Test Two – Gawain, the Miller, and the Wife Short answer questions: 1. Nicholas did not actually have a job, his time was spent wooing Alisoun and studying astrology. Since Nicholas did not work, he lived off the charity of friends. John and Alisoun let him live with them. 2. Nicholas’s told John that God was going to cause another flood, however, John, Alisoun and Nicholas would be spared, they just had to spend the night sleeping in separate troughs suspended from the rafters. After John had fallen asleep, Alisoun and Nicholas were able to sneak out of their troughs and spend the night together. 3. “The Wife if Bath’s Tale” is ultimately about power, specifically women wanting to have power over men, especially their husbands. Being the …show more content…
As a whole, “The Canterbury Tales” could be viewed as Chaucer’s commentary on society. Many of stories focus on the church and on people’s relationships or interactions. At the time, the church was the major focus of the community, the place where most socializing happened, so this focus is only natural. “The Miller’s Tale” uses four types of people to illustrate how society interacts. The first type of character is the miller, John, who represents the wealthy class, but not a nobleman. Right away he is introduced as “a riche gnof that gestes heeld to boorde” (The Miller’s Tale 80). This means he is an irritable old man. Chaucer sees this type of person, possibly the leading edge of the middle class, as a thoroughly unpleasant fellow to be around. He also calls John rich, but then says he takes on boarders in the same line. The appearance is that Chaucer views this character as attached to money. Later, he describes John as being such a control freak, out of fear of his wife cheating on him, that John all but has her locked up in a cage (The Miller’s Tale 116). Chaucer views the wealthy class as being …show more content…
(The Miller’s Tale 256) This section shows John waking up to Absolon playing music and singing outside their bedroom window in an attempt to seduce Alisoun. How frequently and publicly he tries to impress her shows he has little concern for John discovering his actions. As a churchman, one would expect Absolon to have higher morals, and, perhaps even be committed to a life of celibacy. However, Chaucer shows he thinks the church is full of prideful hypocrites with this portrayal. 2. At the core, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is a story about chivalry. Chivalry could be defined as a moral or social code according to which a medieval knight was supposed to live his life. The entire point of the Green Knight’s challenge was to create a scenario in which to test the legendary chivalry of Arthur’s court. King Arthur’s court was renowned for how chivalrous the knights were. So well known are they, that when Sir Gawain rides into the unfamiliar castle, men are thrilled to meet such a prestigious knight. All the men of the manor were of the same mind, being happy to appear promptly in his presence, this person famed for prowess and
The Merchant's revealed nature, however, combats the very destruction of creation and individual that he tried to attain. As the Merchant tries to subsume the reality of marriage, love, and relationship under his own enviously blind view, Chaucer shows us another individual, significant and important in his own way. Instead of acting as a totalizing discourse, Chaucer uses the Merchant's tale to reveal his depraved envy and to reveal him as no more than a wanton cynic. Thus, Chaucer provides the very perspective that the Merchant tries to steal from his audience.
The narrative artistry of Sir Gawain and The Green Knight can be attributed to the fundamental elements of chivalric life and the exploration of classic mythological elements that allows the narrative to bridge the gap between Christianity and Paganism, and allow its readers to find their own spiritual interpretation with in the text.
Nicholas is credited with devising the plan to fool the carpenter so he and Alisoun can be together; however, what sets off the chain of events in the latter part of the story is Alisoun’s trick on Absolon. When Absolon comes to court Alison, she says she will give him a kiss, but then, “And at the windowe out she putte hir hole, / And Absolon, him fil no bet ne wers, / But with his mouth he kiste hir naked ers, / Ful savourly, er he were war of this” (624). This spectacularly crude action goes beyond all rules of social propriety and demonstrates her desire to not be typecast as a traditional woman. Moreover, it illustrates her ability to reject a suitor. Unlike the Wife of Bath, who accepts multiple suitors, Alisoun has a very clear idea of who she does and does not want to be with. Additionally, her choice between Nicholas and Absolon also demonstrates her ability to break away from traditional social expectations. When the Miller describes Nicholas, he states, “This clek was cleped hende Nicholas. / Of derne love he coude, and of solas, / And thereto he was sly and ful of privee” (91-112). He is a cunning and sly astrology student, while on the other hand, Absolon is a parish clerk and belongs to the institution of the Church. Nicholas’ rebellious and Absolon’s traditional
Though often extensive detail may be condemned as mere flowery language, in understanding Sir Gawain and the Green Knight one must make special emphasis on it. In color and imagery itself, the unknown author paints the very fibers of this work, allowing Sir Gawain to discern the nuances of ritualistic chivalry and truth. His quest after the Green Knight is as simple as ones quest toward himself. Through acute awareness of the physical world he encounters Gawain comes to an understanding of the world beyond chivalry, a connection to G-d, the source of truth. He learns, chivalry, like a machine, will always function properly, but in order to derive meaning from its product he must allow nature to affect him.
