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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What kind of tale does the Monk tell?

2. What does Claudius accuse Virginius of doing?

3. Who does the speaker of the Retraction ask to pray for him?

4. Who falls from his horse after the Yeoman's Tale?

5. Who is the focus of the first part of the Yeoman's tale?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the lesson the Second Nun's Tale teaches women?

2. What about the Shipman's Tale suggests that Chaucer originally intended the story to be told by a female character?

3. Why is the Second Nun's Tale so appropriate for her?

4. What is the twist at the end of the Pardoner's Tale?

5. What is the irony of the Pardoner in his argument with the Host?

6. What is the significance of Virginia's name in the Physician's Tale?

7. What is the purpose of the Canon's Yeoman's Prologue?

8. Why does the Host interrupt Chaucer's telling of the Tale of Sir Topas?

9. Why is it fitting that the tales end with something from Chaucer?

10. What is common in the books Chaucer retracts?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain marriage during Chaucer's time. What pilgrims address marriage in their tales? What do they think of the institution of marriage?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the fragmentation that exists in The Canterbury Tales. Why do you think Chaucer left the fragments in the story? What does this reveal about his writing process? What does this reveal about him?

Essay Topic 3

Define mood. Choose one tale and identify its mood. How is the mood expressed in the tale? How does the mood contribute to the overall tale?

(see the answer keys)

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