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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is the speaker of Chaucer's Retraction?

2. Why does the Host use as many medical terms as he can when speaking to the Physician after his tale?

3. Who does the Host discover sleeping in his saddle?

4. What is Phoebus' vice?

5. Who does the Host ask to tell the next tale?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is common in the books Chaucer retracts?

2. What contributes heavily to the length of the Tale of Melibee?

3. What is the common moral in the Monk's tragedies?

4. What does Chaucer suggest by saying the Tale of Sir Topas includes his best rhymes?

5. How is the merchant's wife able to buy the clothes she wants?

6. What is the style of the Nun's Priest's Tale?

7. What becomes the downfall for both Chanticleer and the fox in the Nun's Priest's Tale?

8. What is the moral the Canon's Yeoman is trying to get across?

9. What kind of a man is Phoebus in the Manciple's Tale?

10. What is a possible reason Chaucer writes his retraction?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain the class system of the Middle Ages. How is the class system expressed in The Canterbury Tales? Is this effective in Chaucer's story? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Define theme. Choose one tale and identify its theme. How is the theme expressed in the tale? How is the theme used to drive the story forward?

Essay Topic 3

Explain chivalry. What pilgrims are chivalrous in The Canterbury Tales? How are they chivalrous? What role does chivalry play in the tales the pilgrims tell?

(see the answer keys)

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