100 multiple-choice questions on The Wife of Bath’s Prologue by Geoffrey Chaucer. Choose the correct option, then open Show answer to check yourself. The full answer key is at the end of the post.
1. The Wife of Bath’s Prologue is part of:
- The Canterbury Tales
- Troilus and Criseyde
- The Legend of Good Women
- The House of Fame
Answer: (a) The Canterbury Tales
2. The Wife of Bath’s Prologue was written by:
- William Langland
- Geoffrey Chaucer
- John Gower
- The Gawain-poet
Answer: (b) Geoffrey Chaucer
3. Chaucer lived from about:
- 1243–1300
- 1343–1400
- 1443–1500
- 1543–1600
Answer: (b) 1343–1400
4. The Prologue is written in:
- Middle English
- Anglo-Norman French
- Early Modern English
- Old English
Answer: (a) Middle English
5. The Prologue is composed in:
- ballad stanzas
- terza rima
- iambic pentameter rhyming couplets
- alliterative long lines
Answer: (c) iambic pentameter rhyming couplets
6. The Prologue has about:
- 456 lines
- 656 lines
- 856 lines
- 1056 lines
Answer: (c) 856 lines
7. The pilgrims are travelling to the shrine of:
- Our Lady of Walsingham
- St Peter at Rome
- St Thomas Becket at Canterbury
- St James at Compostela
Answer: (c) St Thomas Becket at Canterbury
8. The pilgrims gather at the:
- Bell Inn in Canterbury
- Boar’s Head Tavern
- Mermaid Tavern
- Tabard Inn in Southwark
Answer: (d) Tabard Inn in Southwark
9. The storytelling contest is proposed by:
- The Knight
- Harry Bailly, the Host
- The Prioress
- The Miller
Answer: (b) Harry Bailly, the Host
10. In the original plan, each pilgrim was to tell how many tales?
- One
- Two
- Four
- Six
Answer: (c) Four
11. Chaucer left The Canterbury Tales unfinished, having written about how many tales?
- 12
- 24
- 60
- 120
Answer: (b) 24
12. The Wife of Bath’s Prologue is followed by:
- The Pardoner’s Tale
- The Friar’s Tale
- The Clerk’s Tale
- The Wife of Bath’s Tale
Answer: (d) The Wife of Bath’s Tale
13. The Wife of Bath’s Tale is an:
- beast fable
- saint’s legend
- allegorical dream vision
- Arthurian romance
Answer: (d) Arthurian romance
14. Who called Chaucer “the father of English poetry”?
- Edmund Spenser
- John Dryden
- Samuel Johnson
- Alexander Pope
Answer: (b) John Dryden
15. Chaucer’s patron, for whom he wrote The Book of the Duchess, was:
- John of Gaunt
- Richard of York
- Henry V
- Thomas More
Answer: (a) John of Gaunt
16. Chaucer is buried in:
- Bath Abbey
- Westminster Abbey
- Canterbury Cathedral
- St Paul’s Cathedral
Answer: (b) Westminster Abbey
17. The General Prologue describes the Wife as living:
- near Canterbury
- near Bath
- near Bristol
- near Oxford
Answer: (b) near Bath
18. The Wife’s special skill is:
- candle-making
- tanning
- brewing
- cloth-making
Answer: (d) cloth-making
19. She is said to surpass the cloth-makers of:
- London and York
- Ypres and Ghent
- Paris and Rome
- Venice and Florence
Answer: (b) Ypres and Ghent
20. Her stockings are:
- black
- scarlet red
- blue
- green
Answer: (b) scarlet red
21. Her hat is compared to a:
- bell
- bonnet
- shield (buckler)
- basin
Answer: (c) shield (buckler)
