Comprehension questions

1. What was the most important reason for the pilgrims to go on the journey?

2. When exactly did their pilgrimage start?

3. Why did most pilgrimages start in spring? What is peculiar about the way spring is described by G. Chaucer? Find all the verbs denoting action in the description. What do they have in common?

4. Where did the people going on pilgrimage meet? Why was this place chosen? Can you think of any reason for them not to go separately and to form groups? How big was the group Chaucer told you about?

5. The knight is described as a courageous warrior. Find the proof of this statement in the text. What places did he visit during his journeys? What was the purpose of his mission? Collect all the adjectives used for the description of the knight’s character. What is the author’s attitude to this person? What is your personal idea of this character?

6. Describe the appearance of “the youthful squire” with special attention given to his costume. What does this description tell you about the fashion of the period? What are the talents of the squire? Do you consider them to be typical for the young man of his age? What were the relationships between the father and the son like? Does the author take the youth seriously? Prove your point of view using the text.

7. Why was the yeoman chosen to be the only servant to accompany the knight and his son? What is peculiar about his clothes and equipment? Enumerate all pieces of his arming. Comment on the following phrase: “On breast a Christopher of silver sheen”. Why does Chaucer point out this detail?

8. Describe the prioress: a) her appearance; b). her behavior. What is unusual in the way the prioress is described? Is it normal for the nun to pay so much attention to the manners and courtesy? What does the author want to tell the reader by mentioning the fact that her greatest oath was “By Saint Eloy!”? Was the prioress really a dignified person? Find the confirmation of your answer in the text. What animals are mentioned in this extract and in what context? Does this information add anything to the reader’s perception of the prioress?

9. Comment on the following quotation:

A string of beads, gauded all round with green;
And from there hung a brooch of golden sheen
On which there was first written a crowned “A,”
And under, Amor Vincit Omnia. What does this description of the beads tell you about Madam Eglantine?

10. What is the main occupation of the clerk? What prevents him from becoming a priest or a lawyer? It is mentioned in the extract that he had “Some twenty books “. Books were extremely expensive in Chaucer’s time. Does the fact of the clerk’s having so many books tell the reader that he was rich? What was his attitude to the study?

11. In what fields of study was the doctor specialized? Was he a good professional? Who was “his partner” in business and how did it work? In what way did he take care of himself? What was his main passion in life?

12. What was the wife of Bath good at? Describe the outfit of this lady. How many husbands did she have? Was this one the first pilgrimage in her life? If no then how many pilgrimages did she complete? What places did she visit? What can you tell about the character of the wife of Bath?

13. The remedies of love she knew, perchance,
For of that art she’d learned the old, old dance.

What does the author mean by saying this?

Vocabulary Practice:

1. Check the proper pronunciation of the following words: drought, chivalry, sovereign, joust, iota, draught, meager, threadbare, electuary

2. Explain in English the meaning of the following words: vein, a holt, heath, shrine, cropped, bracer, buckler, sheath, baldric, smart, wimple, a span, a gaud, a fiddle, a psaltery, coffer, boot, apothecary, strife, a targe;

3. Find in the text, translate within the context and learn the following words: drought, to pierce, ramp, to embroider, humble, tackle, to draggle, a morsel, driblet, to dip, zest, grease, to disport, reverence, beads, to undertake, sober, moist, to digest, a bent;

4. Find 5 synonyms and 2 antonyms to the following words: sundry, illustrious, coy, sore, meager, malady;

5. Find in the text the synonyms of the next words and expressions: 1. to originate, to give birth; 2. impel, instigate, incite, stimulate, provoke; 3. conceive, contrive, formulate, invent, think out, plot 4. mean, base; 5. make up, compose; 6. To strike, knock; 7. shabby, worn; 8. beget, give birth; 9. abundance, wealth; 10. grumble, growl, grouch, be peevish;

6. Find the meaning of some archaic words used in the text: to wend, anon, a wight, wherewithal, aya;

7. Collect all “introduction” words the author uses.

Grammar focus: