Chaucer, the Middle Ages, and The Canterbury Tales

Who wrote the Canterbury Tales?

• William Shakespeare

• Geoffrey Chaucer

• Giovanni Boccaccio

• Christopher Marlowe

What language did Chaucer write in? Why is that important?

• French; because Chaucer is English

• Middle English; because important things were usually written in French or Latin

• Old English; because we have very few surviving texts written in Old English

• Early Modern English; because Chaucer and Shakespeare define English literature of that period

What makes The Canterbury Tales a good reflection of the time period?

• It shows a cross section of people in different social levels and occupations.
• It is nonfiction.
• It is autobiographical.
• It reflects scientific achievements of the time.

How did Chaucer die?

• peacefully in his sleep due to old age

• In a joust with a rival author

• longterm, hereditary illness

• under mysterious circumstances (probably poison)

Chaucer was the first poet to be buried in...

• Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey

• Forest Lawn Memorial Park

• Highgate Cemetery

• Dorset churchyard

Which of the following best describes the feudal system in England in the MIddle Ages?

• Knights were as highly honored by society as nobles were

• Every member of society had the primary responsibility of protecting the king

• Nobles owned servants or slaves who worked their land without benefits

• Land-owning nobles provided land in exchange for specific services from tenants (serfs/peasants)

Middle Ages society was all about hierarchy. Everyone knew their place. Who was on top?

• Those who fight

• Those who pray

• Those who work

• Those who buy and sell

A frame story is...

• A story within a story
• A story about a specific time in history
• A story about a photo/work of art
• A story about a person bordering society

Which of the following is not a popular genre of Chaucer's time?

• romances
• fabliaux
• allegory
• mystery

An example of a fabliau (plural: fabliaux) would be....

• Aesop's Fable of the Tortoise and the Hare, in which animals represent humans and their foibles

• The Pardoner's Tale in which irony and symbolic meaning play a huge role

• The Wife of Bath's Tale in which a knight has to go on a quest to figure out what women want

• The Miller's Tale in which a guy ends up kissing a woman's bare bum and she farts on him