happiness?

15. Which word is used to describe the old lady?

a. Hag c. Donkey
b. Witch d. Crone

16. What is the old lady’s answer to the Knight’s question?

a. Sex c. For all men to die
b. Power of choice in a d. Freedom to travel the
relationship world

17. Who sentences the Knight to his punishment?

a. The old lady c. The Knight himself
b. The King d. The Queen

18. How long does the Knight have to find the answer to the question?
a. A year and a day c. A fortnight
b. Twelve winters d. Until the last petal on
the flower falls

19. How many times was the Wife of Bath married?

a. 6 c. 4
b. 5 d. 3

20. How does the story end?

a. The old lady is young c. The old lady is old and
and faithful faithful
b. The old lady is young d. The old lady is old and
and unfaithful unfaithful