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Canterbury Tales - Prologue Quiz

Terms in this set (37)

What is the name of the author of Canterbury Tales?
Geoffrey Chaucer
When was the author born?
1342
As a Clerk of the King, a part of his pay was to receive what each day?
A pitcher of wine
Rising in his royal employment he reached the position of?
Knight of the shire for Kent
Eventually obtaining this title of Diplomat, he went on?
Diplomatic missions throughout Europe
From his travels it allowed the author to?
Develop his writing skills
Chaucer's name come from the French meaning?
Shoe maker
Who was Chaucer married to?
Phillipa Pan
What was the name of his first 1300 line poem written in 1369-1370?
"Book of the Duchess"
When did Chaucer die?
1400
Where was Chaucer laid to rest?
Poets Corner in Westminster Abbey
When was Canterbury Tales written?
1387-1400
Literature at the time was typically divided into?
Lower, middle and upper classes
Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is unique in that it avoids aiming at any one particular class, but rather focusses on?
Characters
Originally Chaucer intended that the pilgrims tell a number of stories on the way to Canterbury and on the way back. How many stories did Chaucer have in mind for both the journey to and from Canterbury?
2 stories on the way to Canterbury and
2 on the way back, which would total 116 tales all together.
As Chaucer did not complete writing his fully intended Canterbury Tales he only wrote how many stories?
24, plus the General Prologue and a Retraction
One of the reasons Canterbury Tales is such a famous work of literature is because?
It has captured a microcosm of the medieval society.
Canterbury Tales has been written using what structural feature?
Frame narrative
What is a frame narrative?
A story within a story
In Canterbury Tales, Chaucer himself takes on the role of?
Pilgrim
Within Canterbury Tales, women have an interesting role because it is the first time they have had?
A voice in literature
What genre does Canterbury Tales belong to?
Poetry
What is the name given to this type of English in which the narrative is written?
Middle English
What is the section of the poem that illustrates this structural feature of the frame?
The General Prologue
What is the overall point of the Prologue?
To establish the initial setting and purpose of the narrative - the pilgrims who are from all layers of society, tell stories to each other to kill time while they travel on their journey.
What is the name given to the setting in which the pilgrims are gathered?
Tabard Inn
The setting of the poem occurs in what season?
Spring
Where is the Inn located?
Southwark, South of London
Where are the pilgrims all traveling to?
Canterbury
How far away is Canterbury from their original location
56 miles approximately
How many pilgrims where traveling?
29
Why are the pilgrims all going on a trip?
To show their religious affiliation and pay homage to Thomas
Who is Thomas Beckett?
The martyred Archbishop of Canterbury
From reading the prologue what does the reader learn about the characters?
Descriptions of the variety of different characters that are going on the pilgrimage.
As the narrator describes the pilgrims he identifies them by their?
Occupations - but his descriptions are interesting because more often than not, he's trying to point out discrepancies between what their job is and how they actually act.
What is the name of the literary technique the poet uses as he describes the different characters within Canterbury Tales?
Irony - as often he makes jokes about them. He, generally, praises everybody, but you can kind of tell that in some cases it's meant to be ironic; it's meant to be a joke.
Chaucer utilizes which type of verse within Canterbury Tales
Heroic Couplets
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