When we think about what life was like for women in Anglo-Saxon and Medieval periods, we often think of them as someone without a life or a say as to how to run their household. But even though the husband was the dominating partner in marriage, the wife held significant importance. The following will illustrate […]
Tag Archives: Chaucer
When Geoffrey Chaucer sat down to begin writing his famous and widely revered work, The Canterbury Tales, it is unlikely that he was merely trying to write a novel set of short stories to entertain those educated enough to read them. With the vast number of scholars who currently spend their lives studying the unfinished […]
The “Canterbury Tales” is more that just an entertaining collection of stories and characters; it is a representation of the society Chaucer lived in. In Chaucer’s world the traditional feudal system was losing its importance as more and more people became part of the emerging middle class. The church was another important part of Chaucer’s […]
In the general prologue to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, there is a preemptive warning given to the propriety and sensibility of all who should read the tales. Chaucer was well aware of the vulgarity of his tale’s and their propensity to offend, yet by simply keeping the vulgar language in the text, he warranted its use. […]
Generally speaking, there are four tales in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales which make up the Marriage Group. The Marriage group within the Canterbury Tales includes tales about the conflict between men and women in marriage and how this is, or is not resolved. These tales include “The Wife of Bath’s tale” “The Clerk’s Tale,” “The […]
Geoffrey Chaucer is considered to be the greatest English poet of the middle ages and he is also my favorite poet. While I appreciate all forms of poetry, I rarely read poems for entertainment. Even though Chaucer wrote in verse, most of his masterpieces read like a novel. Chaucer was also master of satire which […]
22
Jul
Jul
“A knight there was, and that a worthy man, That fro the time that he first bigan To ridden out, he loved chivalrye, Trouthe and honour, freedom and curteisye.” (Chaucer 216) This is the first taste of what a knight is in the General Prologue of the Canterbury Tales. The knight described here is perfect […]
In “The Canterbury Tales,” Beauty and looks define some of the characters in the general prologue. The Prioress is classified as attractive by medieval standards. This character is attractive for certain reasons. Some of these attributes would be attractive in modern society and some have fallen by the wayside as the definition of beauty has […]