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THE CANTERBURY TALES QUIZ
Dr. Carroll February 10, 2015
1.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Who wrote "The Canterbury Tales"?
William Shakespeare
Geoffrey Chaucer
William Langland
John Gower
2.
A.
B.
C.
D.
3.
A.
How many pilgrims meet Chaucer at the Tabard Inn in Southwark?
22
12
28
15
To what destination are the pilgrims headed?
Nottingham
B. Essex
C. Canterbury
D. London
4.
A.
B.
C.
D.
5.
A.
B.
C.
D.
6.
A.
B.
C.
D.
7.
How many tales did Chaucer intend to write?
10
22
44
120
This tale was adapted from one of Boccaccio's courtly romances. It is also the longest of the
stories in "The Canterbury Tales." What is it?
The Wife of Bath's Tale
The Miller's Tale
The Knight's Tale
The Reeve's Tale
Chaucer wrote "The Canterbury Tales" in this type of English. What is it?
Old English
Middle English
Norman French
British English
The Wife of Bath is looking for something. What is it?
A. The answer to her question
B. A story
C. A new husband
D. That which women desirest the most
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8.
A.
B.
C.
D.
9.
A.
B.
C.
D.
10.
A.
B.
C.
D.
11.
A.
B.
C.
D.
12.
A.
B.
C.
D.
13.
A.
B.
C.
D.
14.
A.
B.
C.
D.
15.
A.
B.
C.
What instrument is the Miller playing when the pilgrims leave Southwark?
Lute
Voice
Bagpipes
Drums
Why are the travelers telling their stories?
They are just killing time
They are each bragging a bit, trying to impress their fellow travelers
It’s a contest. The teller of the most entertaining and instructive tale gets a free meal.
Because Chaucer, a travelling scribe and one of the travelers himself asks them to.
Where do the travelers begin telling their stories?
at an inn in Shrewbury before they begin their pilgrimage
at an inn near London, two days journey from Canterbury
at an inn in Canterbury before their journey home
at an inn in Lancaster, where Geoffrey Chaucer was from.
The Nun's Priest tells a tale about Chanticleer. Chanticleer was...
a well known crusader
an infamously corrupt bishop of Pisa
a rooster
a well hated Summoner
What happens when the traveler Geoffrey Chaucer starts telling his first story?
It's interrupted when the travelers are accosted by soldiers
It's interrupted when his story reminds another traveler of a story and he yields the floor.
He gets partway into the story but is so shy that he forgets how it goes.
The travelers reject his first story as "too dull", so he begins another.
The pardoner, tells a tale about the evils of Greed involving three friends who find a pile of
gold quite literally at death's door. Two of the friends send the third friend to buy food and
drink to celebrate their good fortune. What happens then? Careful...
The two remaining plot to murder the third upon his return to increase their share of the
treasure
He hatches a plan to kill them and keep all the gold for himself
After the two murder their friend they die themselves from the poison in their fare.
all of the above
After telling this tale illustrating the evils of greed what does the Pardoner do?
he leaves the company when word comes that he's inherited a fortune.
He leaves the company when another traveler accuses him of being an apothecary known to
sell poison.
He tries to sell his fellow pilgrims fake religious relics.
none of the above
In his tale the Squire tells of Canacee, the daughter of King Cambuscan who receives three
magical gifts from suitors which of the following is NOT one of the gifts?
A magical ring that will allow the wearer to talk to birds
a magical map that shows her where her father is in the castle
a magical mirror that will show her the future
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D. a brass horse that will take its rider anywhere
16. The Haberdasher, the Weaver, the Dyer, and the Tapestry Maker... Besides their professions
having a common thread, what do these pilgrims have in common?
A. They've all been to Canterbury once before
B. They're not really pilgrims but are just on their way to a faire
C. They all die along the way
D. They tell no tales
17. Alice, The Wife of Bath, a very well- traveled pilgrim, tells a tale of a knight who's been
convicted of rape but will be spared the death penalty if in a year and a day he can discover
"what women most desire."
When an ugly old hag (upon condition that he marry her) discloses that it's "sovereignty over their
husbands" he's offered a choice...
He can have her ugly and faithful or beautiful and perhaps faithless. What does he choose?
A.
B.
C.
D.
18.
A.
B.
C.
D.
19.
A.
B.
C.
D.
20.
He chooses that she remain faithful but ugly
He chooses that she become beautiful, confidently knowing that he can win her heart
He chooses to die. What kind of a life is either choice?
He asks that she decide for him and she decides to be both beautiful and faithful
On the subject of fidelity, the Merchant's tale tells of a possessive old man with a young bride.
When the old man is struck blind, the wife soon cuckolds him, but his sight is restored and
she's caught in the act. What happens next?
The husband in a fit of despair kills himself.
The husband in a fit of rage kills the wife and her lover.
The quick talking wife convinces him that his vision was still unreliable. He then dotes on such a
smart wife as to perceive the truth and remain faithful.
we never hear what happened in the end as the tale is interrupted (yet again)
The Miller is shown to be a loud and drunken pilgrim, though a jolly one as he leads the group
in song while playing his bagpipes. His tale of a carpenter cuckolded by a young wife named
Alison with a young lover named Nicholas upsets the Reeve. Why?
The Reeve used to be a carpenter but he gets even by telling a tale of a miller who's cuckolded
as well by a wife and two law students.
Because the Reeve's name is Nicholas and he thinks that the Miller is accusing him of
something.
Because the Reeve's wife's name is Alison and he thinks that the Miller is suggesting
something.
Because the Reeve fancies himself a pious man and feels that the tales have become too
bawdy.
Who wins the story contest?
A. They award the prize to Geoffrey Chaucer - out of pity.
B. They award the prize to the Pardoner because his tale was most instructive.
C. They award the prize to the Summoner but not because they liked his tale best.
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D. They do not award the prize because the book was never finished, in fact the tale doesn't even go
as far as their arrival in Canterbury.