Summary and Analysis of Tale of Melibee (The Canterbury Tales)
Prologue to the Tale of Melibee:
The Host interrupted the Tale of Sir Thopas, pleading with the narrator to desist. He told him that the rhymes were doggerel, and asks him to tell a tale in prose. The narrator agrees and asks for the group's attention once more.
Analysis
The connecting passages between the tales that Chaucer himself tells are more dramatically fulfilling than the stories themselves, which are little more than comic anecdotes. These passages best illustrate the narrative behind the tales themselves. The tales exist as they relate to one another in a complex set of interactions between the various pilgrims; they are not simply a set of free-standing short stories given a rough context. The tales themselves are products of this interaction; the Tale of Melibee that Chaucer will give is a response to the Host's unfavorable reaction to the Tale of Sir Thopas.
The Tale of Melibee:
A young man called Melibee, mighty and rich, had a wife named Prudence and a daughter Sophie. One day while he was in the fields he left his wife and daughter in his house. Three of his old foes broke into the house, raped his wife and left his daughter for dead by wounding her in five places her feet, hands, eyes, nose and mouth. When Melibee returned he began to weep. Prudence consoled him, then asked him to desist and to be as patient as Job. She tells him to call on the counsel of his true friends. His physicians vowed to cure Sophie. They advice him to set guards at his house, but not to attempt vengeance. The younger men, however, advised him to declare war. Prudence agreed with the elders, who did not want to attack the perpetrators in haste. However, Melibee cites Solomon, who advised that no wife or child should ever have mastery over a husband. Melibee and Prudence continue to debate on the subject, discussing every bit of minutiae in the subject debated. Finally she advises that he delay his attack on his enemies, telling them that if they will accept peace they shall be forgiven. They came to the court of Melibee and he gives them an option: they can put the punishment in the hands of Melibee or Prudence. The wisest of his enemies admits that they are unworthy to come into his court, and submit to his judgment.
Lyndon Johnson was born in 1908 in Texas; he was the oldest child of five other siblings. His father a farmer, Sam Ealy Johnson Jr, also represented the USA as a legislator was married to his mother, Rebekah Baines Johnson. Lyndon graduated from Southwest State Teachers College in 1930, today the school is known as Texas State University – San Marcus. To assist in paying for his education he took jobs teaching underprivileged Mexican-American students, it was during this time while talking and teaching he was exposed to discrimination and poverty, which made a deep
Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th president of the United States, is not one of the most well-known presidents to have ever served in office though he did do some good things during his presidency. The vice president’s journey to the presidency began after the assassination of the beloved president, John F. Kennedy. Before serving as president, he was the youngest Senator to ever serve as a majority leader and he sat in the House of Representatives. Although Johnson served two terms as president, he only ran in one election because of the death of Kennedy. However, the one election he ran in, he won in by a landslide (Ridings & Melver 231). Lyndon B Johnson, the Democratic president, who served from 1963-1969, might have been infamous for the decisions he made during the Vietnam War, but his Great Society and Civil Rights Act helped shape the nation in a good way.
In his Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer assembles a band of pilgrims who, at the behest of their host, engage in a story-telling contest along their route. The stories told along the way serve a number of purposes, among them to entertain, to instruct, and to enlighten. In addition to the intrinsic value of the tales taken individually, the tales in their telling reveal much about the tellers. The pitting of tales one against another provides a third level of complexity, revealing the interpersonal dynamics of the societal microcosm comprising the diverse group of pilgrims.
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.
Johnson (August 27, 1908) was the first born son to Sam and Rebekah Baines Johnson. Stonewall, Texas was the home to the Johnson family. Sam B. Johnson had served five years as a Texas legislator, until he decided to solely make a living off of farming. Unfortunately, the family could not survive off the means of the farm and abandoned it. The financial issues of his family and his personal experiences of poverty gave Lyndon B. Johnson the fuel to make a change in the system. His brief one-on-one experience as a teacher in a segregated Hispanic school in a poor, neglected area could perhaps be another reason to why Johnson was so adamant in making domestic changes during his presidency to help the impoverished. (Miller Center, 2014)
In order to achieve this objective Robert believed that he needed to build a Robert Mondavi brand in the premium wine market segment. This resulted in the initial pro¬duction of a limited quantity of premium wines using the best grapes, which brought the highest prices in the market and had the highest profit margins per bottle. How¬ever, he soon realized that this strategy, while establishing the brand, did not allow the company to generate enough cash flow to expand the business. In order to solve this problem Robert decided to produce less expensive wines that he could sell in higher volumes. He dedicated time and effort to finding the best vineyards in Napa Valley for the company's production of grapes. In addition, he signed long-term con¬tracts with growers in Napa Valley and worked closely with each grower to improve grape quality.
