WorksheetsThe Wife of Bath
Total questions: 32
Worksheet time: 18mins
The Wife of Bath offers direct statements that present her views. Her view of the church is...
that it is completely corrupt.
that it has taken away England's belief in magic.
that is now holds all the power.
that everyone should follow religion.
The Wife of Bath offers direct statements that present her views. Her view of friars is...
that they are the best of the holy men.
that they are not needed.
that they prey on women.
that they are the same as monks.
The Wife of Bath offers direct statements that present her views. Her description of women's desires shows...
that women are flawed.
that men should have the upper hand.
that she is honest about her own desire for pleasure, pampering, money & flattery
that she deserve to be hit by her husband.
The Wife of Bath offers direct statements that present her views. Her acknowledgement of the flaws in marriage and men shows...
that she is honest.
that she has a sense of humor.
that she is domineering.
that she is humorous, domineering, smart and no nonsense.
The Wife of Bath offers direct statements that present her views. Her view of the church and friars shows...
that she is humorous
that she is satiric
that she is humorous, satiric, ironic and cleverer.
that she is clever.
With her literary and historical allusions (expression designed to call something to mind/reference), the Wife of Bath may be trying to show...
that she would make a good wife for one of the pilgrims.
that she is as knowledgeable and worthy of respect as any male.
that she is more educated than any male.
that she can tell the best story.
In what way is the Wife of Bath's tale suited to her personality?
It is as multi-dimensional as she is.
It is as offensive as she is.
It is as humorous as she is.
It is as flawed as she is.
What makes the knight give in to the old woman?
He comes to understand her message.
He has to or his head will be chopped off.
He decides to go against his better judgement.
He feels that it is a punishment he deserves.
How many times has the Wife of Bath been married?
3
4
5
6
How does a reference to Jesus attending a wedding at Cana cause the Wife of Bath to become angry?
She realizes she is supposed to attend her cousin’s wedding that weekend and will never be back in time.
She says Jesus turned the water into wine and the bread into fish, so she should be able to turn a poor husband into a prince.
She says the biblical reference indicates the wife is supposed to be submissive, and she believes this is just wrong.
She says the biblical reference indicates a person should only marry once in his or her lifetime. Since she has had more than one husband, she believes this statement is an accusation against her.
The Pardoner interrupts the Wife of Bath after only a few pages of her prologue. What does he interject?
He asks her to stop discussing biblical references because not everyone in the group is familiar with them and those who are not feel excluded.
He tells her he was about to get married but is now having second thoughts because of her speech.
He tells her he is a married man and hopes his wife never crosses paths with the “wisdom” of the Wife of Bath.
He asks her to explain the part about the wedding at Cana again.
The Wife of Bath believes intimate relations between a husband and wife exist for the purpose of
procreating.
urinating.
controlling the husbands.
pleasing the husbands.
The main theme of her prologue is
men should remain bachelors.
women should be allowed to marry as often as they want even if the previous husband is not deceased.
a woman should always marry for love.
women in the know are able to control their husbands and that is the natural order in a marriage.
What was wrong with the second to last husband?
He cheated on her.
He beat her.
He died on their honeymoon.
He worked all the time and neglected her.
What was wrong with the last husband?
He cheated on her.
He was too strict and beat her.
He died on their honeymoon.
He traveled on business frequently.
What did the last husband do in the latter part of their marriage?
He continued to take on mistresses even though he knew it upset her.
He beat her daily and eventually broke his hand on her head.
He gave in to her wishes and asked her only to be true to his honor.
He became submissive and allowed her to beat him for a change.
At the beginning of her tale, the Wife of Bath makes an unkind remark about friars. She describes a setting a hundred years prior when fairies and elves roamed the
lands. Along came the friars and they chased away these magical creatures making the lands safe. How does she use this description to make a dig at the friars? She says women are now safe
to walk alone because only the friars are about and the friars will only take a woman’s virtue, which is to say, rape her.
to walk alone because the friars have chased away the fairies and elves that used to attack women and rape them.
to walk in the woods because there is always a friar handy to escort one.
to walk in the woods because the friars have set up a blockade for anything evil.
What is the setting of her tale?
King Creon’s court
King Arthur’s court
the Elf Queen’s court
the Marquis’s court
When a lusty knight is walking through the woods, he spies a maiden and he
falls in love and proposes to her.
begs her to run away with him.
tries to take her forcibly but she runs to the nearest friar for help.
is overcome with his own desire and rapes her.
Which character gives the knight an opportunity to save his life?
the queen
the king
another knight who is speaking on behalf of the knight
an old woman who was once a beautiful young woman
The knight spends a year on his quest and is unable to find the answer until the very last moment. Where does he find this answer?
the queen
he asks the Elf Queen
an old woman
his fellow knight
When he says the correct answer, the queen pronounces him free
of debt and allows him to leave.
but the old woman says he owes her a debt that must be paid.
as long as he never returns to the kingdom again.
but the old woman says it was really her answer and calls the knight a cheater.
What is the debt the old woman claims the knight owes her? The knight has to
marry her.
take her to her homeland safely.
pay her a large sum of money.
to marry the women he originally raped because she is the old woman’s daughter.
When asked if he prefers a young woman who will cheat on him or an old one who will be faithful, the knight responds
the young one and he will find a way to chain her up.
the old woman and he will just take a mistress on the side.
neither, he decides to run away and live the life of a hermit.
by telling her to do whatever she wants and he will live with her decision.
What is the theme of this tale?
Knights cannot be trusted.
Sometimes wisdom comes in unattractive packages.
Women never know exactly what they want.
Men should always submit to their wives.
How is this tale particularly fitting for the Wife of Bath?
The Wife of Bath’s Prologue is about how a woman in the know can control her husband and the tale reinforces that message.
The Wife of Bath’s last husband was half her age and the knight is half the age of the old woman.
The Wife of Bath is an old and unattractive woman so she resembles the old woman in the tale.
The Wife of Bath’s daughter was the maiden the knight attacked.
What is the wife of Bath an expert at?
love
money
religion
riding horses
How much time does the knight have to find the answer?
A year
Twelve weeks
Twelve months and one day
Twelve days
Why can't the knight find the answer for what women desire the most?
they're already satisfied with their lives
all women can't agree into one answer
women don't desire anything
