English 404: Chaucer: Canterbury Tales
Fall 2004  Final Examination

Part I.  Identify five of the eight passages below.  Each answer should include identification of the context of the passage, its location in the Canterbury Tales, the speaker(s), and the significance of this passage to the prologue or tale in which it appears, as well as its contribution to the Canterbury Tales as a whole. Each answer should be about half-page in length. [10 points each]
 

1    This absolon ne roghte nat a bene
       Of al his pley; no word agayn he yaf;
        He hadde moore tow on his distaf
        Than gerveys knew, and seyde, freend so deere,
        That hoote kultour in the chymenee heere,
        As lene it me, I have therwith to doone,
        And I wol brynge it thee agayn ful soone.

 
 

2.    Ther was also a nonne, a prioresse,
        That of hir smylyng was ful symple and coy;
        Hire gretteste ooth was but by seinte loy;
        And she was cleped madame eglentyne.
        Ful weel she soong the service dyvyne,
        Entuned in hir nose ful semely,
        And frenssh she spak ful faire and fetisly,
        After the scole of stratford atte bowe,
        For frenssh of parys was to hire unknowe.
        At mete wel ytaught was she with alle:
        She leet no morsel from hir lippes falle,
        Ne wette hir fyngres in hir sauce depe;
        Wel koude she carie a morsel and wel kepe
        That no drope ne fille upon hire brest.
        In curteisie was set ful muchel hir lest.
        Hir over-lippe wyped she so clene
        That in hir coppe ther was no ferthyng sene
        Of grece, whan she dronken hadde hir draughte.
        Ful semely after hir mete she raughte.
        And sikerly she was of greet desport,
        And ful plesaunt, and amyable of port,
        And peyned hire to countrefete cheere
        Of court, and to been estatlich of manere,
        And to ben holden digne of reverence.
        But, for to speken of hire conscience,
        She was so charitable and so pitous
        She wolde wepe, if that she saugh a mous
        Kaught in a trappe, if it were deed or bledde.
        Of smale houndes hadde she that she fedde
        With rosted flessh, or milk and wastel-breed.
        But soore wepte she if oon of hem were deed,
        Or if men smoot it with a yerde smerte;
        And al was conscience and tendre herte
.
3      What that he mente therby, I kan nat seyn;
        But that I axe, why that the fifthe man
        Was noon housbonde to the samaritan?
        How manye myghte she have in mariage?
        Yet herde I nevere tellen in myn age
        Upon this nombre diffinicioun.
        Men may devyne and glosen, up and doun,
        But wel I woot, expres, withoute lye,
        God bad us for to wexe and multiplye;
        That gentil text kan I wel understonde.

Part II.  To be submitted by Monday, August 2 via the Assignments section of Blackboard. It is worth 50% of your final exam grade. Using your textbook and class notes only, write an essay on one of the following topics.  Your essay should discuss at least three prologues/tales within the Canterbury Tales.

Your essay should

•  have an introduction with a statement of your main idea (thesis) and an essay map or statement that tells me what different points you will make to support that main idea.
• focus on one of those points only in each body paragraph.
• give quotations to support each point, and discuss each quotation in detail
  
• be about 5 pages in length.
  

Choose one of the following topics:

Irony
Story-telling
Social satire
Marriage
Love
The Seven Deadly Sins (can include focus on individual sins)
Unfinished tales
Chaucer the writer and Chaucer the pilgrim
Religion