The Canterbury Tales Literature Guide

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Literature Guide Developed by Jennifer Bassett for Secondary Solutions®

ISBN-10: 0-9845205-4-6 ISBN-13: 978-0-9845205-4-1

© 2011 Secondary Solutions. All rights reserved. A classroom teacher who has purchased this Guide may photocopy the materials in this publication for his/her classroom use only. Use or reproduction by a part of or an entire school or school system, by for-profit tutoring centers and like institutions, or for commercial sale, is strictly prohibited. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, translated, or stored (digitally, electronically, or otherwise) without the express written permission of the publisher. Created and printed in the United States of America.

Secondary Solutions

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The Canterbury Tales Literature Guide

About This Literature Guide ...... 5 How to Use Our Literature Guides ...... 6 Pre-Reading Ideas and Activities ...... 7 Monarchy Scavenger Hunt ...... 8 Illuminated Texts ...... 10 Standards Focus: Author Biography—Geoffrey Chaucer ...... 12 Exploring Expository Writing: Author Biography—Geoffrey Chaucer ...... 14 Standards Focus: Genre—Poetry, Narrative, and Satire ...... 16 Exploring Expository Writing: Genre—Poetry, Narrative, and Satire ...... 17 Standards Focus: Unreliable Narrator ...... 19 Exploring Expository Writing: Unreliable Narrator ...... 21 Standards Focus: Structure of the Narrative—Frames ...... 22 Exploring Expository Writing: Frames ...... 24 Standards Focus: Middle English and the Great Vowel Shift ...... 25 Exploring Expository Writing: Middle English and the Great Vowel Shift ...... 27 Historical Context: Life in the 1300s ...... 28 Exploring Expository Writing: Life in the 1300s ...... 32 Historical Context: Pilgrimages ...... 33 Exploring Expository Writing: Historical Context—Pilgrimages ...... 35 Historical Context: Biblical and Mythological Allusions ...... 36 Historical Context: Place and Time ...... 38 Standards Focus: Allusions from General Prologue, Selected Tales ...... 42 Section One: Introduction, Knight through Friar (Pages 3-10) ...... 46 Comprehension Check ...... 46 Standards Focus: Satire ...... 47 Section Two: Merchant through Plowman (Pages 10-17) ...... 52 Comprehension Check ...... 52 Standards Focus: Characterization ...... 54 Section Three: Miller through Pardoner (Pages 17-22) ...... 57 Comprehension Check ...... 57 Standards Focus: Similes and Metaphors ...... 58 Section Four: Conclusion of Prologue (Pages 22-26) ...... 61 Comprehension Check ...... 61 Standards Focus: Allusions ...... 62 Quiz: Sections One and Two—Introduction through Plowman ...... 65 Quiz: Sections Three and Four—Miller through Conclusion ...... 66 Part A Test: General Prologue ...... 67 Part B: Individual Tales ...... 68 Vocabulary List ...... 68 Vocabulary List with Definitions ...... 69 Knight’s Tale ...... 71 Note-Taking and Summarizing Chart—Sample ...... 71 Comprehension Check ...... 72 Standards Focus: Theme ...... 73 Assessment Preparation: Analogies ...... 75 Section Quiz: Knight’s Tale ...... 76 Summary of the Knight’s Tale ...... 79 Miller’s Tale ...... 81 Note-Taking and Summarizing Chart ...... 81 Comprehension Check ...... 82 Standards Focus: Tone ...... 83 Assessment Preparation: Using Etymology to Understand Words ...... 86 Section Quiz: Miller’s Tale ...... 88 Summary of the Miller’s Tale ...... 91 Reeve’s Tale ...... 92 Note-Taking and Summarizing Chart ...... 92 Comprehension Check ...... 93 Standards Focus: Mood ...... 94 Assessment Preparation: Punctuation ...... 97

