Geoffery Chaucer - 2in1

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GEOFFERY CHAUCER 20. Roman de LA Rose. most popular and influential of all
French poems in the Middle ages.
LIFE & WORKS
1. His era - 14th Century 21. Italian period: Visiting Italy on diplomatic mission, was
2. Father of English Literature & English Poetry influenced to write : Troilus and Cressida His longest completed
3. Born in 1340 in London poem adopted from Boccaccio's story FILOSTRATO ( THE LOVE-
4. Died in 1400 in London STRICKEN ONE).
5. He was a poet, Philosopher and diplomat
6. He served as a bureaucrat, courtier and diplomat 22. Other poems The House of Fame: The House of Fame is over
7. He is best known for his " The Canterbury Tales." was influenced 2,005 lines long in three books
by Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio 23. The parliament of Fowls St. Valentine's day : A Royal
8. He got married in 1366 wife name Philippa de Roet Betrothal. A translation into English :
9. He had 4 children 24. The Legend of Good women: (ACCORDING TO HISTORIC
10. Father : John Chaucer BOOKS THIS POEM IS IN ITALIAN PERIOD EXCEPT BR MULK,
11. In 1357, member of household of LIONEL, DUKE OF THEREFORE DON’T BE CONFUSED) It is a collection of stories in
CLARENCE SON OF EDWARD III. heroic couplets about famous women who were faithful in love.
12. In 1359 Military campaign to France
13. He made journeys to Italy and Florence during 1372-73 25. English period: The Canterbury Tales: round about 17,000
14. He was made comptroller of Wools, skins and Hides for the lines
port of London in 1374 26. Its design was similar to Boccaccio's DECAMERON in which
15. He made a second visit yo Italy as a member of embassy in stories were told by a group sequestered from the plague. Began
1378 round about 1386, however 24 (4 of these are unfinished) stories
16. In 1386 became the member of Parliament had been written when he died in 1400.
17. He served as a clerk of the King's works in 1389.
Works:
18. His works is divided into 3 periods.
French, Italian and English French period :

19. Elegy: The Book of Duchess

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 It is both one long narrative (of the pilgrims and their pilgrimage)
and an encyclopedia of shorter narratives; it is both one large
drama, and a compilation of most literary forms known to
medieval literature: romance, fabliau, Breton lay, moral fable,
verse romance, beast fable, prayer to the Virgin… and so the list
goes on. No single literary genre dominates the Tales. The tales
include romantic adventures, fabliaux, saint's biographies, animal
fables, religious allegories and even a sermon, and range in tone
from pious, moralistic tales to lewd and vulgar sexual farces. More
often than not, moreover, the specific tone of the tale is
extremely difficult to firmly pin down.
No-one knows for certain when Chaucer began to write the Tales – the
pilgrimage is usually dated 1387, but that date is subject to much
scholarly argument – but it is certain that Chaucer wrote some parts of
the Tales at different times, and went back and added Tales to the
melting pot.
 The Knight’s Tale, for example, was almost certainly written

earlier than the Canterbury project as a separate work, and then
adapted into the voice of the Knight; and the Second Nun’s Tale,
as well as probably the Monk’s, probably have a similar
compositional history.
Chaucer drew from a rich variety of literary sources to create the Tales,
The Canterbury Tales though his principal debt is likely to Boccaccio’s Decameron, in which
 The Canterbury Tales is at once one of the most famous and most ten nobles from Florence, to escape the plague, stay in a country villa
frustrating works of literature ever written. and amuse each other by each telling tales. Boccaccio likely had a
 Since its composition, critics have continued to mine new riches significant influence on Chaucer. The Knight's Tale was an English
from its complex ground, and started new arguments about the version of a tale by Boccaccio, while six of Chaucer's tales have possible
text and its interpretation. sources in the Decameron: the Miller's Tale, the Reeve's, the Clerk's,
 Chaucer’s richly detailed text, so Dryden said, was “God’s plenty”, the Merchant's, the Franklin's, and the Shipman's. However, Chaucer's
and the rich variety of the Tales is partly perhaps the reason for its pilgrims to Canterbury form a wider range of society compared to
success. Boccaccio's elite storytellers, allowing for greater differences in tone
and substance.