According to Shedd’s “Knight in Tarnished Armour: The Meaning of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”, Sir Gawain’s conflict is with the duality of human nature, not the Green Knight. His idea that Sir Gawain and the Green Knight breaks the traditions of medieval romance is especially
In a land of magic, love, betrayal, hatred, loyalty and mystery, there exists a kingdom called Camelot. At the heart of Camelot are the Knights of the Round Table who maintain their loyalty to King Arthur. From the famed knights emerges one knight, who stands out as being traditionally the most loyal, chivalrous, and courtly of all: Sir Gawain. It is during one of Arthur's New Year's feast, that a stranger rudely gallops into the great hall and begins what will be a yearlong test for Sir Gawain. His color, physical stature, power, and magic are astounding to the Knights of the Round Table. Only one knight dares to accept the challenge of this green giant. This is the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a fourteenth Century Arthurian romance by an anonymous poet.
The characters of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales are very memorable. Chaucer's prologue introduces several characters. The Pardoner, Miller, and Wife of Bath stand out from the crowd. These characters are all unique in their own way. Chaucer describes the characters in full detail. The physical description he gives for each character actually foreshadows their attitudes, status, and personalities. The characters of The Canterbury Tales are very memorable because their character types can are universal. People like the disgusting miller or deceptive pardoner are still seen to this day. Having married a total of five times, The Wife of Bath is a perfect example of modern day celebrities. The tales each individual character tells reflects their personal views of their current society. The Wife of Bath voices her full opinions in her tale, while the Miller tells his story in extreme detail.
The structure Geoffrey Chaucer chose for his masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales, of utilizing a melange of narrative voices to tell separate tales allows him to explore and comment on subjects in a multitude of ways. Because of this structure of separate tales, the reader must regard as extremely significant when tales structurally overlap, for while the reader may find it difficult to render an accurate interpretation through one tale, comparing tales enables him to lessen the ambiguity of Chaucer’s meaning. The Clerk’s Tale and The Merchant’s Tale both take on the institution of marriage, but comment on it in entirely different manner, but both contain an indictment of patriarchal narcissism and conceit.
“The Canterbury Tales” was written in the 14th century by Geoffrey Chaucer. These tales constitutes a frame story which each pilgrim has to tell their own story to the Chaucer, the pilgrim; not the poet. As we know, the tale itself is a satire, but the stylistic structure in the tales creates a sense that can be a parody as well. To support this idea of parody, it is need to know the definition of parody and how Chaucer use this style to make his own ideas clear through the general prologue and the tales such as “The Miller’s Tale” and “The Knight’s Tale”.
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.
The relationship between the Miller and the Miller’s Tale is close, for the tale is a reflection of the teller. The Miller’s tale is a fabliau, a genre best described as a short story full of ribald and humor. The Miller’s tale consists of events of “cuckoldry” (Chaucer 1720), “foolishness” (1718), and “secrets” (1719). Telling such a story, the Miller can immediately be classified as a man of low social status with a vulgar sense of humor full of shrewdness. However, as the tale continues, it reveals the unexpected soft side of the Miller as he sympathizes with the distressed woman trapped in the norms of society. Thus, the Miller’s characteristics of obscenity, deception, and sympathy drive the plot of his tale.
The story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight revolves around the knights and their chivalry as well as their romance through courtly love. The era in which this story takes place is male-dominated, where the men are supposed to be brave and honorable. On the other hand, the knight is also to court a lady and to follow her commands. Sir Gawain comes to conflict when he finds himself needing to balance the two by being honorable to chivalry as well as respectful to courtly love.
In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain shows qualities of a chivalrous knight. He demonstrates that by showing generosity, courtesy, and loyalty during his travels. A mysterious knight shows up at the king’s castle and calls himself the Green Knight. The Green Knight then challenges one to play a game which he challenges the king to strike him with his axe if he will take a return hit in a year and a day. Sir Gawain steps forward to accept the challenge for his uncle King Arthur when nobody else in the castle would. He took the King’s role in the game to protect him from the Green Knight. He must learn to accept his responsibility as a knight, in accepting his fate.He demonstrates goodness at the hand of the Green Knight. He shows courage by accepting what is to come upon him during his voyage. His journey to find the Green Knight is filled with temptations.In the conversation with him and the “Lady”, Sir Gawain showed a Chivalrous code by keeping his loyalty to the king by not kissing his wife. The lady states “if I should exchange at my cho...
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight fit in with the concept of a romance; it has all the elements that would make one consider the text as so. The tale holds adventure, magic, a quest and an unexpected reality check that even those who are considered “perfect” are also just humans. The author used this story as a way of revealing faults in some of the aspects of knighthood through the use of intertwining chivalric duty with natural human acts; thus showing to be perfectly chivalrous would be inhuman.
The Canterbury Tales is a great contemplation of stories, that display humorous and ironic examples of medieval life, which imitate moral and ethical problems in history and even those presented today. Chaucer owed a great deal to the authors who produced these works before his time. Chaucer tweaked their materials, gave them new meanings and revealed unscathed truths, thus providing fresh ideas to his readers. Chaucer's main goal for these tales was to create settings in which people can relate, to portray lessons and the irony of human existence.