22. A distinctive physical feature of the Wife is:
- a scar
- a wart
- a squint
- gap teeth
Answer: (d) gap teeth
23. How many times had she been to Jerusalem?
- Once
- Twice
- Thrice
- Five times
Answer: (c) Thrice
24. About a possible sixth husband, the Wife says:
- she wants her first husband back
- she would welcome him
- she will never marry again
- she will enter a convent
Answer: (b) she would welcome him
25. The Wife claims to base her argument on:
- ancient authority
- classical philosophy
- papal decree
- personal experience
Answer: (d) personal experience
26. She says experience is enough for her to speak of the:
- glory of knighthood
- dangers of pilgrimage
- woe that is in marriage
- joys of widowhood
Answer: (c) woe that is in marriage
27. At what age did she first marry?
- Twelve
- Sixteen
- Twenty
- Thirty
Answer: (a) Twelve
28. “Husbands at church door” refers to:
- weddings held at the church porch
- baptisms
- funerals
- confessions
Answer: (a) weddings held at the church porch
29. Which wedding did Christ attend, according to the Wife?
- Bethany
- Nazareth
- Cana in Galilee
- Jericho
Answer: (c) Cana in Galilee
30. She uses the Cana episode to raise the question of:
- tithing
- whether one may marry more than once
- divorce
- fasting
Answer: (b) whether one may marry more than once
31. The Samaritan woman at the well, she recalls, had had:
- one husband
- five husbands
- three husbands
- seven husbands
Answer: (b) five husbands
32. “God bad us for to wexe and multiplie” means:
- love one another
- keep the Sabbath
- increase and multiply
- honour thy parents
Answer: (c) increase and multiply
33. Lamech is mentioned in connection with:
- fasting
- bigamy
- repentance
- virginity
Answer: (b) bigamy
34. Which wise king, she says, had many wives?
- Saul
- Herod
- Nebuchadnezzar
- Solomon
Answer: (d) Solomon
35. Which two patriarchs does she cite as having several wives?
- Adam and Noah
- Moses and Aaron
- Abraham and Jacob
- Isaac and Joseph
Answer: (c) Abraham and Jacob
36. She cites St Paul as saying that it is better:
- to fast than to feast
- to marry than to burn
- to travel than to stay
- to give than to receive
Answer: (b) to marry than to burn
37. She argues that Paul gave no commandment on:
- virginity
- prayer
- charity
- marriage
Answer: (a) virginity
38. In her image, wives are compared to:
- honey cakes
- oat cakes
- rye bread
- barley bread
Answer: (d) barley bread
39. Who, she says, refreshed many men with barley bread?
- Elijah
- Solomon
- Jesus
- Moses
Answer: (c) Jesus
40. Her “instrument” (“as frely as my Makere hath it sent”) refers to her:
- singing voice
- purse
- sexuality
- needle
Answer: (c) sexuality
41. If God had commanded virginity, she argues, he would have:
- abolished kings
- condemned marriage
- banned wine
- forbidden children
Answer: (b) condemned marriage
42. Who interrupts the Wife early in her Prologue?
- The Friar
- The Summoner
- The Miller
- The Pardoner
Answer: (d) The Pardoner
43. The Pardoner says he was about to:
- go on pilgrimage
- marry
- enter a monastery
- hear confession
Answer: (b) marry
44. The Pardoner praises her as a:
- noble preacher
- good wife
- wise judge
- gifted poet
Answer: (a) noble preacher
45. In reply to the Pardoner, the Wife says:
- he must leave the company
- she has finished
- he must confess first
- he must wait, for her tale is not yet begun
Answer: (d) he must wait, for her tale is not yet begun
46. The Pardoner asks her to continue and teach young men her:
- pilgrimages
- practice (experience)
- prayers
- poetry
Answer: (b) practice (experience)
47. Her first three husbands were:
- knights and squires
- poor, young and handsome
- clerks and scholars
- good, rich and old
Answer: (d) good, rich and old
48. She says she made them:
- work hard (swynke)
- fast often
- travel abroad
- read books
Answer: (a) work hard (swynke)