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sex, but, from what we see of her, she also takes pleasure in rich attire,
talking, and arguing. She is deaf in one ear and has a gap between her
front teeth, which was considered attractive in Chaucer’s time. She has
traveled on pilgrimages to Jerusalem three times and elsewhere in
Character List Europe as well.
The Narrator:
The narrator makes it quite clear that he is also a character in his book. The Pardoner:
Although he is called Chaucer, we should be wary of accepting his
Pardoners granted papal indulgences—reprieves from penance in
words and opinions as Chaucer’s own. In the General Prologue, the
exchange for charitable donations to the Church. Many pardoners,
narrator presents himself as a gregarious and naïve character. Later on,
including this one, collected profits for themselves. In fact, Chaucer’s
the Host accuses him of being silent and sullen. Because the narrator
Pardoner excels in fraud, carrying a bag full of fake relics—for example,
writes down his impressions of the pilgrims from memory, whom he
he claims to have the veil of the Virgin Mary. The Pardoner has long,
does and does not like, and what he chooses and chooses not to
greasy, yellow hair and is beardless. These characteristics were
remember about the characters, tells us as much about the narrator’s
associated with shiftiness and gender ambiguity in Chaucer’s time. The
own prejudices as it does about the characters themselves.
Pardoner also has a gift for singing and preaching whenever he finds
The Knight: himself inside a church.
The first pilgrim Chaucer describes in the General Prologue, and the The Miller:
teller of the first tale. The Knight represents the ideal of a medieval
Stout and brawny, the Miller has a wart on his nose and a big mouth,
Christian man-at-arms. He has participated in no less than fifteen of the
both literally and figuratively. He threatens the Host’s notion of
great crusades of his era. Brave, experienced, and prudent, the narrator
propriety when he drunkenly insists on telling the second tale. Indeed,
greatly admires him.
the Miller seems to enjoy overturning all conventions: he ruins the
Host’s carefully planned storytelling order; he rips doors off hinges; and
The Wife Of Bath: (VERY IMPORTANT FOR QUIZ) he tells a tale that is somewhat blasphemous, ridiculing religious clerks,
Bath is an English town on the Avon River, not the name of this scholarly clerks, carpenters, and women.
woman’s husband. Though she is a seamstress by occupation, she
seems to be a professional wife. She has been married five times and
The Prioress:
had many other affairs in her youth, making her well practiced in the
art of love. She presents herself as someone who loves marriage and

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Described as modest and quiet, this Prioress (a nun who is head of her The Parson - The only devout churchman in the company, the Parson
convent) aspires to have exquisite taste. Her table manners are dainty, lives in poverty, but is rich in holy thoughts and deeds. The pastor of a
she knows French (though not the French of the court), she dresses sizable town, he preaches the Gospel and makes sure to practice what
well, and she is charitable and compassionate. he preaches. He is everything that the Monk, the Friar, and the
Pardoner are not.
The Monk:
The Squire - The Knight’s son and apprentice. The Squire is curly-haired,
Most monks of the Middle Ages lived in monasteries according to
youthfully handsome, and loves dancing and courting.
the Rule of Saint Benedict, which demanded that they devote their lives
to “work and prayer.” This Monk cares little for the Rule; his devotion is The Clerk - The Clerk is a poor student of philosophy. Having spent his
to hunting and eating. He is large, loud, and well clad in hunting boots money on books and learning rather than on fine clothes, he is
and furs. threadbare and wan. He speaks little, but when he does, his words are
wise and full of moral virtue.
The Friar:
The Man Of Law:
Roaming priests with no ties to a monastery, friars were a great object
of criticism in Chaucer’s time. Always ready to befriend young women A successful lawyer commissioned by the king. He upholds justice in
or rich men who might need his services, the friar actively administers matters large and small and knows every statute of England’s law by
the sacraments in his town, especially those of marriage and heart.
confession. However, Chaucer’s worldly Friar has taken to accepting
The Manciple:
bribes.
A manciple was in charge of getting provisions for a college or court.
The Summoner:
Despite his lack of education, this Manciple is smarter than the thirty
The Summoner brings persons accused of violating Church law to lawyers he feeds.
ecclesiastical court. This Summoner is a lecherous man whose face is
The Merchant:
scarred by leprosy. He gets drunk frequently, is irritable, and is not
particularly qualified for his position. He spouts the few words of Latin The Merchant trades in furs and other cloths, mostly from Flanders. He
he knows in an attempt to sound educated. is part of a powerful and wealthy class in Chaucer’s society.
The Host - The leader of the group, the Host is large, loud, and merry, The Shipman:
although he possesses a quick temper. He mediates among the pilgrims Brown-skinned from years of sailing, the Shipman has seen every bay
and facilitates the flow of the tales. His title of “host” may be a pun, and river in England, and exotic ports in Spain and Carthage as well. He
suggesting both an innkeeper and the Eucharist, or Holy Host.

