English Literature- Chapter 3
Which is closest in meaning to lines 3-4 of the following passage of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales? 'Whan that Aprille, with hise shoures soote, / The droghte of March hath perced to the roote / And bathed every veyne in swich licour, / Of which vertu engendred is the flour'
And bathed every vein in such liquid, the power of which creates the flower.
Why is Old English difficult for contemporary people to read?
Because it's essentially a foreign language.
In 'The Pardoner's Tale' in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, two of the friends send the third to town for supplies and plot to kill him when he returns, in order to increase their share of the prize. How does the third friend plan to kill the other two?
By poisoning some of the wine he's bringing back.
In 'The Nun's Priest's Tale' from Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, how does Chauntecleer escape from the fox?
By suggesting that the fox brag about his success, thus making him open his mouth.
Caedmon's Hymn is the earliest recorded poem in Old English. What about its authorship makes it unique?
Caedmon was illiterate, so the poem was composed orally and then scribed by someone named Venerable Bede in the 7th century.
The Canterbury Tales is probably Chaucer's most famous work. It is likely that Chaucer had the ability to write about all of the different included characters because:
Chaucer did many different jobs, traveled, studied, and had many friends of different backgrounds to give him context.
In 'The Nun's Priest's Tale' from Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, how do Chauntecleer and the fox's actions depict the moral of the story -- Don't trust a flatterer?
Chauntecleer is flattered by the fox's request to hear him sing, leading to the fox snatching him up. The fox is flattered by Chauntecleer's request to brag about how the fox caught him, leading to Chauntecleer's escape.
In 'The Nun's Priest's Tale' from Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, the name of the protagonist rooster, Chauntecleer, means what?
Clear singer
What is the moral of 'The Pardoner's Tale' in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales?
Don't be greedy.
In The Knight's Tale from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, cousins Arcite and Palamon end up staging a battle for the heart of which lady?
Emily
Why is 'The Prioress's Tale' from Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales notable?
For its extreme anti-Semitism.
In Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, when the three friends in 'The Pardoner's Tale' go looking for Death under a tree, what do they find instead?
Gold
In the General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales, the Wife of Bath is quite interesting and one of the only female characters who gets to tell stories. All of the following are true about the Wife of Bath EXCEPT:
Her son is traveling with her.
In the General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales, the pilgrims represent a diverse group of people. Which of the following is a common trait shared by the pardoner, summoner, and friar?
Hypocrisy
Why do scholars believe that The Canterbury Tales are likely unfinished?
In the General Prologue, the frame narrative suggests that each pilgrim will tell four tales, but fewer tales are told.
A fabliau is a comic genre characterized by which of the following?
Jokes about sex and bodily functions
Sir Thomas Malory is a famous medieval writer who wrote Le Morte d'Arthur, which is something most of us are familiar with from the references we see in pop culture. However, his book differs from the typical novels of the time because _____.
Malory created a compilation of Arthurian legends and added just a few of his own to create the novel
The Prioress's Tale' in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, after being killed, the little boy miraculously keeps singing a hymn in praise of whom?
Mary
What language did Chaucer write in?
Middle English
Why was the fact that Chaucer wrote in the vernacular of the time in which he was living considered pretty revolutionary?
Most important works were written in Latin, and using the common vernacular made his work more accessible to everyday people.
What does This Nicholas anon leet fle a fart mean?
Nicholas farted
In The Knight's Tale from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, who ends up getting married?
Palamon
In 'The Nun's Priest's Tale' from Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, Chauntecleer is comforted after a bad dream by his favorite wife, _____.
Pertelote
In 'The Canterbury Tales', why does the miller tell his tale?
To upset the knight.
Which is closest in meaning to lines 1-2 of the following passage of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales? 'Whan that Aprille, with hise shoures soote, / The droghte of March hath perced to the roote / And bathed every veyne in swich licour, / Of which vertu engendred is the flour'
When April's sweet showers have pierced the drought of March to the root.
How is the The Wife of Bath's Tale from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales considered to have feminist elements?
Women getting sovereignty over their husbands is a major theme.
Beowulf is similar in structure to Caedmon's Hymn because of the _____ verse and use of _____. However, it's different because it's really long, and is classified as an _____ instead of a poem.
alliterative; caesura; epic
William Langland's Piers Plowman is an allegorical poem that differs from other kinds of poems because allegorical poems are _____.
big metaphors for something else
the General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales, the prioress affects the manners of a _____.
courtly lady
A helpful hint for deciphering Middle English is _____.
look for words that sound the same as modern day English.
The Wife of Bath's Tale in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, as a punishment for _____ the knight is charged with figuring out what women most want in the world.
rape
In The Miller's Tale of 'The Canterbury Tales', when Absalon arrives at the window to ask for a kiss, Alisoun presents her _____.
rear end
In Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, 'The Nun's Priest's Tale' is an example of which genre?
A beast fable
In The Miller's Tale of 'The Canterbury Tales', what does Nicholas tell Alisoun's husband, John, in order to trick him so that he can spend a night with Alisoun?
A flood of biblical proportions is coming, and they will all need to spend the night in bathtubs to avoid drowning.
Which of the following BEST explains the frame narrative of The Canterbury Tales presented in the General Prologue?
A group of pilgrims traveling to Canterbury tell stories to impress their host, who will reward his favorite pilgrim with a dinner paid for by the rest.
A medieval chivalric romance is closest to which modern genre, and why?
Adventure story, because the stories tend to follow the adventures of a knight.