The Wife of Bath Depicted in the General Prologue
At the first reading of the "General Prologue" to the Canterbury Tales, the Wife of Bath seems to be a fairly straightforward character. However, the second time through, the ironies and insinuations surface and show the Wife's bold personality. For example, she is rather opinionated. The second line in the passage, "But she was somdel deef, and that was scathe," seems only to indicate that she is a little hard of hearing. However, coupled with a line from the end of the passage noting that she liked to talk, this deafness could mean either that she is really deaf and talks because she cannot hear what others say to her or that she simply does not listen to what anyone else says (Nardo 126). The next line, "Of clooth-makyng she hadde swich an haunt," is obviously the Wife's own opinion of herself and not objective at all. This is ironic because she is from near Bath, in western England, where the weavers were not very good, so she is probably not very talented at all (Bowden 215). She, however, does not doubt herself. The Wife is also very practical. In lines 469 through 473 she is described in traveling gear:
Upon an amblere esily she sat,
Y-wympled wel, and on hir heed an hat
As brood as is a bokeler or a targe,
A foot-mantel aboute hir hipes large,
And on hir feet a peyre of spores sharpe.
Her overskirt keeps off the dirt of travel, and the pacing horse, trained to move both feet on one side together, is comfortable on long journeys (Rowland 117). The fact that she is wearing spurs implies that she rides sensibly astride, like most women of her class. However, her hat is compared to a shield, and spurs were a symbol...
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... Tales. London: Greenwood Press, 1995.
Herman, John P. and John J. Burke, Jr., ed. Signs and Symbols in Chaucer's Poetry. University, Alabama: University of Alabama Press, 1981.
Lambdin, Laura C. and Robert T. Lambdin, ed. Chaucer's Pilgrims: An Historical Guide to the Pilgrims in the Canterbury Tales. London: Greenwood Press, 1996.
Lucas, Angela M. Women in the Middle Ages: Religion, Marriage, and Letters. Great Britain: Harvester Press, 1983.
Nardo, Don, ed. Readings on the Canterbury Tales. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1997.
Plummer, John F. "The Wife of Bath's Hat as a Sexual Metaphor." English Language Notes, 18 (1980-1981).
Rowland, Beryl. Blind Beasts: Chaucer's Animal World. Great Britain: Kent State University Press, 1971.
Serrailler, Ian. Chaucer and his World. New York: Henry Z. Walck, Inc., 1968.
...clusion the “Sports Construction Era” ballparks are a radical change in the way we experience a major league baseball game. The radical changes benefit both the baseball club and the fans. Finally the new style of construction employed by these three “pioneer” cities has been such a success that they have become the standard for the future of major league ballpark construction throughout the country.
In a growing trend that reaches to all corners of the athletic world, coaches are being forced to cope with the added stress of disgruntled parents. More and more they are required to defend personal coaching styles and philosophies, uphold team decisions and go head to head with angry, and sometimes violent parents. The pressure has gotten to the point where coaches all over the country are quitting or being forced out of their jobs by groups of parents. High school athletics should be about learning and having fun, and when parents cross the line between cheerleader and ringleader everyone suffers.
Looking back through many historical time periods, people are able to observe the fact that women were generally discriminated against and oppressed in almost any society. However, these periods also came with women that defied the stereotype of their sex. They spoke out against this discrimination with a great amount of intelligence and strength with almost no fear of the harsh consequences that could be laid out by the men of their time. During the Medieval era, religion played a major role in the shaping of this pessimistic viewpoint about women. The common belief of the patriarchal-based society was that women were direct descendants of Eve from The Bible; therefore, they were responsible for the fall of mankind. All of Eve’s characteristics from the biblical story were believed to be the same traits of medieval women. Of course, this did not come without argument. Two medieval women worked to defy the female stereotype, the first being the fictional character called The Wife of Bath from Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. The second woman, named Margery Kempe, was a real human being with the first English autobiography written about her called The Book of Margery Kempe. In these two texts, The Wife of Bath and Margery Kempe choose to act uniquely compared to other Christians in the medieval time period because of the way religion is interpreted by them. As a result, the women view themselves as having power and qualities that normal women of their society did not.
Discipline. Faith. Desire. Respect. That’s what Tang Soo Do is all about. Not the desire to punch someone in the gut, not the faith that you get another chance to hurt somebody, not the rude way of acting, not the respect towards the betrayers. Tang Soo Do is about the desire to learn. The faith in someone to let them make peace with you. The discipline in which you show people that you are respectful towards all. The respect toward those who are loyal to you. With the help of Tang Soo Do, not only can we have better self-defense, we can also become better people who are known for their desire, discipline, faith, and respect. And we can learn this by following the Articles of Faith, 10 simple sayings that give us a guidance to life but are essential rules to follow.
Mandell, Jerome. Geoffrey Chaucer : building the fragments of the Canterbury tales. N.J. : Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1992.
