The idea of fama is treated similarly in both House of Fame and The Legend of Good Women through the concepts that regard the ambiguity of fame, which Geoffrey Chaucer explores within both texts. This is because Chaucer’s idea of cultivating fame can be regarded as ‘multifarious’. Hence, fama can be obtained through several elements of “rumor’ and ‘idle talk’; ‘the things people say’; ‘reputation’; ‘memory’ or ‘memories’; ‘the things people know’” (Flannery, 139). Chaucerian notions of fama can also be dichotomous in relation to fame and infamy. Whereby, fame can be derived from a positive reputation but infamy can also cultivate a one’s reputation. Both texts are an exploration of the cultivation of fame, where fame is gained from “authorial …show more content…
Therefore, the multifarious existence of fama can be portrayed through one’s title, family, armies, wealth and status can achieve fame and these notions are explored in his poem. Chaucer’s allusion to the goddess fama is demonstrated by his worshipping of her existence and she is personified to judge and control one’s reputation. The people that approach and worship here, show her great reverence which enriches the notion that revered and powerful. Hence, the “Pore and ryche” (House of Fame, 1532), are described to be “gonne doun on kneës falle” (House of Fame, 1534). Those that appear before the lady are dealt with, in three distinctive ways and this is observed by Chaucer’s use of the anaphora “And somme of hem she graunted sone, and somme she werned wel and faire, and some she graunted the contraire” (House of Fame, 1538-40). It can be argued that fama is something that can be obtained from a higher presence, such as the goddess of fortune whom creates that destiny. She provides positive reputation to those who achieve good deeds, as seen in “Of good werkes, yive us good renoun” (House of Fame, 1558). However, the fame that the goddess provides is not free, but requires compensation from those who receive “good fame” and they will have to build her name with their “werkes… in full recompensacioun” (House of Fame, 1556-57). The goddess of fama achieves recognition for herself and her identity is enriched by the acknowledgement from her messengers and she orders them to “gete me good fame” (House of Fame, 1565). Consequently, fame works in a multiplicity of ways, where wealth and status is acquired through fate, a higher being. Nevertheless, fame is also unstable and can also be taken away by the goddess of
When Chaucer’s knight stands judgment for the rape of an innocent girl, it is the queen’s authority that decides his fate: “And yaf him to the queene, al at hir wille, / To chese wheither she wolde him save or spille” (903-904). Using her power to humiliate the knight even further, she metes out the most ironic of punishments: “I graunte thee lif if thou canst tellen me / What thing is it that wommen most desiren” (910-911). With the queen’s decree, a great importance is placed upon the understanding of a woman’s needs—for this knowledge is the only hope in saving a man’s
A fabliau is a short comic tale, chiefly in French, that is written in verse and usually consists of lewd humor. The title comes from the diminutive form of the word “fable”, and the earliest example of such poetry was found during the twelfth century. In the reading, “The Fabliaux” by Nathaniel E. Dubin, there is a collection of short poems that tell amusing stories, such as one of a girl who cannot stand to hear lewd language and a priest who fools a peasant into believing that his own eyes are deceitful.
Chaucer's Prologue is an introduction to the characters that he will soon be talking about in his short stories. It was written to combat the Italian Buchartio, and write his own version to achieve fame. The reason that the Italian version became so popular is because of how it was written in the Italian of the street people, in other words, it could be understood by the whole of Italy, not just the rich. Chaucer wanted to do the same thing, but came to halt when he was deciding what language to write it in, he thought of Russian and other languages, but soon decided on English. This is extremely important because it is the first time that English has ever been written down, usually it is just a spoken language with no written form. This is why it was so important to the English language that he wrote it specifically in English. Giving the language a written form, sort of. It was a mixture of German of the east and native language from the Anglo Saxons. It is difficult to read, because this is the first time English has been written down, so there wasn’t any set way to spell words, and they were spelled how they sounded phonetically.”Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote The droghte of March Hath Perced to the roote, And bathed every veyne in swich liquor” (Page 97 Lines 1-3). Typically, this meant that the same word was spelled fifty different ways throughout the entire Prologue. Though it is hard to read it is still an excellent story, and has very depth in its characters, which are fully developed and give further detail into the story and make it one of the best stories in English there is today.
emphasis to the importance of his Cipolla by placing the master preacher in the last
The use of euphemism and crudeness in “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue” is simultaneously unnerving and amusing, and begs the question of how a “wicked” woman like The Wife could ever actually progress in medieval society. Chaucer incorporates subtle allusions to female sexual organs and it is this bluntness (that would raise eyebrows even today) which establishes the Wife as such a powerfully outspoken character. Because courtship in Chaucer’s time was considered worthy of complete submission, the fact that the Wife places such emphasis on domination and even psychological power hints at her being an object of irony (and not a feminist figure “before her time”). It is for this reason that Chaucer’s delicate use of “queynte”- a term from which
The dominance of men in the Middle Ages is unethical, irrational, and dangerous; women are given few rights and the opportunity to earn rights is non-existent. The dictates to the dominance is formed by the internal combination of man’s personal desire and religious interference. In Geoffrey Chaucer’s, The Canterbury Tales, the combined perspectives’ on a haughty Pardoner and non-subservient wife is the stronghold of separation in moral roles. The moral roles between men and women are exemplified in the rankings of religious hierarchy for men are at the top and women towards the bottom. Even prestigious women, ones with noble connections, are subservient to men, but contradictorily have religious affiliations. The “Wife of Bath’s Tale” is a perfect example of defying man’s dominance and the “Pardoner’s Tale”, a problematic reasoning of why selfishness connects moreover to the manipulation. The frailties of religious reasoning however, will cause The Pardoner and the Wife of Bath to be separated from society’s morals.
