General History
Chaucer
Canterbury tales
Important works 1
Important works 2
100
Year of the Norman Conquest
1066
100
Geoffrey Chaucer was born around 1340 and died in 1400. True or false?
True
100
Chaucer began writing The Canterbury tales around the year 1350 and continued to work on it until the end of his life.
False - 1387-1400 (end of his life)
100
Which important character first appeared in a chronicle in verse Brut written by priest Layamon in 1200?
King Arthur
100
List at least two religious genres that flourished in late 9th century (Benedictine Reform)
sermons, homilies, legends
200
Most significant figure in late 9th century - translations of Latin documents etc.
King Alfred the Great
200
Say at least 2 names of works of Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Book of the Duchess, The Parliament of Fowls, The Legend of Good Women
200
How many stories were originally meant to be in The Canterbury tales? How many were found?
120; 24
200
What is the name of one of the first comic poems in English about two birds in a debate?
The Owl and the Nightingale (written probably by Nicholas of Guildford)
200
Which poet wrote "Lover's Confession" (1390), a 33.000-line-long compilation of 113 mostly moral stories?
John Gower ("moral Gower" ;)
300
What important event happening between 1346-1353 affected the literature of the time?
Black death pandemic
300
What was the main source of inspiration for Chaucer?
Italian authors - Dante Alighieri, Petrarch, Giovanni Boccacio
300
Explain the framework of The Canterbury Tales.
29 pilgrims (+ innkeeper) go to the shrine of St Thomas Beckett in Canterbury
They meet at Tabard Inn (South London)
Each to tell two tales on the road there and two on the way back
-> great variety of stories, genres and verse forms
300
Who was the author of extremely accurate translation of The Bible finished around 1382?
John Wycliff - The Wycliffite Bible
300
Describe the three genres:
1. Mysteries
2. Miracles
3. Moralities
1. Mysteries = dramatized events from Bible, focus on biblical miracles (healing, Virgin Mary...)
2. Miracles = dramatized stories from Bible, biblical episodes (creation, Adam and Eve)
3. Moralities = dramatized religious allegories - fight between good and evil
400
Languages that affected Old English
Latin, Scandinavian vocabulary, French
400
What two rhymes are present in Chaucer's works? Say the name and describe them
Rhyme royal - 7-verse stanzas with regular rhyme pattern (a-b-a-b-b-c-c), no alliteration
Heroic couplet = rhymes by two lines, in iambic pentameter
400
Contrast Decameron and The Canterbury Tales
Decameron = static framework, tellers are not clearly characterized, almost all stories represent the same genre
The Canterbury Tales = dynamic framework, highly individualized tellers, the story matches the teller, different genres, psychological insight into the characters
400
Say at least two works that belong to the period of Alliterative Revival and describe them shortly.
The Vision Concerning Piers Plowman (William Langland) - satire, religious and social criticism expressed through symbols
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (the Gawain-poet) - world of pure fantasy, King Arthur's court
Pearl (the Gawain-poet) - alliteration accompanied by rhymes, a damsel in distress - sets out to explain the mysteries of Paradise
+ Cleanness and Patience by the same author
400
In which century lived and created Thomas Hoccleve and John Lydgate? Contrast their works.
14th-15th century
Lydgate = moralizing author, Benedictine monk, works: Troy Book, The Siege of Thebes, The Fall of Princess
Hoccleve = immoral author, civil servant, work: La Male Regle (A Bad Example)
500
Why is there so little English literature from the Old and Middle English period? (3 points;)
1. a small nation - around 3 million people (1377) + mostly illiterate
2. literary efforts in other languages - Latin, French (to impress)
3. the age of manuscript
500
Choose two of the works and describe them:
1. The Book of the Duchess
2. The Parliament of Fowls
3. Troilus and Criseyde
4. The Legend of Good Women
1. The Book of the Duchess (1368), based on the dreamer-narrator and the purpose is to celebrate the duchess, inspiration in Italy
2. The Parliament of Fowls (early 1380s), written in rhyme royal, the poet falls asleep and dreams of wandering further into the garden of love, he comes across the goddess Nature presiding over the assembly where birds choose their mates
3. Troilus and Criseyde (1385 and after), unhappy love on the background of the Troy War, comic character of Pandarus (lovers' go-between), equivocal character Criseyde (betrays Troilus with Greek beauty Diomedes), Troilus (dies at the end and goes to heaven)
4. The Legend of Good Women (after 1385), act of reparation for the offence against women, written in heroic couplet, nine legends finished
500
What are some of the genres present in The Canterbury Tales? Desribe them and talk about "the tale matches the teller"
Exemplum - told by the Pardoner = a short tale used as an example to illustrate a moral point
Fabliau - told by the Miller = humorous short story in verse, stock characters involved in sexual intrigue or obscene pranks
(Chivalrous) Romance - told by the Knight = fictional story in verse that relates improbable adventure of idealized characters in some remote setting
500
What was the most popular genre at the French court in 13th century? How was it called in English? Provide one work.
court or chivalry novels
in English metrical romances
King Horn, The Lay of Havelok the Dane
500
Say the name of at least one Scottish poet belonging to "Scottish Chaucerians".
King James I of Scotland
Robert Henryson
William Dunbar