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is a bit of a rascal, known for stealing wine while the ship’s captain and live communally. All five Guildsmen are clad in the livery of their
sleeps. brotherhood.
The Physician: The Cook:
The Physician is one of the best in his profession, for he knows the The Cook works for the Guildsmen. Chaucer gives little detail about
cause of every malady and can cure most of them. Though the him, although he mentions a crusty sore on the Cook’s leg.
Physician keeps himself in perfect physical health, the narrator calls
The Yeoman: The servant who accompanies the Knight and the Squire.
into question the Physician’s spiritual health: he rarely consults the
The narrator mentions that his dress and weapons suggest he may be a
Bible and has an unhealthy love of financial gain.
forester.
The Franklin:
The Second Nun:
The word “franklin” means “free man.” In Chaucer’s society, a franklin
The Second Nun is not described in the General Prologue, but she tells
was neither a vassal serving a lord nor a member of the nobility. This
a saint’s life for her tale.
particular franklin is a connoisseur of food and wine, so much so that
his table remains laid and ready for food all day. The Nun’s Priest: Like the Second Nun, the Nun’s Priest is not described
in the General Prologue. His story of Chanticleer, however, is well
The Reeve :
crafted and suggests that he is a witty, self-effacing preacher.
A reeve was similar to a steward of a manor, and this reeve performs
his job shrewdly—his lord never loses so much as a ram to the other
employees, and the vassals under his command are kept in line.
However, he steals from his master.
The Plowman:
The Plowman is the Parson’s brother and is equally good-hearted. A

member of the peasant class, he pays his tithes to the Church and leads
a good Christian life.
The Guildsmen:
Listed together, the five Guildsmen appear as a unit. English guilds were
a combination of labor unions and social fraternities: craftsmen of
similar occupations joined together to increase their bargaining power

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Congregating at the Tabard Inn, the pilgrims decide to tell stories to