Parents in the U.S. today are becoming too involved in youth sports and are getting out of control. In the July 24, 2000 issue of Sports Illustrated, there is an article by William Nack and Lester Munson about a father in Massachusetts who killed another father over a little dispute about youth hockey. On July 5, 2000 Thomas Junta, a father of two, got into what seemed to be a minor shoving match with Michael Costin, a father of four, over a play in a hockey practice. After a while the fight was broken up and Junta left the ice arena. A little while later Junta returned with "clenched fists" and pinned Costin to the ground. With Costin's children standing just a few feet away and pleading with Junta to stop, Junta pummeled Costin with punches to the face and slammed Costin's head into the hard rubber mats that covered the floor. By the time someone was able to pull Junta off of him, Costin's face was so badly beaten that even his own children could barely recognized him. Costin was left in a coma and died two days later. This shows that p...
For example, "Little League Elbow" describes overuse injuries in kids who are repetitively throwing the ball. Kids are sustaining severe injuries to their growth plates, neck and spinal cord that could end their career in pro-sports before it begins....
Heffernan, L. E. (2013, October 10). Parents Ruin Sports for Their Kids by Obsessing About Winning. Retrieved April 28, 2014
With more and more children participating in some sort of organized sport than ever before, there is a constant concern regarding the pressures kids are brought into to excel. Emotionally over-involved parents often think that it is their responsibility to persuade, push, or support the children's fantasies or sporting objectives, even if the kids themselves do not share the same aspirations as his/her parents. Part of growing up is learning what interests you the most. It's how one becomes familiar with who they really are and what they enjoy doing in life. Unfortunately, for many young children, his/her parents seem to take his/her own lives into their own hands. Most parents want their kids to grow up to be "superstars", make it big after the college scenario, and perhaps go on to play professionally or succeed in the Olympics. We all know that there are the few that make it professionally, and having your parent paint a picture for you as you're barely going into grade school is unethical. Yet for the unfortunate, these kids are helpless to the pressure that is put on them at such a young age. Take Todd Marinovich, for example. For the child's entire life he was exercised, fed, schooled, and drilled with his fathers' one g...
Jessica Statsky, in her essay, “Children need to Play, Not Compete” attempts to refute the common belief that organized sports are good for children. She sees organized sports not as healthy pass-times for children, but as onerous tasks that children do not truly enjoy. She also notes that not only are organized sports not enjoyable for children, they may cause irreparable harm to the children, both emotionally and physically. In her thesis statement, Statsky states, “When overzealous parents and coaches impose adult standards on children's sports, the result can be activities that are neither satisfying nor beneficial to children” (627). While this statement is strong, her defense of it is weak.
Stein G., Raedeke T., Glenn S. (1999). Children’s Perception of Parent Sport Involvement: It’s Not How Much, But to What Degree That’s Important. Journal of Sport and Behavior, 22, 591-601.
The Wife of Bath is a complex character-she is different from the way she represents herself. Maybe not even what she herself thinks she is. On the surface, it seems as though she is a feminist, defending the rights and power of women over men. She also describes how she dominates her husband, playing on a fear that was common to men. From a point of view of a man during that time period, she seemed to illustrate all of the wrongs that men found in women. Such as a weak parody of what men, then saw as feminists. The Wife of Bath constantly emphasizes the negative implications of women throughout the ages. She describes women as greedy, controlling, and dishonest.
According to statistics gathered by youth sports organizations, “Up to 50 million kids play youth sports in America, and 73 percent who begin playing a sport quit before they turn 13” (Binns). The children could have quit because they did not like the disappointment of losing, or because they are exhausted from their parents pushing them too hard. But parents have their reasons for pushing their children into sports. “Studies show that kids who play sports are less likely to become obese, abuse drugs or alcohol or to perform poorly in school” (McCormick). If children are not active, then they will most likely become overweight, and if they have nothing to do in their pastime, they may turn to drugs and alcohol, which usually leads to a decrease of grades in school. A parent putting his/her child in sports gives the child something to do and keeps them fit. Parents also put their child in a sport hoping that he/she will get success out of it “Eager to nurture the next A-Rod or Michelle Kwan, parents enroll their 5- or 6-year-olds in a competitive sports league or program” (Stenson). While not all parents are pushing for future Olympians, the fight for a sports college scholarship is competitive and parents may feel that their child will have a better chance of gaining one if he/she starts competitive sports early. Parents push their children to succeed, and children--not wanting to disappoint their parents--push themselves, sometimes harder than they should. If done right, pushing a child into sports can have a positive effect on the child’s interaction with other children while teaching them commitment and healthy competition. However, focusing on winning and earning a scholarship versus having fun may backfire, because the cons...
Digging into the snow with my boots while stabilizing my body with the uninjured arm, I inch across the hill, lose my foothold, and plummet downward.
It rises even more when you start to successfully spar and win against people. Discipline comes from listening to your instructor. Asking questions such as “Do I face my fist this way or that”, questions like these are what you should listen to. By listening to and doing what your sensei says you will learn discipline. Integrity comes from showing up every day and doing your best, even win your instructor is helping someone else. Honesty comes with this as well, when you admit your mistakes on the exercise it helps you know that honesty is right. Enlightenment comes from knowing there is a higher power and following the Way. Timing is a skill that takes both mental and physical disipline. You must learn to read your opponent’ rhythm and use a rhythm they don’t expect to get in them in your critical distance line and