Section Quiz: Reeve’s Tale ...... 99 Summary of the Reeve’s Tale...... 102 Shipman’s Tale ...... 103 Note-Taking and Summarizing Chart ...... 103 Comprehension Check ...... 104 Standards Focus: Using Multiple Tones ...... 105 Assessment Preparation: Connotation ...... 107 Section Quiz: Shipman’s Tale ...... 109 Summary of Shipman’s Tale ...... 112 Prioress’s Tale ...... 113 Note-Taking and Summarizing Chart ...... 113 Comprehension Check ...... 114 Standards Focus: Biblical Allusions ...... 115 Assessment Preparation: Using Definitions and Origins to Build Understanding ...... 117 Section Quiz: Prioress’s Tale ...... 119 Summary of the Prioress’s Tale ...... 122 Monk’s Tale ...... 123 Note-Taking and Summarizing Chart ...... 123 Comprehension Check ...... 124 Standards Focus: Rhyme Scheme and Meter...... 125 Assessment Preparation: Using Context Clues and Parts of Speech ...... 129 Section Quiz: Monk’s Tale ...... 131 Summary of the Monk’s Tale ...... 134 Nun’s Priest’s Tale ...... 136 Note-Taking and Summarizing Chart ...... 136 Comprehension Check ...... 137 Standards Focus: Allegory ...... 138 Assessment Preparation: Dependent and Independent Clauses ...... 139 Section Quiz: Nun’s Priest’s Prologue and Tale ...... 142 Summary of the Nun’s Priest’s Tale ...... 145 Pardoner’s Prologue and Tale ...... 146 Note-Taking and Summarizing Chart ...... 146 Comprehension Check ...... 147 Standards Focus: Patterns and Shift in Poetry ...... 148 Assessment Preparation: Diction (Word Choice) ...... 151 Section Quiz: Pardoner’s Prologue and Tale ...... 155 Summary of the Pardoner’s Tale ...... 158 Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale...... 159 Note-Taking and Summarizing Chart ...... 159 Comprehension Check ...... 160 Standards Focus: Analyzing Appeals in Arguments ...... 161 Assessment Preparation: Appositives ...... 164 Section Quiz: Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale ...... 167 Summary of the Wife of Bath’s Tale ...... 170 Friar’s Prologue and Tale ...... 171 Note-Taking and Summarizing Chart ...... 171 Comprehension Check ...... 172 Standards Focus: Irony ...... 173 Assessment Preparation: Complex Tenses Related to Time ...... 176 Section Quiz: Friar’s Tale ...... 178 Summary of the Friar’s Tale...... 181 Summoner’s Prologue and Tale ...... 182 Note-Taking and Summarizing Chart ...... 182 Comprehension Check ...... 183 Standards Focus: Parallelism ...... 184 Assessment Preparation: Active and Passive Voice...... 187 Section Quiz: Summoner’s Tale ...... 189 Summary of the Summoner’s Tale ...... 192 Clerk’s Prologue and Tale ...... 193 Note-Taking and Summarizing Chart ...... 193 Comprehension Check ...... 194 Standards Focus: Sound Devices in Poetry ...... 195 Assessment Preparation: Misplaced Modifiers ...... 197

Section Quiz: Clerk’s Tale ...... 200 Summary of the Clerk’s Tale ...... 203 Merchant’s Prologue and Tale ...... 204 Note-Taking and Summarizing Chart ...... 204 Comprehension Check ...... 205 Standards Focus: Point of View...... 206 Assessment Preparation: Subject-Verb Agreement ...... 210 Section Quiz: Merchant’s Tale ...... 213 Summary of the Merchant’s Tale ...... 216 Franklin’s Prologue and Tale ...... 217 Note-Taking and Summarizing Chart ...... 217 Comprehension Check ...... 218 Standards Focus: Plot ...... 219 Assessment Preparation: Avoiding Sentence Fragments ...... 222 Section Quiz: Franklin’s Tale ...... 224 Summary of the Franklin’s Tale ...... 227 Parson’s Prologue and Tale ...... 228 Note-Taking and Summarizing Chart ...... 228 Comprehension Check ...... 229 Standards Focus: Rhyme ...... 230 Assessment Preparation: Writing with Conciseness ...... 232 Section Quiz: Parson’s Tale ...... 236 Summary of the Parson’s Tale ...... 239 Chaucer’s Retraction ...... 240 Note-Taking and Summarizing Chart ...... 240 Comprehension Check ...... 241 Standards Focus: Theme ...... 242 Assessment Preparation: Shifts and Consistency in Writing ...... 244 The Canterbury Tales Final Exam ...... 247 The Canterbury Tales Final Exam—Multiple Choice Version ...... 249 Teacher’s Guide ...... 258 Notes for Teaching The Canterbury Tales ...... 258 Post-Reading Activities and Alternative Assessment ...... 259 Essay/Writing Ideas ...... 265 Project Rubric A ...... 268 Project Rubric B ...... 269 Response to Literature Rubric ...... 270 Answer Key ...... 272

