Canterbury Tales Study Guide

Capps 1

CHARACTER LIST

KNIGHT

SQUIRE

YEOMAN

What is the yeoman’s job?
Describe his physical appearance?
What about his physical appearance tells the narrator that the Yeoman is a “proper forester?”

NUN

MONK

What are the qualities/images we usually associate with a monk?
What does the monk enjoy most in life?
What does the narrator say about the monk’s horse? Why would this be unusual for a monk?
How do the monk’s beliefs about the monastic life differ with the church’s beliefs?
The narrator says he “agreed” with the monk’s views about the monastic life, and he says they “were sound.” Whatevidence is there that he probably doesn’t really agree? So why did he say he agreed with the monk as he was speaking with him?
Describe his physical appearance.

FRIAR

OXFORD CLERIC

What is a cleric?
Describe his appearance and that of his horse.
What is suggested by the details of his clothes and by the description of his horse?
What does he study?
Where does all his money go?
How does he repay the friends who have given him money?
How does he compare with the monk and the friar?
What does the last line of his section reveal about him?

FRANKLIN

COOK

SKIPPER

WIFE OF BATH

Describe her physical appearance.
What do her gap teeth symbolize?
What do the red stockings and the red hue of her skin suggest about the wife of Bath?
What does it mean when it says she is “skilled in wandering by the way”?
Identify at least two instances where the Wife gets off task in telling her story.
Who gives the knight the answer to the queen’s riddle?
What is the knight’s answer to the queen’s riddle?
What must the knight do in return for the person who gave him the correct answer?
Does the knight follow through with his promise?
What complaints does the knight present to show his disdain for his wife?
What characteristic does the old woman claim cannot be truly passed down through the generations?
What quality does the old woman claim is a kind of wealth?
The old woman claims that her age is a positive attribute for her husband. What are her grounds for her argument?
What two options does the old woman offer the knight?
How does the knight respond to his wife’s options?

PARSON

PLOWMAN

The narrator says the plowman is the brother of the parson. Although he may be his actual brother, how is he alsohis brother figuratively?
What are some of his qualities?
What does the plowman spend his time doing?
What does the narrator think of him? Explain.
Describe his physical appearance.
What is the significance of the narrator telling so little about the plowman’s physical appearance?
What is the significance of the plowman riding a mare?

MILLER

What is a miller’s job?
How well does he do his job? Explain.
What instrument does he play?
What kind of stories does the Miller tell?
What does it mean when it says his “mouth was like a furnace door”?
Unlike the plowman, the description of the miller is almost completely a physical one. What is the significanceof this?

SUMMONER

PARDONER

What is a pardoner’s job?
What is the significance of theSummoner riding with the Pardoner?
Describe his physical appearance.
The narrator characterizes the pardoner as being effeminate. What details does he give that develop that characterization?
What kinds of “relics” does he carry?
Why is the pardoner so successful in selling his “relics”?
How does he behave in church?
Why does he try to sing so well?
What does the narrator mean when he says, “I judge he was a gelding or a mare”?
What is always the theme of the Pardoner’s sermons?
Who has killed the dead man at the beginning of the tale?
Where does the old man tell the rioters to look for Death?
What do the rioters find?
When does the wickedest rioter say they should transport their find?
How does the wickedest rioter propose to kill the youngest?
How does the youngest rioter propose to kill the others?
Did the rioters find Death under the oak tree?
What is an example of situational irony from the story?
What is an example of dramatic irony from the story?
What is an example of verbal irony from the story?

HOST

Describe the host.
What does the narrator think of the host?
What does the host propose?
How does the host’s proposal help set up the narrator’s plan for the Canterbury Tales?
What is the storytelling plan he suggests?
What will the winner receive?
Who will judge the contest?
How do the pilgrims decide who will begin the storytelling?