Study Questions &
Essay Topics
Study Questions
1. Why is the
Knight first in the General Prologue and first to tell a tale?
2. What makes
the Pardoner so offensive?
Suggested Essay Topics
1. Compare the Miller's Tale
with either the Reeve's Tale or the Summoner's Tale. What are the
different characteristics that make each tale a fabliau? Consider
comic timing, plot intricacy, and the cast of characters within
the tale.
2. Is the Wife of Bath meant
to contradict the misogynist (woman-hating) ideas of her time, or
to uphold them? Use the text to back up your argument.
3. Compare the ideals of courtly
love in the Knight's Tale with those in the Wife of Bath's Tale.
How are they different? How are they the same? Is there a difference
in the way the female characters act in the two tales?
4. How does Chaucer conceive
of ancient history and belief systems in the Knight's Tale? How
is his vision anachronistic? How does he attempt to make it less
so?
What is the function of time and the seasons in the tale?