The book then talks about viewpoints of women, both real and those who face tragedy. Women during this time were very secluded and silent, but the heroines contradicted that. This chapter talks about the images of women in the classical literature in Athens, and the role they had in society. Many tragedies were ones that formed by mythes during the Bronze Age. It showed the separation in what made women heroic, rather than average. While viewing other Scholarly sourcese, Pomerory writes her own theory, she used others
The Wife of Bath, with the energy of her vernacular and the voraciousness of her sexual appetite, is one of the most vividly developed characters of 'The Canterbury Tales'. At 856 lines her prologue, or 'preambulacioun' as the Summoner calls it, is the longest of any of the pilgrims, and matches the General Prologue but for a few lines. Evidently Chaucer is infatuated with Alisoun, as he plays satirically with both gender and class issues through the Wife's robust rhetoric. Scholars and students alike have continued this obsession with her, and as a consequence Chaucer's larger than life widow has been subject to centuries of scrutiny. Indeed, she is in the vast minority amongst the Canterbury bound pilgrims; apart from the in-vogue Prioress she is the only female - though she appears in no way daunted by the apparent inequality in numbers. It seems almost a crime to examine masculinity in her prologue and tale, but as I hope to show, there is much to learn both about the Wife and about Chaucer from this male presence.
Traditional female characteristics and female unrest are underscored in literary works of the Middle Ages. Although patriarchal views were firmly established back then, traces of female contempt for such beliefs could be found in several popular literary works. Female characters’ opposition to societal norms serves to create humor and wish- fulfillment for female and male audiences to enjoy. “Lanval” by Marie De France and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” by Geoffrey Chaucer both show subversion of patriarchal attitudes by displaying the women in the text as superior or equal to the men. However, “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” also incorporates conventional societal ideas by including degradation of women and mistreatment of a wife by her husband.
In The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, the stereotypes and roles in society are reexamined and made new through the characters in the book. Chaucer discusses different stereotypes and separates his characters from the social norm by giving them highly ironic and/or unusual characteristics. Specifically, in the stories of The Wife of Bath and The Miller’s Tale, Chaucer examines stereotypes of women and men and attempts to define their basic wants and needs.
Chaucer, in his female pilgrimage thought of women as having an evil-like quality that they always tempt and take from men. They were depicted as untrustworthy, selfish and vain and often like caricatures not like real people at all. Through the faults of both men and women, Chaucer showed what is right and wrong and how one should live. Under the surface, however, lies a jaded look of women in the form that in his writings he seems to crate them as caricatures and show how they cause the downfall of men by sometimes appealing to their desires and other times their fears. Chaucer obviously had very opinionated views of the manners and behaviours of women and expressed it strongly in The Canterbury Tales. In his collection of tales, he portrayed two extremes in his prospect of women. The Wife of Bath represented the extravagant and lusty woman where as the Prioress represented the admirable and devoted followers of church. Chaucer delineated the two characters contrastingly in their appearances, general manners, education and most evidently in their behaviour towards men. Yet, in the midst of disparities, both tales left its readers with an unsolved enigma.
Rigby, Stephen Henry. (2000). The Wife of Bath, Christine de Pizan, and the Medieval Case for Women. Chaucer Review, (pgs 133-165)
Two of the greatest masters of British literature, Shakespeare and Chaucer, tended to look to the classics when searching for inspiration. A lesser-known example of this lies in an ancient tale from Greece about two star-crossed lovers. There are many variations on the names of these lovers, but for the purpose of solidarity, they shall henceforth be referred to as “Troilus and Criseyde” for Chaucer and “Troilus and Cressida” for Shakespeare. Chaucer’s “Troilus and Criseyde” offers up a classic tale of love that is doomed, whereas Shakespeare’s “Troilus and Cressida” is not only tragic but also biting in its judgment and representation of characters. This difference may be due to the differences in time periods for the two authors, or their own personal dispositions, but there can be no denying the many deviations from Chaucer’s work that Shakespeare employs. Shakespeare’s work, by making the characters and situations more relatable, builds upon Chaucer’s original work, rather than improving it or shattering it.
Chaucer uses the Prioress, the Monk and the Friar to represent his views on the Church. He makes the three model members of the Church appear to have no problems with self-indulgence, greed, and being unfaithful to their vows. He displays his anti skeptical thoughts of the faults of the medieval church by making fun of its teachings and the people of the church, who use it for personal gain. Chaucer see’s the church as corrupt, hypocritical and greedy.
In a society, there are many different opinions on how a women figure is seen. These ideas have changed overtime with the progress of women bring consider equal to men. There are two ways a woman can be interpreted, one brings lower to the men and the other being equal to men. Women play an important role in shaping lives, directly or indirectly. The tales depicted in this book shows the reader the broader insight of how women were seen as in previous years. The different ideas of what women meant to men are seen in the tales told by the characters in the book, mostly the men. The perspective of a woman for a male and a female is different. If we were to compare two tales from each side, the opinion would only be in favour for the individual who is narrating the tale. In Geoffrey Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales”, the role of women is portrayed in two different ways, one