The Middle Ages

Abstract

1. How many pilgrims are there in The Canterbury Tales? Where are they going? Why are they traveling together? 2. In the portraits of the pilgrims in "The General Prologue," can you see any examples where Chaucer seems to be gently satirizing the institution of the church? Cite an example or two. 3. In the story-telling contest proposed by the Host in "The General Prologue," what are the criteria that will be used to judge the stories told by the pilgrims? If those criteria were used to judge the story told by the Wife of Bath, would it be considered a good story? Why? Use some specific details from the text to support your views. 4. In the "Prologue" to her tale, what does the Wife of Bath reveal to us about her character? What kind of person is she? Use a word, a phrase, or a paragraph—with examples from the text—to describe her. 5. What is the message conveyed in "The Wife of Bath's Tale"? What kind of connections can we make between the prologue, the tale, and the teller of the tale? 4. What is the crime of the knight in "The Wife of Bath's Tale"? What is his punishment? Does the punishment fit the crime? Why? 6. Judging by what Chaucer's text tells us, what do the dominant cultural expectations about women during the medieval period seem to be? Do you see any instances of misogyny in Chaucer's text?