Wife of Bath’s Tale Questions
1. Lines 27-44: What aspects of the Wife’s narrative style appear in the first part of her
tale? What do these elements of her style suggest about her character?
2. Line 51: What does this line suggest about the Wife’s tale.
3. Lines 29-34: What idea about the medieval church is brought out by the Wife’s
accusation about friars and women’s virtue?
4. Lines 65-102: Summarize the knight’s experience as he travels the land asking
people what women want most. What does this part of the tale tell you about the
Wife of Bath herself?
5. Lines 65-102: What evidence suggests the Wife of Bath is educated? Why do you
think Chaucer gave the Wife of Bath this trait?
6. Lines 125-128: so far, have the wife of Bath’s traits revealed her as a likable
character? Why/ why not?
7. Lines 135-147: The forest often represents a place untouched by civilization, the
home of spirits or other untamed forces of nature. What predictions can you make
about the tale based on the descriptions here. How does this section relate to lines
3-21? How might the Wife’s inclusion of this passage be interpreted as an insult to
the Friar?
8. Lines 148-150: How might you interpret these lines as a reference to the Wife of
Bath herself? Explain.
9. Lines 151-168: How does the Wife of Bath use foreshadowing here? What is the
effect of the foreshadowing on readers?
10. 183-188: What universal idea (motif) does the knight’s answer relate to? Why is the
idea of women’s sovereignty over men significant in the context of the Middle Ages?
Explain.
11. Lines 192-217: Describe the contrast between the knight’s attitude toward the old
woman earlier in the tale (lines 151-169) and his attitude now (lines 192-217).
What does the knight’s behavior in this passage reveal about his character? Discuss
what the knight’s changed attitude toward the old woman might suggest about
human nature.
12. Lines 219-228: the Wife speaks directly to the other pilgrims. Explain the purpose
of this digression from her tale.
13. Lines 229-243: The Wife of Bath is not an aristocrat but belongs to the rising middle
class. What do these lines by the old woman reveal about the teller’s attitude
toward aristocrats?
14. Line 244-258: Explain the irony of the knight’s calling the old woman “low-bred” in
the context of this passage.
15. Lines 259-270: What is the definition of true nobility, according to the old woman?
Cite details from the text that support this definition. How does this idea relate back
to the knight’s original behavior?
16. Lines 317-336: Explain the old woman’s function in the tale based on her speech to
the knight. Why does Chaucer make her speech so long?
17. Line 353-364: Why is the narrator’s focus on the old woman rather than the knight
in this part of the tale?
18. Lines 374-381: Why is this the turning point of the tale? What can be inferred about
the knight from what he says in these lines?
19. Lines 396-403: Explain what message is implied by the old woman’s transformation
into a young, beautiful woman.
20. Lines 404-411: Discuss what the last stanza reveals about the Wife of Bath. What
details support these conclusions?