How did you go about doing your research for the maudlyns and the way they spoke and acted throughout the novel? What information did you find difficult to access? What would be your recommendations for trying to balance the historical accuracy along with a complex plot line?

In The Man of Law’s Tale there are multiple parental relationships. Why are these relationships significant? What do you think Chaucer is trying to depict through the Man of Law? (Particularly look at the relationship between Custance and her son and Donegild and Alla)

In The Man of Law’s Tale we get the depiction of two very different women. How does Chaucer set the two women apart? What are their defining characteristics and how are we supposed feel about them? What is significant about so much of the first part of the tale being told through women?

Describe how Chaucer uses setting and imagery in both The Book of the Duchess and The Knight’s Tale. What scenes rely particularly on setting? What are the different purposes of these descriptive settings? How do they contribute to the texts?

In the General Prologue Chaucer describes the different characters that will be taking this pilgrimage to Canterbury. How does he choose to go about describing these characters? Do they seem to fit the ideal for their profession or place in society? Why do you think he chose to depict them this way?

In the article Lears states that the poem is cyclical and by the end “the poem seems to go nowhere, condemning the Black Knight, the Dreamer, and the reader to an endless reiteration of this tale of melancholy and grief.” Do you find any problems with this statement in relationship with The Book of the Duchess? Why or why not?