pass their time on the way to Canterbury. The Host of the Tabard Inn
sets the rules for the tales. Each of the pilgrims will tell two stories on
the way to Canterbury, and two stories on the return trip. The Host will
decide whose tale is best for meaningfulness and for fun. They decide
to draw lots to see who will tell the first tale, and the Knight receives
the honor.
The Knight's Tale is a tale about two knights, Arcite and Palamon, who
are captured in battle and imprisoned in Athens under the order of
King Theseus. While imprisoned in a tower, both see Emelye, the sister
of Queen Hippolyta, and fall instantly in love with her. Both knights
eventually leave prison separately: a friend of Arcite begs Theseus to
release him, while Palamon later escapes. Arcite returns to the
Athenian court disguised as a servant, and when Palamon escapes he
suddenly finds Arcite. They fight over Emelye, but their fight is stopped
when Theseus finds them. Theseus sets the rules for a duel between
the two knights for Emelye's affection, and each raise an army for a
battle a year from that date. Before the battle, Arcite prays to Mars for
victory in battle, Emelye prays to Diana that she may marry happily, and
Palamon prays to Venus to have Emelye as his wife. All three gods hear
their prayers and argue over whose should get precedence, but Saturn
decides to mediate. During their battle, Arcite indeed is victorious, but
as soon as he is crowned victor, he is killed. Before he dies, he
Summary reconciles with Palamon and tells him that he deserves to marry
The Canterbury Tales begins with the introduction of each of the Emelye. Palamon and Emelye marry.
pilgrims making their journey to Canterbury to the shrine of Thomas a
Becket. When the Knight finishes his tale, everybody is pleased with its
honorable qualities, but the drunken Miller insists that he shall tell the
These pilgrims include a Knight, his son the Squire, the Knight's next tale.
Yeoman, a Prioress, a Second Nun, a Monk, a Friar, a Merchant, a Clerk,
a Man of Law, a Franklin, a Weaver, a Dyer, a Carpenter, a Tapestry- The Miller's Tale, in many ways a version of the Knight’s, is a comic
Maker, a Haberdasher, a Cook, a Shipman, a Physician, a Parson, a table in which Nicholas, a student who lives with John the carpenter
Miller, a Manciple, a Reeve, a Summoner, a Pardoner, the Wife of Bath, and his much younger wife, Alison, falls in love with Alison. Another
and Chaucer himself. man, the courtly romantic Absolon, also falls in love with Alison.
Nicholas contrives to sleep with Alison by telling John that a flood equal

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to Noah's flood will come soon, and the only way that he, Nicholas and converts to Christianity. Angered by his order to convert his country
Alison will survive is by staying in separate kneading tubs placed on the from Islam, the mother of the Sultan assassinates her son and
roof of houses, out of sight of all. While John remained in this kneading Constance barely escapes. She is sent on a ship that lands in Britain,
tub, Nicholas and Alison leave to have sex, but are interrupted by where she is taken in by the warden of a nearby castle and his
Absolon, singing to Alison at her bedroom window. She told him to wife, Dame Hermengild. Both of them soon convert to Christianity upon
close his eyes and he would receive a kiss. He did so, and she pulled meeting her. A young knight fell in love with Constance, but when she
down her pants so that he could kiss her arse. The humiliated Absolon refused him, he murdered Dame Hermengild and attempted to frame
got a hot iron from a blacksmith and returned to Alison. This time, Constance. However, when King Alla made the knight swear on the
Nicholas tried the same trick, and Absolon branded his backside. Bible that Constance murdered Hermengild, his eyes burst. Constance
Nicholas shouted for water, awakening John, who was asleep on the marries King Alla and they have a son, Mauritius, who is born when Alla
roof. Thinking the flood had come, he cut the rope and came crashing is at war in Scotland. Lady Donegild contrives to have Constance
through the floor of his house, landing in the cellar. banished by intercepting the letters between Alla and Constance and
replacing them with false ones. Constance is thus sent away again, and
The pilgrims laughed heartily at this tale, but Oswald the Reeve takes on her voyage her ship comes across a Roman ship. A senator returns
offense, thinking that the Miller meant to disparage carpenters. In her to Rome, where nobody realizes that she is the daughter of the
response, The Reeve's Tale tells the story of a dishonest Miller, Symkyn, emperor. Eventually, King Alla makes a pilgrimage to Rome, where he
who repeatedly cheated his clients, which included a Cambridge meets Constance once more, and the Roman emperor realizes that
college. Mauritius is his grandson and names him heir to the throne.
Two Cambridge students, Aleyn and John, went to the miller to buy
meal and corn, but while they were occupied Symkyn let their horses The Wife of Bath begins her tale with a long dissertation on marriage in
run free and stole their corn. They were forced to stay with Symkyn for which she recounts each of her five husbands. Her first three husbands
the night. That night, Aleyn seduced the miller's daughter, Molly, while were old men whom she would hector into providing for her, using guilt
John seduced the miller's wife. Thanks to a huge confusion of whose and refusal of sexual favors. However, the final two husbands were
bed is who in the dark, Aleyn tells Symkyn of his exploits, thinking he is younger men, more difficult to handle. The final husband, Jankin, was a
John: and the two fight. The miller's wife, awaking and thinking the twenty-year-old, half the Wife of Bath's age. He was more trouble, as
devil had visited her, hit Symkyn over the head with a staff, knocking he refused to let the Wife of Bath dominate him and often read
him unconscious, and the two students escaped with the corn that literature that proposed that women be submissive. When she tore a
Symkyn had stolen. page out of one of his books, Jankin struck her, causing her to be deaf
in one ear. However, he felt so guilty at his actions that from that point
in the marriage, he was totally submissive to her and the two remained
The Cook's Tale was intended to follow the Reeve's Tale, but this tale happy.
only exists as a fragment. Following this tale is the Man of Law's Tale,
which tells the story of Constance, the daughter of a Roman emperor The Wife of Bath's Tale is itself a story of marriage dynamic. It tells the
who becomes engaged to the Sultan of Syria on the condition that he tale of a knight who, as punishment for raping a young woman, is

