1. The Canterbury Tales: Prologue Study Guide

2. 1 st and 5 th Period Study Guide ▪ How does Chaucer use the pilgrimage in his story? – As a frame for the stories told by individual characters ▪ How is the narrator portrayed? – As stern and judgmental ▪ When the narrator says he plans to “give account of all their words and dealings, / Using their very phrases as they fell.” For which kind of characterization would an author provide such details? – Indirect characterization

3. 1 st and 5 th Period Study Guide ▪ How would you describe Chaucer’s attitude toward the nun? – Amused tolerance ▪ How would you best summarize the following passage: – He was an easy man in penance-giving / Where he could hope to make a decent living; / It’s a sure sign whenever gifts are given / To a poor Order that a man’s well shriven, / And should he give enough he knew in verity / The penitent repented in sincerity. – He gave out easy penances and absolution in exchange for gifts whenever he thought he could get gifts from the confessors. He knew that if he exacted a large enough price for the sin that the penitent person would feel truly sorry for what he’d done. In fact, whenever a poor group of friars receives gifts, you can be sure that someone has just received absolution for their sins.

4. 1 st and 5 th Period Study Guide ▪ What can we infer about the Friar from these lines? – But anywhere a profit might accrue / Courteous he was and lowly of service too. ▪ He will use people for their money. ▪ Why does Chaucer describe the Pardoner’s hair as “rat-tails”? – Imply moral corruption ▪ What do the following lines suggest about the Wife of Bath? – In all the parish not a dame dared stir / Towards the altar steps in front of her ▪ She is selfish and arrogant

5. 1 st and 5 th Period Study Guide ▪ Why does Chaucer call the Franklin’s girdle “white as milk”? – In order to reiterate the Franklin’s obsession with food ▪ How would you best summarize the following passage? – Whatever money from his friends he took / He spent on learning or another book / And prayed for them most earnestly, returning / Thanks to them thus for paying for his learning ▪ Whatever money he borrowed from his friends he spent on his studies and books and then prayed earnestly for his friends as a way of giving them thanks. ▪ An example of direct characterization would be, “Children were afraid when he appeared.” True or False? – True

6. 1 st and 5 th Period Study Guide ▪ Why does Chaucer position the description of the Miller almost immediately after that of the Plowman? – To accentuate the virtues of the Plowman as well as the buffoonishness and criminality of the Miller. ▪ What theme does Chaucer convey in the Prologue? – The infinite variety of human nature

7. 1 st and 5 th Period Study Guide ▪ Be able to effectively use the following words: solicitous, sanguine, and garnished.

8. 2 nd, 3 rd, 6 th and 7 th Study Guide ▪ What is Chaucer’s main reason for writing about the pilgrimage in the Prologue? – To create a setting for telling stories by different characters ▪ What was the purpose of the trip? – To go on a pilgrimage ▪ In the Prologue, what does the narrator think of the Monk? – He only cares about himself

9. 2 nd, 3 rd, 6 th and 7 th Study Guide ▪ What is Chaucer’s primary theme in the Prologue? – The great variety of human nature ▪ What do the following lines suggest about the Wife of Bath? – In all the parish not a dame dared stir / Towards the altar steps in front of her ▪ She is proud and demanding ▪ According to the Prologue, how many tales will each pilgrim tell on the journey? – Two going there, two coming back

10. 2 nd, 3 rd, 6 th and 7 th Study Guide ▪ An example of direct characterization would be, “Children were afraid when he appeared.” True or False? – True ▪ Where are the pilgrims going in the Prologue? – To the cathedral in Canterbury ▪ What does the narrator mean in saying these lines from the Prologue? – But first I beg of you, in courtesy / Not to condemn me as unmannerly / If I speak plainly and with no concealings / And give account of all their words and dealings. ▪ Please do not blame me if I tell you the truth about what they said and did.

11. 2 nd, 3 rd, 6 th and 7 th Study Guide ▪ The narrator can best be described as judgmental in the Prologue. True or False? – True ▪ Whom do the pilgrims accept as their leader in the Prologue? – The Host ▪ What can we infer about the Friar from these lines? – But anywhere a profit might accrue / Courteous he was and lowly of service too. ▪ The Friar helps people when he can make money doing it.

12. 2 nd, 3 rd, 6 th and 7 th Study Guide ▪ Be able to effectively use the following words: solicitous, sanguine, and garnished.