49. Quoting Paul, she claims power over her husband’s:
- body
- children
- reputation
- estate
Answer: (a) body
50. In “I bar hem on honde”, to “bear on hand” means to:
- carry a burden
- accuse falsely
- bless
- hold hands
Answer: (b) accuse falsely
51. Which proverb does she use about complaining first?
- Look before you leap
- Who first comes to the mill, first grinds
- Haste makes waste
- A stitch in time saves nine
Answer: (b) Who first comes to the mill, first grinds
52. She says no man can swear and lie as boldly as:
- a merchant
- a woman
- a lawyer
- a priest
Answer: (b) a woman
53. According to the husbands’ complaint, what drives a man out of his house?
- cold, dogs and noise
- smoke, a leaking roof and a scolding wife
- debt, rain and fire
- war, famine and plague
Answer: (b) smoke, a leaking roof and a scolding wife
54. The husbands compare a woman’s love to hell, barren land and:
- spring flowers
- wildfire
- morning dew
- summer wind
Answer: (b) wildfire
55. From her old husbands she obtained:
- children
- books
- land and treasure
- ships
Answer: (c) land and treasure
56. Of her old husbands’ love, she says she:
- treated it as a duty
- valued it above all
- feared losing it
- set little store by it
Answer: (d) set little store by it
57. The Dunmow flitch of bacon in Essex was a prize for couples who:
- did not quarrel for a year and a day
- made the best pilgrimage
- rode fastest
- farmed best
Answer: (a) did not quarrel for a year and a day
58. “Sire olde kaynard” is her insult for an:
- old dotard
- jealous knight
- young fool
- greedy priest
Answer: (a) old dotard
59. Her fourth husband was:
- a knight
- a reveller who kept a mistress
- a merchant
- a priest
Answer: (b) a reveller who kept a mistress
60. She says she made him “fry in his own grease” out of:
- cold
- fever
- poison
- anger and jealousy
Answer: (d) anger and jealousy
61. She says that on earth she was his:
- guardian angel
- purgatory
- jailer
- physician
Answer: (b) purgatory
62. He died when she was returning from:
- Rome
- Cologne
- Jerusalem
- Canterbury
Answer: (c) Jerusalem
63. His tomb is compared (unfavourably) with that of:
- Solomon
- Caesar
- Arthur
- Darius
Answer: (d) Darius
64. Her fifth husband, Jankyn, had been a:
- priest of Bath
- clerk of Oxford
- knight of Kent
- apprentice of London
Answer: (b) clerk of Oxford
65. She married Jankyn for:
- money
- revenge
- her family’s wish
- love, not wealth
Answer: (d) love, not wealth
66. Jankyn’s age when they married was:
- Twenty
- Thirty
- Forty
- Fifty
Answer: (a) Twenty
67. The Wife’s age at that time was:
- Twenty
- Thirty
- Forty
- Fifty
Answer: (c) Forty
68. Jankyn had been lodging with:
- her first husband’s brother
- her gossip (close friend)
- her mother
- the parish vicar
Answer: (b) her gossip (close friend)
69. She attended vigils, processions, sermons, pilgrimages, miracle plays and:
- tournaments
- fairs
- funerals
- weddings
Answer: (d) weddings
70. At her fourth husband’s funeral she noticed Jankyn’s:
- voice
- legs and feet
- eyes
- learning
Answer: (b) legs and feet
71. Which is NOT named among the authors in Jankyn’s book?
- Theophrastus
- Tertullian
- Jerome
- Boccaccio
Answer: (d) Boccaccio
72. Jerome’s treatise against marriage, cited in the book, is:
- Against Jovinian
- The City of God
- The Consolation of Philosophy
- Confessions
Answer: (a) Against Jovinian
73. Which woman betrayed Samson?
- Eve
- Jezebel
- Bathsheba
- Delilah
Answer: (d) Delilah
74. Which woman, in Jankyn’s book, brought about the death of Hercules?
- Circe
- Medea
- Deianira
- Helen
Answer: (c) Deianira
75. Xantippe is said to have emptied a chamber pot over:
- Plato
- Solon
- Socrates
- Aristotle
Answer: (c) Socrates
76. How many leaves did she tear from the book?
- One
- Three
- Ten
- The whole book
Answer: (b) Three
77. Jankyn’s blow left her:
- speechless
- lame
- blind
- deaf in one ear
Answer: (d) deaf in one ear
78. Before “dying”, she says she will:
- burn his books
- return to Bath
- leave him
- kiss him
Answer: (d) kiss him
79. After the fight, Jankyn gave her:
- a pilgrimage
- control (sovereignty) of house and land
- his book
- a ring
Answer: (b) control (sovereignty) of house and land
80. She made Jankyn:
- go to sea
- enter the church
- burn his book
- give up Oxford
Answer: (c) burn his book
81. She says she was as kind to him as any wife from:
- Bath to York
- Spain to Ireland
- London to Rome
- Denmark to India
Answer: (d) Denmark to India
82. “Allas! allas! that evere love was …”
- war
- synne (sin)
- wealth
- law
Answer: (b) synne (sin)
