The following exam answers were culled from two ENG404 mid-term exams, written by students who scored in the A-range. Please use these as a "benchmark" if you are interested in writing an exemplary final exam, or even if you are just looking to see what is required for maximizing your points on either the "Identification/Context" or "Short Answer Terminology" portions of the final exam. Comments in brackets, highlighted in bold, are the remarks that I wrote on the exams as I was grading them. (Please note, also, that the two students do not necessarily duplicate each other, and that student #1 often writes less than student #2, but nevertheless, provides solid, smart answers; at the same time, student #2 often brought in a lot more "context" from the text and also more details from our class discussions, which was impressive--the total score for student #1 was "93," and for student #2, "111.")

1. For this ye knowen al so wel as I:

Whos shal telle a tale after a man,

He moot reherce as ny as evere he kan

Everich a word, if it be in his charge,

Al speke he never so rudeliche and large,

Or ellis he moot telle his tale untrewe,

Or feyne thyng, or fyndes wordes newe.

Sample Answer #1:

    In this section of the General Prologue, the narrator [who is also "Chaucer the character"] explains that the job of the narrator is to repeat what was said exactly as it was said, even if the tale is offensive to some. If the narrator were to change anything, it would be untrue. In Chaucer's time the written word was "authority," or seen to be true. What is slippery in this passage is that all the words (of the characters, the tales, and pilgrims & narrator) are Chaucer's words. This imaginary distance gives Chaucer the freedom to criticize the society in which he lives (i.e., the clergy in the General Prologue or women's roles in Wife of Bath's Tale). If anyone was displeased, there is an out . . . "I only retold what they told me."

Sample Answer #2:

    This is a passage from the General Prologue and the narrator has just finished describing the pilgrims who have come along on the pilgrimage. Here the narrator is explaining how a story should be told, as close to the truth as possible. This idea speaks to medieval aesthetics and how poetry or tales are produced. The narrator's idea of telling a tale that closely resembles the original ("telle a tale . . . as ny as evere") is similar to mimesis, or holding a mirror up to nature. This idea of reproducing art in the image (mirror image) of nature was an important concept of Chaucer's time, and had been written about by Aristotle and later by Burke. [Burke actually wrote about the sublime] But it is important to note that Chaucer is playing a game here because he is insinuating that he is not the author, merely someone imitating others, and this is not true. This passage alerts the reader to Chaucer's ability to play down his role in "The Canterbury Tales" so that the other tales and their tellers become more prominent. This idea of retelling tales as close to the original as possible will become important as the reader/pilgrims listen to the tales told by the pilgrims.

2.

And so bifel that in the taas they founde,

Thurgh-girt with many a grevous blody wounde,

Two yonge knyghtes liggynge by and by,

Bothe in oon armes, wroght ful richely . . . .

Sample Answer #1:

    In this part of the Knight's Tale, the Knight describes how Theseus found Palamon and Arcite entwined in each other's arms on the battlefield. Both are in the same coat of arms (bothe in oon armes) which shows that they are family. Literally, they are cousins, but have sworn an oath to one another. A knight's word is his bond. The Knight's Tale is about this image: the relationship of the two knights who are like brothers. In Chaucer's time the bond of friendship between men was the highest form of love. The tale is about how love for a woman brings chaos and destruction to the world of men.

Sample Answer #2:

    This passage is from the "Knight's Tale." Theseus has just defeated Creon and his army, and among the dead warriors of Thebes was found the wounded knights, Arcite and Palamon. They have been wounded and are lying next to each other with their arms around each other ("bothe in oon armes"). This is an important scene in "The Knight's Tale" for it establishes the importance of relationships between men and knights in the medieval ages. Here Arcite and Palamon are like brothers [technically, they are cousins and "brothers-in-arms"] who are willing to fight and die together. However, this bond of love and friendship becomes distorted and even breaks temporarily when a woman comes between them later in the tale. The idea of the code of knights being a brotherhood and that there were no higher bonds than those between knights is established in this initial scene. In the medieval times, this knightly code would have been imperative to life on the battlefield. This also shows the lesser role of women in men's lives, as the women's lives were less valued than these male relationships [right--yet, at the same time, they were powerful enough to undo those male-male bonds]. The closeness of the male bond in this tale will contrast greatly with the bonds between men in later tales.