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.
Compared to the industry as a whole, Mondavi is not responding to the changing marketplace and demands. While there has been some growth in the ultra and luxury premium market segments, the explosion in the last 15 years had been in the popular premium ($3-7 per bottle) and super-premium ($7-14) sector. Mondavi’s own Woodbridge offering is responsible for 76% of its case volume and 57% of its revenue as of 2001, but seemingly exists in isolation amidst all the high-end offerings from the company. Competitors that have established themselves in jug wine, beer, and other spirits are taking advantage of their sales volume and migrating upward. While E&J Gallo, Constellation, and the beer producers may not have the reputation for quality and craft that RMW possesses, their substantial financial weight has allowed them to develop or purchase brands that could compete in the higher altitudes and price segments. Meanwhile, competitors with similar histories in premium winemaking are taking advantage of lower production costs to horizontally integrate, acquire land, and build new wineries in different countries, as Kendall Jackson has done with the Villa Arceno (Italy) and Yangarra Park (Australia) wines.
Chaucer’s book The Canterbury Tales presents a frame story written at the end of the 14th century. It narrates the story of a group of pilgrims who participate in a story-telling contest that they made up to entertain each other while they travel to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. Because of this, some of the tales become particularly attractive for they are written within a frame of parody which, as a style that mocks genre, is usually achieved by the deliberate exaggeration of some aspects of it for comic effect. Chaucer uses parody to highlight some aspects of the medieval society that presented in an exaggerated manner, not only do they amuse the readers, but also makes them reflect on them. He uses the individual parody of each tale to create a satirical book in which the behaviours of its characters paint an ironic and critical portrait of the English society at that time. Thus, the tales turn satirical, ironic, earthy, bawdy, and comical. When analysing the Knight’s and the Miller’s tale, one can realise how Chaucer mocks the courtly love convention, and other social codes of behaviour typical of the medieval times.
Upon reviewing three versions of Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales done as children’s storybooks, one can see that Chaucer’s tales are essencially timeless and can be enjoyed today as they were in the Middles Ages. While the amazing poetic skill of Chaucer’s work is not included in the modern children’s versions, which are written in simple prose, the key plot points are kept, unbowdlerized even for young readers.
In the “Canterbury Tales”, Chaucer depicts each character of the pilgrimage using allegorical descriptions. The pilgrimage in itself can be seen as an allegory since it represents more than a physical journey but a journey of one’s true self. The flaws exposed in the characters are also seen as a reflection of their surroundings. Therefore, each character is used to exemplify the faults of medieval society. For example, the description of the Physician is a direct example of irony. Chaucer begins by describing the Physician in a flattering light.
“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”.
When initially analyzing the Old World Wine Industry versus the New World Wine Industry, the differences are evident. Strong representations of this include factors such as size, production methods, brand equity, and production orientation. Through conducting an analysis using Porter’s Five Forces, one can clearly see the clear delineating factors between the Old and New World.
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer is a piece of work that resembles both a historical and sociological introduction the late middle ages. Chaucer’s ability to interpret basic human nature from different viewpoints is exemplified in the characters he created. I have selected two stories, The Prioress Tale and The Knights Tale, within the Canterbury Tales that manifest the strengths and weaknesses of human character. Than I will compare Chaucer’s pilgrims to figures portrayed by Dante in the Divine Comedy.
In Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, a collection of tales is presented during a pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral. The pilgrims on the journey are from divergent economic and social backgrounds but they have all amalgamated to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas. Chaucer uses each pilgrim to tell a tale which portrays an arduous medieval society. The values, morals and social structures of the society can be examined through the fictitious tales, unravelling a corrupt, unjust and manipulative world, a world that is based around an ecclesiastical society.