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sentenced to death. However, he is spared by the queen, who will grant because he has been ill and his infant daughter recently died, the friar
him freedom if he can answer the question "what do women want?" attempted to placate him and then asked for donations once more.
The knight cannot find a satisfactory answer until he meets an old Thomas the innkeeper promised to give the friar a “gift” and gives him
crone, who promises to tell him the answer if he marries her. He a loud fart.
agrees, and receives his freedom when he tells the queen that women
want sovereignty over their husbands. However, the knight is
dissatisfied that he must marry the old, low-born hag. She therefore The Clerk, an Oxford student who has remained quiet throughout the
tells him that he can have her as a wife either old and ugly yet journey, tells the next tale on the orders of the Host. The Clerk's Tale
submissive, or young and beautiful yet dominant. He chooses to have recounts a story about Walter, an Italian marquis who finally decides to
her as a young woman, and although she had authority in marriage the take a wife after the people of his province object to his longtime status
two were completely happy from that point. as a bachelor. Walter marries Griselde, a low-born but amazingly
virtuous woman whom everybody loves. However, Walter decides to
The Friar asks to tell the next tale, and asks for pardon from the test her devotion. When their first child, a daughter, is born, Walter
Summoner, for he will tell a tale that exposes the fraud of that tells her that his people are unhappy and wish for the child's death. He
profession. The Friar's Tale tells about a wicked summoner who, while takes away the child, presumably to be murdered, but instead sends it
delivering summons for the church court, comes across a traveling to his sister to be raised. He does the same with their next child, a son.
yeoman who eventually reveals himself to be the devil himself. The two Finally, Walter tells Griselde that the pope demands that he divorce
share trade secrets, and the devil tells him that they will meet again in her. He sends her away from his home. Each of these tragedies Griselde
hell if the summoner continues to pursue his trade. The summoner accepts with great patience. Walter soon decides to make amends, and
visits an old woman and issues her a summons, then offers to accept a sends for his two children. He tells Griselde that he will marry again,
bribe as a payment to prevent her excommunication. The old woman and introduces her to the presumed bride, whom he then reveals is
believes that she is without sin and curses the summoner. The devil their daughter. The family is reunited once more. The Clerk ends with
then appears and casts the summoner into hell. the advice that women should strive to be as steadfast as Griselde,
even if facing such adversity is unlikely and perhaps impossible.
The Summoner was enraged by the Friar's Tale. Before he begins his
tale, he tells a short anecdote: a friar visited hell and was surprised to The Merchant praises Griselde for her steadfast character, but claims
see that there were no other friars. The angel who was with him then that his wife is far different from the virtuous woman of the Clerk's
lifted up Satan's tail and thousands of friars swarmed out from his arse. story. He instead tells a tale of an unfaithful wife. The Merchant's Tale
tells a story of January, an elderly blind knight who decides to marry a
young woman, despite the objections of his brother, Placebo. January
The Summoner's Tale is an equally vitriolic attack on friars. It tells of a marries the young and beautiful May, who soon becomes dissatisfied
friar who stays with an innkeeper and his wife and bothers them about with his sexual attentions to her and decides to have an affair with his
not contributing enough to the church and not attending recently. squire, Damian, who has secretly wooed her by signs and tokens. When
When the innkeeper tells him that he was not recently in church January and May are in their garden, May sneaks away to have sex with