83. Which planet gave her “likerousnesse” (lust)?
- Mars
- Mercury
- Saturn
- Venus
Answer: (d) Venus
84. Which planet gave her “sturdy hardinesse” (boldness)?
- Saturn
- Jupiter
- Venus
- Mars
Answer: (d) Mars
85. Her ascendant sign was:
- Taurus
- Libra
- Aries
- Leo
Answer: (a) Taurus
86. She says she is wholly Venerian in feeling, but her heart is:
- Mercurial
- Martian
- Saturnian
- Jovial
Answer: (b) Martian
87. Clerks, she says, are the children of:
- Mars
- Saturn
- Venus
- Mercury
Answer: (d) Mercury
88. Which ancient astronomer does she cite?
- Euclid
- Aristotle
- Ptolemy
- Hippocrates
Answer: (c) Ptolemy
89. The central theme of the Prologue is:
- religious pilgrimage
- courtly love
- knightly honour
- female sovereignty (maistrie) in marriage
Answer: (d) female sovereignty (maistrie) in marriage
90. The Prologue sets against each other:
- town and country
- faith and doubt
- experience and authority
- war and peace
Answer: (c) experience and authority
91. Medieval antifeminism was:
- praise of women
- pastoral poetry
- clerical writing hostile to women and marriage
- courtesy literature
Answer: (c) clerical writing hostile to women and marriage
92. As a literary form the Prologue most resembles a:
- dramatic monologue (confession)
- masque
- epic
- sonnet
Answer: (a) dramatic monologue (confession)
93. Which is NOT usually counted in the “Marriage Group”?
- The Merchant’s Tale
- The Clerk’s Tale
- The Knight’s Tale
- The Franklin’s Tale
Answer: (c) The Knight’s Tale
94. The envoy to the Clerk’s Tale refers jokingly to:
- the Wife of Bath
- the Pardoner
- the Friar
- the Miller
Answer: (a) the Wife of Bath
95. At the close of the Prologue the Friar says:
- “This is a long preamble of a tale!”
- “I have heard enough.”
- “I will tell a better one.”
- “This is a fine tale.”
Answer: (a) “This is a long preamble of a tale!”
96. The Summoner replies that:
- friars never lie
- summoners are honest
- a fly and a friar fall into every dish
- a fox and a friar are alike
Answer: (c) a fly and a friar fall into every dish
97. The Prologue ends with a quarrel between the:
- Friar and the Summoner
- Knight and the Squire
- Miller and the Reeve
- Pardoner and the Host
Answer: (a) Friar and the Summoner
98. The tone of the Prologue is mainly:
- elegiac
- austere and didactic
- comic, bawdy and ironic
- tragic and solemn
Answer: (c) comic, bawdy and ironic
99. In “Men may devyne and glosen, up and doun”, “glosen” means:
- forget
- interpret
- write
- hide
Answer: (b) interpret
100. In the Tale that follows, what do women most desire?
- beauty
- youth
- wealth
- sovereignty over their husbands and lovers
Answer: (d) sovereignty over their husbands and lovers
Answer key
| Q | Ans | Q | Ans | Q | Ans | Q | Ans | Q | Ans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | a | 21 | c | 41 | b | 61 | b | 81 | d |
| 2 | b | 22 | d | 42 | d | 62 | c | 82 | b |
| 3 | b | 23 | c | 43 | b | 63 | d | 83 | d |
| 4 | a | 24 | b | 44 | a | 64 | b | 84 | d |
| 5 | c | 25 | d | 45 | d | 65 | d | 85 | a |
| 6 | c | 26 | c | 46 | b | 66 | a | 86 | b |
| 7 | c | 27 | a | 47 | d | 67 | c | 87 | d |
| 8 | d | 28 | a | 48 | a | 68 | b | 88 | c |
| 9 | b | 29 | c | 49 | a | 69 | d | 89 | d |
| 10 | c | 30 | b | 50 | b | 70 | b | 90 | c |
| 11 | b | 31 | b | 51 | b | 71 | d | 91 | c |
| 12 | d | 32 | c | 52 | b | 72 | a | 92 | a |
| 13 | d | 33 | b | 53 | b | 73 | d | 93 | c |
| 14 | b | 34 | d | 54 | b | 74 | c | 94 | a |
| 15 | a | 35 | c | 55 | c | 75 | c | 95 | a |
| 16 | b | 36 | b | 56 | d | 76 | b | 96 | c |
| 17 | b | 37 | a | 57 | a | 77 | d | 97 | a |
| 18 | d | 38 | d | 58 | a | 78 | d | 98 | c |
| 19 | b | 39 | c | 59 | b | 79 | b | 99 | b |
| 20 | b | 40 | c | 60 | d | 80 | c | 100 | d |
