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Teaching The Canterbury Tales: The Wife of Bath's Prologue & Tale

Taking racy to a whole new (medieval) level.

  • Activities: 15
  • Quiz Questions: 54

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Students might think they can’t discuss the Wife of Bath with a straight face, and that’s fine. They can make any face they want as long as they’re talking about it.

In this guide you'll find

  • an activity asking students to write a personal ad for the Wife of Bath.
  • discussion questions for arguing about marriage and sexuality.
  • modern pop culture connections, like short films and rap songs.

Shmoop takes the "cant" out of The Canterbury Tales.

What's Inside Shmoop's Literature Teaching Guides

Shmoop is a labor of love from folks who love to teach. Our teaching guides will help you supplement in-classroom learning with fun, engaging, and relatable learning materials that bring literature to life.

Inside each guide you'll find quizzes, activity ideas, discussion questions, and more—all written by experts and designed to save you time. Here are the deets on what you get with your teaching guide:

  • 13-18 Common Core-aligned activities to complete in class with your students, including detailed instructions for you and your students. 
  • Discussion and essay questions for all levels of students.
  • Reading quizzes for every chapter, act, or part of the text.
  • Resources to help make the book feel more relevant to your 21st-century students.
  • A note from Shmoop's teachers to you, telling you what to expect from teaching the text and how you can overcome the hurdles.

Want more help teaching Teaching The Canterbury Tales: The Wife of Bath's Prologue & Tale?

Check out all the different parts of our corresponding learning guide.



Instructions for You

Objective: We're all about law and order here at Shmoop...the show. And also, today, the concepts.

Based on information and "facts" gathered from "The Wife of Bath's Tale," your students will put the knight on trial and determine if the punishment he receives fits the crime he perpetrated. The ultimate question is: was justice served?

Students will then view Joanna Quinn's animated version of the tale to determine if this interpretation of the text affects the way they judged the punishment of the knight.

This exercise should take two class periods to complete.

Materials Needed: link to Joanna Quinn's version of the tale, a copy of the text and/or Shmoop's summary page

Step 1: Once the students have completed their reading of "The Wife of Bath's Tale," have a brief class discussion about the knight's punishment. Ask:

Does the knight get what he deserves? Is the knight reformed in any way as a result of his punishment?

Step 2: Split the class into two groups: one side for the defense of the knight and his punishment, the other a "prosecutor's group" to challenge the justice of Guinevere's decision.

Ask the groups to look through the text of the tale and have them marshal evidence to support their point of view. They should spend about half an hour altogether doing this.

Step 3: Invite each side to appoint a spokesperson to present an overview of their case. Allow each side five minutes to present their evidence.

In the end, you'll have to be the judge that keeps track of what each side has to offer and decides which team was the most convincing.

You can offer a judgment right away, or make them sweat it out and show them a tally the next class period.

Step 4: Now that everyone has really had a chance to let this all marinade, show your students the animated version of the tale by Joanna Quinn. Once that's done, ask: does it change their understanding of the justice of Guinevere's decision and the knight's punishment? Have a brief class discussion to wrap everything up.

Duh, duh.

Instructions for Your Students

We're all about law and order here at Shmoop...the show. And also, today, the concepts.

Based on information and "facts" gathered from "The Wife of Bath's Tale," today you're going to put the knight on trial and determine if the punishment he receives fits the crime he perpetrated. The ultimate question is: was justice served?

Step 1: Once you've completed your reading of "The Wife of Bath's Tale," your teacher will have a brief class discussion about the knight's punishment. They'll ask:

Does the knight get what he deserves? Is the knight reformed in any way as a result of his punishment?

Talk it out for a little while. Bonus points for adding some evidence from the text.

Step 2: Teach will split the class into two groups: one side for the defense of the knight and his punishment, the other a "prosecutor's group" to challenge the justice of Guinevere's decision.

In your group, you'll look through the text of the tale and marshal evidence to support your assigned point of view. You should spend about half an hour altogether doing this.

Step 3: Each side will appoint a spokesperson to present an overview of their case and will have five minutes to present their evidence.

In the end, your teacher will be the judge that keeps track of what each side has to offer and decides which team was the most convincing.

Step 4: Now that everyone has really had a chance to let this all marinade, you'll watch the animated version of the tale by Joanna Quinn. Once that's done, as a class, you'll discuss: does it change your understanding of the justice of Guinevere's decision and the knight's punishment?

Duh, duh.