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Damian. The gods Pluto and Proserpina come upon Damian and May The Physician's Tale that follows tells of Virginius, a respected Roman
and Pluto restores January's sight so that he may see what his wife is knight whose daughter, Virginia, was an incomparable beauty. Appius,
doing. When January sees what is occurring, May tells him not to the judge who governed his town, lusted after Virginia and collaborated
believe his eyes – they are recovering from the blindness - and he with Claudius, who claimed in court that Virginia was his slave and
believes her: leading to an on-the-surface happy ending. Virginius had stolen her. Appius orders that Virginia be handed over to
him. Virginius, knowing that Appius and Claudius did this in order to
rape his daughter, instead gave her a choice between death or
The Squire tells the next tale, which is incomplete. The Squire's Tale dishonor. She chooses death, and Virginius chops off his daughter's
begins with a mysterious knight arriving at the court of Tartary. This head, which he brings to Appius and Claudius. The people were so
knight gives King Cambyuskan a mechanical horse that can transport shocked by this that they realized that Appius and Claudius were
him anywhere around the globe and return him within a day. Further, frauds. Appius was jailed and committed suicide, while Claudius was
he gives Canacee, the daughter of Cambyuskan, a mirror that can banished.
discern honesty and a ring that allows the wearer to know the language
of animals and the healing properties of all herbs. Canacee uses this The Pardoner prefaces his tale with an elaborate confession about the
ring to aid a bird who has been rejected in love, but the tale then deceptive nature of his profession. He tells the secrets of his trade,
abruptly ends. including the presentation of useless items as saints' relics. The
Pardoner's Tale concerns three rioters who search for Death to
vanquish him. They find an old man who tells them that they may find
The Franklin's Tale that follows tells of the marriage between the Death under a nearby tree, but under this tree they only find a large
knight Arviragus and his wife, Dorigen. When Arviragus travels on a fortune. Two of the rioters send the third into town to purchase food
military expedition, Dorigen laments his absence and fears that, when and drink for the night (when they intend to escape with their fortune)
he returns, his ship will be wrecked upon the rocks off the shore. A and while he is gone they plan to murder him. The third rioter poisons
young man, Aurelius, falls in love with her, but she refuses to return his the drink, intending to take all of the money for himself. When he
favors. She agrees to have an affair with Aurelius only on the condition returns, the two rioters stab him, then drink the poisoned wine and die
that he find a way to remove the rocks from the shore, a task she themselves. The three rioters thus find Death in the form of avarice.
believes impossible. Aurelius pays a scholar who creates the illusion The Pardoner ends his tale with a diatribe against sin, imploring the
that the rocks have disappeared, while Arviragus returns. Dorigen travelers to pay him for pardons, and be absolved, but the Host berates
admits to her husband the promise that she has made, and Arviragus him scatalogically into silence.
tells her that she must fulfill that promise. He sends her to have an The next story, The Shipman's Tale, is the story of a thrifty merchant
affair with Aurelius, but he realizes the pain that it would cause Dorigen and his wife. The wife tells a monk, the merchant’s close friend, that
and does not make her fulfill the promise. The student in turn absolves she is unhappy in her marriage, and asks if she might borrow a hundred
Aurelius of his debt. The tale ends with the question: which of these francs of his. In return for the loan, she agrees, she will sleep with him.
men behaved most generously and nobly? The monk then borrows the money from the merchant himself, sleeps
with his wife, and pays her her husband’s money. When the merchant
asks for his money back, the monk tells him it he gave it to the wife:

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and when the merchant confronts his wife, the wife simply tells him
that she will repay the debt to her husband in bed. The Nun's Priest's Tale tells the story of the rooster Chaunticleerand the
The Prioress' Tale tells the story of a young Christian child who lived in a hen Pertelote. Chaunticleer was ill one night and had a disturbing
town in Asia that was dominated by a vicious Jewish population. One dream that he was chased by a fox. He feared this dream was
child learned the “Alma redemptoris”, a song praising the Virgin Mary, prophetic, but Pertelote assured him that his dream merely stemmed
and traveled home from school singing it. The Jews, angry at his from his imbalanced humours and that he should find herbs to cure
behavior, took the child and slit his throat, leaving him in a cesspit to himself. Chaunticleer insisted that dreams are signifiers, but finally
die. The boy's mother searched frantically for her son. When she found agreed with his wife. However, Chaunticleer is indeed chased by a fox,
him, he was not yet dead, for the Virgin Mary had placed a grain on his and carried off – but is saved when he tricks the fox into opening his
tongue that would allow him to speak until it was removed. When this mouth, allowing Chaunticleer to fly away.
was removed, the boy passed on to heaven. The story ends with a
lament for the young boy and a curse for the Jews who perpetrated the
heinous crime. Chaucer follows this with The Second Nun's Tale. This tale is a
Chaucer himself tells the next tale, The Tale of Sir Thopas, a florid and biography of Saint Cecilia, who converts her husband and brother to
fantastical poem in rhyming couplets that serves only to annoy the Christianity during the time of the Roman empire, when Christian
other pilgrims. The Host interrupts Chaucer shortly into this tale, and beliefs were illegal. Her brother and husband are executed for their
tells him to tell another. Chaucer then tells The Tale of Melibee, one of beliefs, and she herself is cut three times with a sword during her
two tales that is in prose (the other is the Parson’s Tale). This tale is execution, but does not immediately die. Rather, she lingers on for
about Melibee, a powerful ruler whose enemies attack his family. several more days, during which time she orders that her property be
When deciding whether to declare war on his enemies, Prudence, his distributed to the poor. Upon her death Pope Urban declared her a
wife, advises him to remain merciful, and they engage in a long debate saint.
over the appropriate course of action. Melibee finally gives his enemies
the option: they can receive a sentence either from him or from his After the Second Nun finishes her tale, a Canon (alchemist) and his
wife. They submit to Melibee's judgment, and he intends to disinherit Yeoman join the band of travelers. The Canon had heard how they
and banish the perpetrators. However, he eventually submits to his were telling tales, and wished to join them. The Yeoman speaks
wife's plea for mercy. incessantly about the Canon, praising him hugely, but then retracts his
praise, annoying the Canon, who suddenly departs. The Yeoman
therefore decides to tell a tale about a duplicitous Canon: not, he says,
The Monk's Tale is not a narrative tale at all, but instead an account of his master. The Canon's Yeoman's Tale is a story of the work of a canon
various historical and literary figures who experience a fall from grace. and the means by which they defraud people by making them think
These include Adam, Samson, Hercules, King Pedro of Spain, Bernabo that they can duplicate money.
Visconti, Nero, Julius Caesar, and Croesus. The Knight interrupts the The Host tells the Cook to tell the next tale, but he is too drunk to
Monk's Tale, finding his listing of historical tragedies monotonous and coherently tell one. The Manciple therefore tells a tale. The Manciple's
depressing, and is backed up by the Host. Tale is the story of how Phoebus, when he assumed mortal form, was a
jealous husband. He monitored his wife closely, fearing that she would

21 22
be unfaithful. Phoebus had a white crow that could speak the language
of humans and could sing beautiful. When the white crow learns that
Phoebus' wife was unfaithful, Phoebus plucked him of his feathers and
threw him out of doors. According to the Manciple, this explains why
crows are black and can only sing in an unpleasant tone.
The Parson tells the final tale. The Parson's Tale is not a narrative tale at
all, however, but rather an extended sermon on the nature of sin and
the three parts necessary for forgiveness: contrition, confession, and
satisfaction. The tale gives examples of the seven deadly sins and
explains them, and also details what is necessary for redemption.
Chaucer ends the tales with a retraction, asking those who were
offended by the tales to blame his rough manner and lack of education,
for his intentions were not immoral, while asking those who found
something redeemable in the tales to give credit to Christ.
MCQs
1. What is the first Canterbury Tale?
THE KNIGHT'S TALE
2. Which tale in the first fragment seems to be unfinished?

