ENGLISH 12
STUDY GUIDE: The Canterbury Tales
Test Study Guide:
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What does the Pardoner admit in his Prologue?
What is always the theme of Pardoner’s sermons?
What does the old man tell the three rioters?
What does the old man symbolize?
What do the three rioters find under the tree?
Describe the three rioters’ plan?
What happens to the three rioters?
With whom does the Pardoner quarrel at the end of his tale?
The subject of the Pardoner’s tale deals with what?
What psychological “trick” does the Pardoner use to get people to buy his pardons?
How do the rioters’ actions reinforce the points the Pardoner is trying to make?
Some critics claim that the Pardoner is the only pilgrim whom Chaucer thoroughly detests. Do
you agree? Give the evidence on which you base your opinion.
It seems fairly obvious that one reason for the Wife’s going on pilgrimage is to search for a sixth
husband. Which of the pilgrims might she set out to entice, and what might be her chance of
success?
What crime did the knight commit?
What was his punishment?
What is the question the knight must answer?
What does the old woman promise the knight?
What does the old woman demand of the knight?
What two choices does the old lady offer the knight?
What does the knight decide?
What happens to the old lady?
Part I: Identify Quotes and/or Pilgrims – Review your Prologue Quiz!!
Part II: Multiple Choice and True/False – The Pardoner’s Tale and the Wife of Bath’s Tale
Part III: Essay: Choose one and complete the graphic organizer for homework.
1. In an essay, describe the arrangement the pilgrims have agreed upon in the Prologue. Explain why
they will be traveling together. Who has the idea to tell stories? Why does the suggestion make sense
to the travelers? Who do they approve of to be in charge of their storytelling, and why do they
accept this person? What will be the reward for the person who tells the best story? In your response
to these questions, use at least two examples from the Prologue.
2. Who is the old man in “The Pardoner's Tale”? Is he a spy for Death? Is he an innocent bystander?
Is he Death itself? Write an essay in which you assert your position. Use examples from the text to
support your position.
3. What is the moral message that the allegory of “The Pardoner's Tale” coveys? In a brief essay,
state the moral message of the tale. Then use information from “The Pardoner's Tale” to show how
several details work together to help build the message.
ENGLISH 12
STUDY GUIDE: The Canterbury Tales
4. In an essay, explain why the old woman first presents herself to the knight as old and ugly, rather
than as young and beautiful. Why does she later transform herself into a young and beautiful
woman? Explain the possible reasons for this change, based on your reading of the “The Wife of
Bath's Tale.”
Notes:
Medieval (religious) views on sex: Only for procreation, praise of virginity (martyrs and saints),
women were not permitted to participate in church policy, characterized as “monsters” with
insatiable sexual appetites, shrews…How does the Wife of Bath represent more modern ideas?
How many examples of overthrown leadership are in the prologue and tale?
Dante’s Inferno
Hell is arranged in nine concentric circles. First circle is reserved for lighter sins, and each circle
progresses to more evil sinners. The worst sinners are the betrayers.
In the next to last circle are the simonists: “sinners who make a practice of selling holy items,
sacraments, or ecclesiastical offices for personal profit.”