Top 100 Competitive-Exam Points from the General Prologue
Opening and pilgrimage
1. The General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales is written in Middle English, not Old English.
2. The poem begins with the arrival of April and its sweet showers.
3. April’s rain pierces the drought of March to the root.
4. The rain fills the veins of plants with life-giving moisture.
5. Flowers are produced through the fertilising power of April’s rain.
6. Zephirus is the gentle West Wind.
7. Zephirus breathes life into woods, fields and tender shoots.
8. The young sun has completed half its course through Aries.
9. The reference to Aries places the action in the spring season.
10. Small birds sing because Nature stimulates their hearts.
11. Spring awakens both nature and the human desire for pilgrimage.
12. Palmers are professional or widely travelled pilgrims.
13. The pilgrims seek distant shrines famous in different lands.
14. English pilgrims travel from different shires to Canterbury.
15. The “holy blessed martyr” is Saint Thomas Becket.
16. The pilgrims visit Becket’s shrine because they believe that he helped them during illness.
17. The narrator stays at the Tabard Inn in Southwark.
18. He is preparing to make a devout pilgrimage to Canterbury.
19. Twenty-nine pilgrims arrive at the inn at night.
20. Including the narrator, the company originally consists of thirty people.
21. The pilgrims belong to different professions and social ranks.
22. They meet by chance and form a fellowship.
23. They plan to ride together to Canterbury.
24. The Tabard provides spacious rooms, stables and good accommodation.
25. The narrator decides to describe their occupations, ranks, appearances and clothing.
The Knight, Squire and Yeoman
26. The Knight is the first pilgrim described.
27. He represents the traditional ideals of chivalry.
28. He values truth, honour, generosity and courtesy.
29. He has fought in both Christian and non-Christian territories.
30. His military travels include Alexandria, Prussia, Lithuania, Russia, Grenada, Algeciras and Morocco.
31. He has participated in fifteen mortal battles.
32. He fought three formal duels at Tlemcen and killed his opponent each time.
33. Despite his military fame, the Knight remains prudent and humble.
34. He has never spoken a rude word to anyone.
35. Chaucer calls him a “true, perfect, noble knight.”
36. His tunic is made of coarse cloth and stained by his coat of mail.
37. His plain clothing shows that he is not interested in fashionable display.
38. The Squire is the Knight’s son.
39. The Squire is about twenty years old, agile and physically strong.
40. He has served in Flanders, Artois and Picardy.
41. He hopes that his military conduct will win his lady’s favour.
42. The Squire’s clothes are embroidered with red and white flowers.
43. He can sing, play the flute, compose poetry, joust, dance, draw and write.
44. He sleeps very little because he is passionately in love.
45. The Yeoman is the Knight’s only other servant.
46. He wears a green coat and hood and carries peacock-feathered arrows.
47. His well-kept arrows show his skill and professional care.
48. He carries a mighty bow, sword, shield, dagger and hunting horn.
49. His brown face and knowledge of woodcraft identify him as a forester.
50. He wears a silver medal of Saint Christopher, the patron saint of travellers.
The Prioress, Monk and Friar
51. The Prioress is named Madam Eglantine.
52. Her greatest oath is “By Saint Loy.”
53. She sings the divine service through her nose.
54. She speaks French in the Stratford-at-Bow style, not Parisian French.
55. Her careful table manners reveal her desire to imitate courtly behaviour.
56. She never lets food fall from her lips or dips her fingers deeply into the sauce.
57. She wipes her upper lip carefully so that no grease appears in her cup.
58. She weeps when she sees a mouse caught, dead or bleeding in a trap.
59. She feeds her small dogs roasted meat, milk and fine white bread.
60. Her golden brooch bears the words “Amor vincit omnia”, meaning “Love conquers all.”
61. The Monk is an outrider who loves hunting.
62. He rejects the strict monastic rules of Saint Maurus and Saint Benedict.
63. He considers the traditional criticism of hunting monks worthless.
64. Instead of studying or working in the cloister, he follows modern worldly customs.
65. His greyhounds are described as being as swift as birds in flight.
66. His sleeves are decorated with fine squirrel fur.
67. He fastens his hood with a skilfully made golden pin.
68. The Monk is bald, fat, well-fed and physically prosperous.
69. His favourite food is a fat roasted swan.
70. The Friar is named Hubert.
71. He is a limitour, a friar licensed to beg within a particular area.
72. Hubert is pleasure-loving, sociable and skilled in elegant speech.
73. He claims to possess greater power of confession than a parish priest.
74. He gives easy penance when he expects a good financial contribution.
75. He treats donations as proof that a sinner has truly repented.
76. He knows taverns, innkeepers and barmaids better than lepers and beggars.
77. His preference for rich people exposes his greed and hypocrisy.
78. He carries knives and pins in his hood to give to attractive women.
79. He can sing, play a stringed instrument and recite ballads.
80. He deliberately lisps to make his English sound fashionable and attractive.
Merchant, Clerk, Lawyer and Franklin
81. The Merchant has a forked beard and wears a Flemish beaver hat.
82. His conversation is mainly concerned with increasing his profits.
83. He wants the sea route between Middelburgh and Orwell to be protected.
84. He is skilled in dealing with foreign currencies.
85. Although he appears prosperous, he is secretly in debt.
86. The Oxford Clerk is thin, serious and poorly dressed.
87. He prefers twenty books of Aristotle to rich clothes and musical instruments.
88. He spends all the money received from friends on books and education.
89. He speaks only when necessary, and his speech contains moral wisdom.
90. The Clerk’s central principle is: “Gladly would he learn and gladly teach.”
91. The Sergeant of the Law is a prudent, wise and highly experienced lawyer.
92. He knows legal cases and decisions dating from the time of King William.
93. He can prepare flawless legal documents and knows every statute by heart.
94. Chaucer humorously remarks that the lawyer appears busier than he really is.
95. The Franklin has a white beard and a sanguine temperament.
96. He follows the Epicurean belief that pleasure brings perfect happiness.
97. His plentiful food, wine and permanently prepared table demonstrate his hospitality.
98. He has served as a sheriff, tax auditor and Member of Parliament.
The tale-telling contest
99. The Host proposes that every pilgrim tell two tales on the outward journey and two on the return journey; the best storyteller will receive a supper paid for by the whole company.
100. The Host becomes the guide, governor, judge and scorekeeper; the pilgrims draw lots, the shortest lot falls to the Knight, and he begins the first tale.
