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The Canterbury Tales Quiz Challenge - How Much Do You Know? | Authors

Here is a fun quiz on the stories and pilgrims in Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales."

A multiple-choice quiz by Acj2011. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
Acj2011

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
345,925

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
416

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Which of the following is NOT generally considered a reason why Chaucer wrote "The Canterbury Tales?" Hint

To show a cross-section of English society

To show the hypocrisy of people

To demonstrate an anthology of different genres

To explain the importance of Catholic pilgrimages

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Question 2 of 10

2. What genre is "The Knight's Tale?" Hint

Romance

Beast fable

Fabliaux

Exemplum

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Question 3 of 10

3. Which of the pilgrims pushed his way to the front of the group, even though he was not supposed to be the leader? Hint

Monk

Knight

Miller

Pardoner

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Question 4 of 10

4. Which of the following is not one of the humors used by the Doctor of Medicine? Hint

Saliva

Phlegm

Blood

Melancholy

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Question 5 of 10

5. Which of the following characteristics does NOT correspond with those of King Theseus from "The Knight's Tale?" Hint

Forgiving

Great conqueror

Caring

Ambitious

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Question 6 of 10

6. In "The Knight's Tale," Palamon prays to the goddess, Venus, asking her for what? Hint

Peace and chastity

Become handsome

Victory in battle

Love of Emily

7. In "The Pardoner's Tale," the Pardoner says that the love of money is the root of all evil. However, he then goes on to take money from people as part of his job. This is an example of what kind of irony? Hint

Verbal irony

Situational irony

Dramatic irony

None of these

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Question 8 of 10

8. One of the pilgrims, the Prioress, wears a brooch that ironically reads, "amor vincit omnia." What does that mean? Hint

Women is man's downfall

Virginity is sacred

Money is the root of all evil

Love conquers all

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Question 9 of 10

9. Which tale demonstrates an example of "fabliaux justice?" Hint

The Knight's Tale

The Pardoner's Tale

The Nun's Priest's Tale

The Miller's Tale

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Question 10 of 10

10. Which of the following pilgrims was actually a good person and was not a hypocrite, like the majority of the others? Hint

Monk

Wife of Bath

Summoner

Parson

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which of the following is NOT generally considered a reason why Chaucer wrote "The Canterbury Tales?"

Answer: To explain the importance of Catholic pilgrimages

Geoffrey Chaucer was born in 1300 and based his "The Canterbury Tales" on real Catholic pilgrimages, which began at the Tabard Inn. The pilgrims would travel to the Canterbury Cathedral. Along the trip, he had each of the pilgrims recite two stories, which he recorded in his book.

2. What genre is "The Knight's Tale?"

Answer: Romance

"The Knight's Tale" tells of the tragic love story between the two knights, Arcite and Palamon, and their yearnings for the beautiful Emily, princess of Athens.

3. Which of the pilgrims pushed his way to the front of the group, even though he was not supposed to be the leader?

Answer: Miller

The Miller is a huge, boorish man with a big red wart on top of his nose. He is not smart and is the worst character on the pilgrimage. The Knight, the most valiant, upright character, was supposed to lead the pilgrims.

4. Which of the following is not one of the humors used by the Doctor of Medicine?

Answer: Saliva

The four humors--blood, phlegm, choler, and melancholy--are supposed to indicate the mood of the person. Blood represents liveliness or happiness. Phlegm represents stubbornness. Choler, also known as green bile, is angry, and melancholy, or black bile, is depression.

5. Which of the following characteristics does NOT correspond with those of King Theseus from "The Knight's Tale?"

Answer: Ambitious

King Theseus was the ruler of Athens, and he was the greatest conqueror of his day. All the women and all the people of his kingdom loved him for he was always kind to them and tended to their problems.

6. In "The Knight's Tale," Palamon prays to the goddess, Venus, asking her for what?

Answer: Love of Emily

Palamon prayed to Venus, goddess of love, asking her for the love of Emily. However, the same night, Emily prayed to Diana, the goddess protector of virginity, asking for peace and virginity. Lastly, Palamon's brother Arcite, who also desired Emily, prayed to Mars, god of war, asking for victory in the next day's battle against Palamon.

Answer: Verbal irony

Verbal irony is when a character says one thing, but means the opposite. Dramatic irony is when the audience knows what will happen, but the characters do not. Lastly, situational irony is when the opposite of what the audience expects to happen happens.

8. One of the pilgrims, the Prioress, wears a brooch that ironically reads, "amor vincit omnia." What does that mean?

Answer: Love conquers all

The Prioress is the head of the nunnery, so is supposed to remain a virgin. Therefore, it is ironic that she has a brooch saying, "love conquers all", and that she has an affair with another pilgrim, the Monk.

9. Which tale demonstrates an example of "fabliaux justice?"

Answer: The Miller's Tale

"Fabliaux justice" is demonstrated in "The Miller's Tale", a fabliaux, because of the unconventional morals. The people in this tale laughed at the handicapped or less fortunate people, whereas that sort of behavior would be highly looked down upon in a conventional society, like today.

10. Which of the following pilgrims was actually a good person and was not a hypocrite, like the majority of the others?

Answer: Parson

The Parson was one of the only good characters on the entire pilgrimage, because he did not care for money and actually practiced the things that he taught. The majority of the rest of the group were extremely hypocritical in nature.

Source: Author Acj2011

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
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