Question

(1) Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories told by pilgrims who are journeying to the shrine of St. Thomas Becket at Canterbury. (2) Such pilgrimages were common in the Middle Ages. (3) They often served to bring people from different backgrounds together. (4) Chaucer's pilgrims, who form such a heterogeneous group, include representative medieval social classes, but they are also presented as real people with real biographies. (5) Chaucer's pilgrims are introduced to the reader in "The Prologue" of The Canterbury Tales. (6) By describing people from all walks of life, the narrator of "The Prologue" paints a picture of fourteenth-century England. (7) The Canterbury Tales displays the entire range of medieval society: the nobility, clergy, learned professions, skilled workers, tradesmen, and laborers. (8) Each pilgrim represents a group. (9) Perhaps that is why the narrator does not refer to them by their names. (10) He instead identifies the pilgrims by their class, like the Knight; or by their occupation, like the Merchant; or by their situation in life, like the Wife of Bath. (11) The first pilgrim the narrator introduces is the Knight. (12) The treatment of this nobleman is a good example of how the narrator combines the general and the particular. (13) He starts by describing the Knight as a "worthy" man. (14) This quality might seem ordinary to a modern reader. (15) One modern translation renders this term as "excellent" and another as "most distinguished." (16) Some of the other qualities the narrator attributes to the Knight, such as chivalry, are also indefinite to a modern reader.(17) But the narrator doesn't stop with these rather generic qualities; he also presents the Knight as an individual. (18) This nobleman becomes much more than a mere fact of social history. (19) The narrator describes the Knight's military career in very specific detail. (20) He mentions all the foreign places where the Knight has fought, both near and far, such as Spain, Egypt, Turkey, and Russia. (21) The narrator also depicts him fighting fiercely in tournaments, which were a knight's dangerous recreation, and in which the Knight "always killed his foe." (22) However, despite all his soldiering, this tough, deadly fighter has remained as "meek as a maiden." (23) In this way, the Knight becomes more than a mere role model for chivalrous behavior. (24) He starts to exist as a real person with a full biography.

Question
How would you clarify sentence 14 by adding more specific adjectives?
Select one:
a. This quality might seem general and uninteresting to a modern reader.
b. This quality might seem bland and boring to a modern reader.
c. This quality might seem everyday and ill-defined to a modern reader.
d. This quality might seem common and indefinite to a modern reader.

Answer 1

Main Answer:

Chaucer's term "worthy" may seem everyday and ill-defined to modern readers, lacking distinctiveness and clarity in its interpretation. c. This quality might seem everyday and ill-defined to a modern reader.

Therefore, the correct answer is c).

Step-by-step explanation:

The chosen option "c" emphasizes that the quality described in sentence 14 may appear everyday and ill-defined to a modern reader. The term "everyday" suggests a lack of uniqueness or distinctiveness, while "ill-defined" implies a certain vagueness or lack of clarity. In the context of sentence 14, these adjectives convey the idea that the quality attributed to the Knight might be perceived as commonplace and not particularly captivating by contemporary readers.

Chaucer's use of the term "worthy" in describing the Knight might indeed strike modern readers as somewhat ordinary. The word "everyday" encapsulates the notion that the quality lacks a sense of extraordinary significance or exceptionalism. Additionally, "ill-defined" underscores the potential ambiguity or vagueness surrounding the interpretation of this quality, highlighting its subjective and unclear nature.

In essence, the chosen option reflects the idea that Chaucer intentionally presents the Knight in a way that may not immediately captivate a modern audience accustomed to more specific and vivid descriptors. It speaks to the nuanced approach Chaucer employs in characterizing his pilgrims, blending generalizations with more individualistic details.

Therefore, the correct answer is c).