3. Allas, what wonder is it thogh she wepte,

That shal be sent to strange nacioun

Fro freendes that so tendrely hire kepte,

And to be bounden under subjeccioun

Of oon, she knoweth nat his condicioun?

Housbondes been alle goode, and han ben yoore;

That knowen wyves; I dar sey yow na moore.

Sample Answer #1:

    In this portion of the Man of Law's Tale, he interrupts his tale of Constance to give an aside [good--"apostrophe" or "exclamatio" in the classical tradition] on his views of her situation and of women. On one hand, the Man of Law understands why Constance weeps leaving her friends and family for a strange land (strange nacioun). However, he also says she has little to complain about because husbands are all good. He's not so sure about wives [OR: he's saying, "wives know that"] In Chaucer's time women were looked down on. They rank lower than men on the chain of being. Also, women are seen as responsible for the downfall of humanity because Eve ate the apple. Women were seen as the weaker sex and the perfect instrument for Satan to tempt/destroy humanity. [what about phrase, "bounden under subjeccioun"?]

Sample Answer #2:

    This passage is from the "Man of Law's Tale," and here the law man is telling the story of Constance. In this tale Constance is being sent away to a foreign nation to wed a stranger of a different religious faith and different culture. She will be bound under the subjection of her husband as she has been to her father. Once again, we see the idea of women as possessions that may be placed under the rule of men. The Man of Law feels women should be bound and subjected to men. His tale speaks of the subjection of women. Constance is a secular saint, endures throughout her tale and in the end returns to her proper place with her father. In reference to the other tales, the story of Constance is one view of marriage which will be refuted in "The Wife of Bath's Tale." The Wife of Bath tells a tale of women gaining power over their husbands which contrasts greatly with Constance's continual compliance and subjection.

1. Estates Satire

Sample Answer #1:

Estates satire is a technique in which stock characters (or sterotypes) are used to make fun of the different classes. In Chaucer's time, there were three fixed classes: peasants, clergy, and the aristocracy. There was an emerging merchant class as well. The General Prologue is an example of estates satire because the Monk is too busy hunting to study scripture and the friar knows all the taverns but doesn't help the sick.

Sample Answer #2:

Estates satire is a medieval genre that uses crude humor [well--sometimes, subtle humor] to make fun of the social classes. During the Middle Ages, there were three divisions of the social classes: the noble class, those who ruled, the religious class, those who prayed, and the serfs, those who worked. [there was also a rising middle class, too] Chaucer utilized estates satire throughout "The Canterbury Tales" when he depicted religious figures, such as the Pardoner and Friar, behaving in a non-Christian manner. The Friar, being described as a worthy man even though he feels it's beneath his office to care for the poor beggar women and the sick lepers, is being satirized by Chaucer.

2. Courtly Love

Sample Answer #1:

Courtly love is a belief that people are made noble by love. Love gets its hooks into you and you are powerless in its grasp (i.e., Cupid's arrow). Courtly love is typically about the wanting. It is the art of taking a crude desire (i.e., lust) and elevating it to a form of beauty or devotion. While in literature courtly love existed between knights and ladies, this was not a reality in everyday life.

Sample Answer #2:

Courtly love is the combination of desire or love with codes of conduct that govern aristocratic lovers. Courtly love is also seen as adultery without sex. The courtly lover idealized and idolized his beloved. This type of love can be noted in "The Knight's Tale" when Palamon is falling in love with Emily and he calls her a goddess. This is a form of sublimation when unacceptable behavior and desires/lust are converted to beautiful poetry and courtly language.