(10/15) (Week 1, Day 3)

Close Reading Day. By yourself, silently, revisit the passages in the story and write down answers
to the questions posed below. You may write below your bell work or on a separate piece of paper.
Reread lines 23 through 55. Consider what this portion tells the reader about the Wife of Bath. Why do
you think she mentions the fairy folk? Does she seem to have a positive opinion about men? Is the friar
a good person? (10 min) Silent. Individual
Trade sheets of paper with the person next to you. Read over his/her answers then have a brief chit chat
about what the two of you wrote (5 min) Talk. Pair.
Reread lines 125 through 156. The story about Midas seems like a random sidetrack, given that the
Wife of Bath is telling a story about a lusty knight. Why does she bring up the Midas story? What does
this passage say about men? About women? (10 min) Silent. Individual.
Trade sheets of paper with the person next to you. Read over his/her answers then have a brief chit chat
about what the two of you wrote (5 min) Talk. Pair.
Reread lines 431 through 438. Wife of Bath is asking God to send a specific type of husband to her
(and women in general). What qualities does she directly say that women desire in a man? Are these the
same qualities that men think that women want, as told in lines 98 through 109? (10 min) Silent.
Invidual.
note:
meek = gentle, obedient
niggard = a person who doesn't like spending money
pestilence = a deadly illness