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
Which is the best way to revise the syntax of sentence 21 for a more engaging effect?
Select one:
a. The narrator also depicts him fighting fiercely in tournaments. The Knight "always killed his foe" in these dangerous recreations.
b. The narrator also depicts him fighting fiercely in tournaments. These were a knight's dangerous recreation, and the Knight "always killed his foe."
c. The narrator also depicts the Knight fighting fiercely in tournaments, which were a knight's dangerous recreation. He "always killed his foe."
d. The narrator also depicts him fighting fiercely. In tournaments that were a knight's dangerous recreation, the Knight "always killed his foe."

Answer 1

The most engaging syntactical revision of sentence 21 from the provided options is (c), as it offers a descriptive and flowing sentence structure that effectively depicts the Knight's actions in tournaments.

Step-by-step explanation:

The best way to revise the syntax of sentence 21 for a more engaging effect is by choosing option (c): 'The narrator also depicts the Knight fighting fiercely in tournaments, which were a knight's dangerous recreation.

He "always killed his foe."' This revision maintains the flow of the original sentence while providing a more dynamic and descriptive portrayal of the Knight's actions and the perilous nature of medieval tournaments.

The best way to revise the syntax of sentence 21 for a more engaging effect is option b:

The narrator also depicts him fighting fiercely in tournaments. These were a knight's dangerous recreation, and the Knight 'always killed his foe.'

The best way to revise the syntax of sentence 21 for a more engaging effect is:

c. The narrator also depicts the Knight fighting fiercely in tournaments, which were a knight's dangerous recreation. He "always killed his foe."