About This Literature Guide

Secondary Solutions is the endeavor of a high school English teacher who could not seem to find appropriate materials to help her students master the necessary concepts at the secondary level. She grew tired of spending countless hours researching, creating, writing, and revising lesson plans, worksheets, quizzes, tests and extension activities to motivate and inspire her students, and at the same time, address those ominous content standards! Materials that were available were either juvenile in nature, skimpy in content, or were moderately engaging activities that did not come close to meeting the content standards on which her students were being tested. Frustrated and tired of trying to get by with inappropriate, inane lessons, she finally decided that if the right materials were going to be available to her and other teachers, she was going to have to make them herself! Mrs. Bowers set to work to create one of the most comprehensive and innovative Literature Guide sets on the market. Joined by a middle school teacher with 21 years of secondary school experience, Secondary Solutions began, and has matured into a specialized team of intermediate and secondary teachers who have developed for you a set of materials unsurpassed by all others.

Before the innovation of Secondary Solutions, materials that could be purchased offered a reproducible student workbook and a separate set of teacher materials at an additional cost. Other units provided the teacher with student materials only, and very often, the content standards were ignored. Secondary Solutions provides all of the necessary materials for complete coverage of the literature units of study, including author biographies, pre-reading activities, numerous and varied vocabulary and comprehension activities, study-guide questions, graphic organizers, literary analysis and critical thinking activities, essay-writing ideas, extension activities, quizzes, unit tests, alternative assessment, online teacher assistance, and much, much more. Each Guide is designed to address the unique learning styles and comprehension levels of every student in your classroom. All materials are written and presented at the grade level of the learner, and include extensive coverage of the content standards. As an added bonus, all teacher materials are included!

As a busy teacher, you don’t have time to waste reinventing the wheel. You want to get down to the business of teaching! With our professionally developed teacher- written literature Guides, Secondary Solutions has provided you with the answer to your time management problems, while saving you hours of tedious and exhausting work. Our Guides will allow you to focus on the most important aspects of teaching—the personal, one-on-one, hands-on instruction you enjoy most—the reason you became a teacher in the first place.

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Knight’s Tale Note-Taking and Summarizing Chart—Sample

Directions: As you read The Canterbury Tales you will be completing Note-Taking and Summarizing Charts to help you remember the events of each tale. As you read, complete the chart using bullet points or phrases, as shown in the sample chart below from the Knight’s Tale. Once you have completed the four categories for Summary, Characters, Theme, and Narrator, analyze why Chaucer included this particular pilgrim’s tale in the collection—in other words, what is Chaucer’s message through this particular pilgrim’s tale?

Knight’s Tale

Summary of the Tale Characters Involved in the Tale

 Through two different battles, Theseus Theseus, Arcite, Palamon, Emily, obtains his wife, Hyppolyta, her sister, Hippolyta Emily, and two prisoners, Arcite and Palamon.  While imprisoned, both men fall in love Theme or Message of the Tale with Emily, though only Palamon’s appears to be true love. True love, which is sometimes called  Each prisoner escapes individually and at courtly love, is stronger than physical different times. desire.  Arcite returns to Theseus’s castle disguised as a servant; however, Palamon’s escape reveals both of their What We Learn About the Narrator identities, and under Theseus’s direction, they agree to battle for Emily. The Knight believes in courtly love and  Arcite asks Mars to let him win the chivalry, and that women are objects to be battle, but Palamon asks Venus to let him won by men. win Emily.  Emily asks Diana to let her remain a maiden, or at least be given to the man who truly loves her.  There is a quick battle in heaven after which Arcite wins the battle but dies shortly thereafter, and Palamon wins Emily after Arcite dies.

