Warning: Not a children’s story! A terrible vision of the world Canterbury Tales A Brief Understanding of Knight’s Tale Pardoner’s Tale and Wife of Bath’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer Warning: Not a children’s story! A terrible vision of the world
The Knight Practiced truth, honor, generousness, and courtesy Successful fighter and served in wars Wise, modest, polite to everyone Emerges as the voice of reason, common goodness, and common sense and is accepted as the moral authority by all pilgrims How can you not love a knight?
His story Theseus, King of Athens, marries Hippolyta, an Amazon lady he defeated in war. Creon, King of Thebes, puts two guys in prison for no reason. These guys fall in love with Emily, Hippolyta’s sister. (I know they are in jail…)
The story… One of them escapes and in disguise tries to woo Emily. The other escapes and they are found fighting in the woods by Theseus Theseus lets them fight to see who gets Emily. Builds a theatre for the fight! (it’s gonna be big!).
Still story… One guy prays to Venus, the other prays to Mars Emily prays to stay celibate (she likes neither) The guy who wins is thrown from his horse and his chest is crushed. So, other guy gets Emily because winner and broken guy says he can have her.
The moral of the story. We should try to find happiness and to love each other when we can. OR The universe is not friendly to human beings. It is indifferent, and at worst actively hostile.
The Pardoner Religious man, man of the cloth Claims during his sermons he shows useless items that he passes off as saints’ Proudly tells of his fraud and how he does not want to save people but gain their money (gee, which circle of Hell will be in?)
More on the Pardoner Chaucer gives great detail- Pardoner does not feel badly about his fraud but he does self-loath Shifts from direct honesty to shameless deceit No consistent code of moral behavior Physically deformed and possibly a homosexual Just a shell of a man
The Pardoner’s Tale In Flanders (a town; not a Simpson’s character) 3 rioters engage in irresponsible and sinful behavior Blasphemous drunks witness men carrying a corpse A boy tells them it was a friend and he was slain “by an unseen thief called Death”
Pardoner’s Tale Cont… The three drunks stagger off the find Death An old man claims Death will not take him and Death can be found underneath a nearby oak tree. The only thing under the tree is gold and they decide to split it. Too obvious, so they draw straws to see who will go back to the village for food, water, etc.
Pardoner’s Tale Ending The youngest man goes to town and the others decide to murder him when he returns. The youngest, however, while in town bought wine and poisoned it. The two murder the youngest but then drink the wine and also die.
The moral of the story? Don’t trust Death? Death is intangible? Stupidity will get you killed?
The Wife of Bath Her Prologue (introduction) is longer than her actual tale Married 5 times- her first 3 were not matched well, age, “wealthy but feeble men (thought of collectively as "he") are worn out by the sharp-tongued, lustful and vivacious woman whose fortune is not so much her face as her energy and sexual prowess. Her fourth husband is a more even match for the now not-so-young Wife: her husband is about her age, has a mistress and seems not to suffer from the Wife's flirtations.”
The Wife of Bath’s Tale Takes us back to King Arthur's court and his queen A knight is blamed for the rape of a young woman and his punishment is death However, he appeals to the Queen who says if the knight can tell her what women really want she will spare him.
Wife of Bath Cont… The knight goes on a long journey to find the answer and save himself He runs across an old woman who tells him the answer The answer is women just want equality with their husbands and men in general (She is not nearly as clean in her version)
The moral Allow women to be equal? Treat people as you wish to be treated? Women have always ruled they jusjt let men think they have?
So, now what? Now you need to read through the Pardoner’s Tale and The Wife of Bath’s Tale in your book. From the reading take notes on how the Prologue and tale are written (rhyme scheme, set up, etc) Why? I will tell you…