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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. What does the Host do after the Prioress's Tale?

2. Who directs the boy's mother to where his body has been cast in the Prioress's Tale?

3. What does the Second Nun warn against in her prologue?

4. What does the Prioress offer in her prologue?

5. Where does the Pardoner's Tale begin?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the Host interrupt Chaucer's telling of the Tale of Sir Topas?

2. What is the parallel between the Prioress's Prologue and her Tale?

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

4. What is Phoebus's downfall in the Manciple's Tale?

5. Why does Virginius kill his daughter?

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

7. How does the Prioress emphasize the idea that the boy in her tale is a victim?

8. What is different about the Parson's Tale in comparison to the rest of the pilgrims' tales?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain the role of Greek literature and mythology on Chaucer's society. How does Greek mythology and literature play a role in the pilgrims' tales? What does this reveal about Chaucer's society? What does it reveal about the pilgrims?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the setting of The Canterbury Tales. How does the setting of a pilgrimage contribute to the individual pilgrims' tales? How would the story be different if Chaucer had used a different setting?

Essay Topic 3

Define irony. Identify each type of irony and give an example from The Canterbury Tales for each.

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