The Canterbury Tales

Why are the pilgrims telling stories?

• They all love poetry.

• It is a contest set up by Harry Bailey, the keeper of the Tabard Inn, the winner gets a free meal.

• Chaucer plans to write them all down in a book.

• They do not want to read.

In the prologue of "The Canterbury Tales," Chaucer explains that "there's more to be said for pilgrimages than just seeing a holy place." What part of a pilgrimage does Chaucer find the most interesting?

• "You often meet such extraordinary people."

• ""The food along the way is most satisfying."

• "You always have to solve the most difficult problems."

• "You form the most extraordinary bond with your horse."

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"The Nightmare Beast of Firebrand Tail" tells a tale about Chanticleer. Chanticleer is a...

• Person

• King

• Fox

• Rooster

In "Death's Murderer's" the Pardoner tells a tale about the sin of GREED. Three friends, who are hunting Death find a "pot of gold" under an oak tree. Two of the friends send the third to buy food and drink to celebrate their luck of becoming rich. Which of the following events are part of the plot?

• The two friends who remain behind plan to murder the third upon his return to increase their share of the money.

• The third friend hatches a plan to kill the other two and keep all of the gold for himself.

• After the two murder their friend, they die themselves from the poison in their drinks.

• All of the above.

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In the tale "What Women Most Desire," Sir Salvio must choose between having the ugly, but faithful hag as is wife, OR the beautiful but not-so-faithful fairy princess. Which does he decide to have as his wife?

• Neither. He allows her to choose what form she would take.

• He chooses the ugly, but faithful hag as his bride.

• He chooses the beautiful, but not-so-faithful fairy princess.

• None of these, he asks King Arthur to cut off his head instead.

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In the Miller's Tale "A Barrel of Laughs," the Carpenter is fooled by his young and beautiful wife and her lover, Nicholas. As Nicholas puts his "rear" out the window for another of Alison's admirers (Absalom), what occurs to wake the entire neighborhood?

• Absalom screams in anger after being tricked into kissing Nicholas' rear.

• Alison pushes Nicholas out of the window.

• Absalom uses a red hot brand on Nicholas.

• The Carpenter starts throwing tools at Alison and Nicholas.

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In the Knight's Tale, "Chivalry and Rivalry," Palamon and Arcite both fall in love with the same girl. Their arguments over their love for Emily destroy their once unbreakable bond as brothers-in-arms and cousins. Eventually they are forced to fight to the death in what type of medieval tournament event?

• Melee

• Jousting

• Hand-to-Hand Combat

• Backgammon

Bright and Spark, characters in the Reeve's Tale "Racket at the Mill," are attempting to get even with the Miller who steals flour from his customers. They sneak into the Miller's house in the middle of the night and trick the Miller's wife into beating him senseless in his own bed by moving what precious piece of furniture?

• The Crib

• The Larder

• The Millstone

• The Settle

Sir Walter chooses the peasant woman Griselda as his bride in the Scholar's Tale "Test of a Good Wife." Griselda turns out to be a perfect wife and all of the people in the kingdom adore her. Sir Walter begins to "test" her, first resulting in her children being taken away and eventually leading to a divorce and new marriage to a beautiful younger bride. At the climax of the story, Sir Walter informs Griselda that he has been testing her, and in truth...

• the beautiful young bride is actually her daughter and she is the perfect wife.

• he did not like her cooking.

• she failed miserably.

• he is very impressed by her sewing skills.

The Franklin's Tale "Love on the Rocks" involves a love struck squire, Aurelius, who attempts to "win" the love of another knight's wife, Dorigen. Aurelius makes his love known to Dorigen while her husband, Arviragus is away. He begs for a chance at love and has a tantrum at being rejected. Dorigen promises her love to Aurelius on condition that he completes an impossible task simply to get him to leave her alone. Aurelius takes her seriously and employs the help of a magician at great cost. The black rocks on the coast of Brittany disappear and Dorigen is forced to keep her word. Ultimately, Aurelius releases Dorigen from her promise as he realizes his actions are the opposite of honorable and do not represent the knight's code of chivalry. Aurelius learns an important lesson through the actions of Dorigen and her husband and keeps his word to pay the magician who helped him.

What phrase does Aurelius use that shows the lesson he has learned?

• "A thousand pounds!"

• "... my brother does not deserve to suffer because of my foolishness."

• "Send me to peel a rainbow off the sky!"

• "After all, a bargain is a bargain."