Why This Tale is Important to the Whole

The Knight’s Tale depicts courtly love as well as other elements of chivalry. His depiction of romance and marriage contrasts greatly with that of other tales including the Wife of Bath’s tale wherein a knight who violates the code of chivalry learns that women need to be in control in a marriage.

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Knight’s Tale Comprehension Check

Directions: As you read the Knight’s Tale, complete the following activity. Answer the questions using complete sentences on a separate piece of paper.

1. The Knight’s tale is about the two princes, Arcite and Palamon, so why does the Knight spend so much time talking about Theseus’s battles with the Amazons and King Creon?

2. Theseus takes Hippolyta, the former queen of the Amazons, to be his wife after he conquers her army. According to the Knight, there is a great wedding feast. What does this part of the tale reveal about the nature of marriage, from the Knight’s point of view?

3. What happens to set Arcite free from perpetual imprisonment?

4. Explain the reasons Arcite and Palamon give for envying each other after Arcite is freed and then state what these reasons say about each man’s character.

5. What does each prince do when he is out of jail?

6. What is the original agreement between Palamon and Arcite when they meet up in the thickets?

7. How does Theseus intervene in the battle between Palamon and Arcite?

8. Describe the coliseum and temples that surround it.

9. Before the battle three characters visit the shrines. A. Identify who visits which shrine and summarize the request each one makes to the respective god or goddess. B. Briefly state what each person’s request says about him or her.

10. Who wins the battle? Who wins Emily? What theme or message does the outcome of the battle for Emily give the reader?

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Knight’s Tale Standards Focus: Theme

Theme is the central idea or message in a work of literature. Because theme is so important to a piece of literature, the title, plot, characters, setting, and mood all creatively work together to create a message from the author to the reader. There can be one major theme in a work, or the novel can have several underlying themes.

Part One Directions: The prompts in this section ask you to think about the theme of love and marriage in the context of both modern day and the 13th Century. Answer each question fully on a separate piece of paper. You may work with a partner or in a small group if your teacher allows.

1. Think about images of love and marriage in today’s society. Identify and describe different images or symbols of love and marriage from TV, movies, books, and other sources within society. In other words, when you think of the “ideal” of love and/or marriage, who or what do you think of? Is the ideal of love different from the ideal of marriage? Explain.

2. Summarize the connection between love and marriage as it appears in current society.

3. If you research the story of Hippolyta and Theseus, you will find different variations. The one Chaucer uses states that Theseus battled the Amazons and took Queen Hippolyta to be his wife. Using this version of the story, what is the reason for the marriage?

4. Clearly the marriage between Theseus and Hippolyta was not created for love and yet the Knight says there was great feasting after the wedding. In fact, Theseus rebukes the women in black for trying to ruin his party. Think about this situation from Hippolyta’s point of view and write an entry in her diary or a letter she would write to a friend about her experiences.

5. The two princes, Arcite and Palamon, are taken prisoner and condemned to spend the rest of their days in Theseus’ prison. While in prison, they see Emily, sister of Hippolyta. Both immediately fall in love with her. There are references to “serving her” and yet she does not know they exist because there are no interactions between her and either prince. Despite her lack of involvement in either relationship, both princes claim her and agree to fight to the death for her hand. Identify the underlying assumptions about the role of women in love and marriage in this story.

6. How does the reader learn of Emily’s thoughts about marriage with either Arcite or Palamon?

7. Compare Hippolyta’s marriage to Theseus with Emily’s marriages to Arcite and Palamon.

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Part Two Directions: For Part Two, you will need to use the Internet or your library resources to research Courtly Love, Marriage and Chivalry in the Middle Ages specifically.

As you read about courtly love, marriage and chivalry, take notes and write down the source information in the chart below.

Courtly Love Summary

Source(s)

Marriage Summary

Source(s)

Chivalry Summary

Source(s)

Write a short essay (2-4 paragraphs) in which you identify the theme pertaining to love and marriage in the Knight’s Tale and then explain how it reflects the morality of the Middle Ages in comparison with today’s views of love and marriage.