THE COOK'S TALE
3. Which tale tells the story of Symkyn the miller?

THE REEVE'S TALE
4. Which characters are in love with Alison in the Miller's Tale?

23 24
JOHN, ABSOLON AND NICHOLAS JANKIN
15. The Wife of Bath suffers, a little, from which ailment...

5. What is the name of the carpenter in the Miller's Tale? DEAFNESS
JOHN
16. What does the Wife use as a bargaining tool?
6. Who farts in Absolon's face? SEX
NICHOLAS
17. The Wife of Bath claims to hate...
7. Who cries out "Water" because their arse has been branded with a CLERKS AND GLOSSING
hot iron? 18. In the General Prologue, which character is swathed in ten pounds
NICHOLAS of cloth?
THE WIFE OF BATH
8. What is the genre of tales to which the Miller's Tale might belong?
FABLIAUX (means comic)
19. Which two characters are sometimes read as a homosexual
9. Which two characters are thought to be indistinguishable from each couple?
other in the Knight's Tale? THE SUMMONER AND THE PARDONER
ARCITE AND PALAMON 20. Chaucer is...
A CHARACTER IN THE PILGRIMAGE, AND THE AUTHOR OF THE
10. Who dies at the end of the Knight's Tale? WORK AS A WHOLE
ARCITE
21. Which pilgrim throws a book into the fire?

11. Who are Arcite and Palamon in love with?
THE WIFE OF BATH
EMELYE
22. What does the Man of Law refuse to tell a tale about?
12. How many husbands has the Wife of Bath had?
INCEST
5
23. Who interrupts the Parson just before he is to tell his tale?
13. The Wife of Bath's first name is...
THE SHIPMAN
ALISON
24. The Cook's real name is

14. The Wife of Bath's fifth husband is named...

25
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25. The Host's name is

HARRY BAILEY
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1 2

ENGLISH LECTURER ACADEMY 03367084968 ENGLISH LECTURER ACADEMY 03367084968

French, Italian and English French period :

ENGLISH LECTURER ACADEMY 03367084968 ENGLISH LECTURER ACADEMY 03367084968

 The Knight’s Tale, for example, was almost certainly written

ENGLISH LECTURER ACADEMY 03367084968 ENGLISH LECTURER ACADEMY 03367084968

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The Physician: The Cook:

The Plowman is the Parson’s brother and is equally good-hearted. A

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Congregating at the Tabard Inn, the pilgrims decide to tell stories to

ENGLISH LECTURER ACADEMY 03367084968 ENGLISH LECTURER ACADEMY 03367084968

ENGLISH LECTURER ACADEMY 03367084968 ENGLISH LECTURER ACADEMY 03367084968

ENGLISH LECTURER ACADEMY 03367084968 ENGLISH LECTURER ACADEMY 03367084968

ENGLISH LECTURER ACADEMY 03367084968 ENGLISH LECTURER ACADEMY 03367084968

ENGLISH LECTURER ACADEMY 03367084968 ENGLISH LECTURER ACADEMY 03367084968

2. Which tale in the first fragment seems to be unfinished?

3. Which tale tells the story of Symkyn the miller?

4. Which characters are in love with Alison in the Miller's Tale?

ENGLISH LECTURER ACADEMY 03367084968 ENGLISH LECTURER ACADEMY 03367084968

JOHN, ABSOLON AND NICHOLAS JANKIN

15. The Wife of Bath suffers, a little, from which ailment...

21. Which pilgrim throws a book into the fire?

24. The Cook's real name is

ENGLISH LECTURER ACADEMY 03367084968 ENGLISH LECTURER ACADEMY 03367084968

JOIN US FOR ONLINE PREPRATION OF ENGLISH LECTURER

25. The Host's name is

ENGLISH LECTURER ACADEMY 03367084968

JOIN US FOR ONLINE PREPRATION OF ENGLISH LECTURER

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