A compelling aspect of the famous literary work, "The Canterbury Tales," is the contrast of the qualities that Chaucer entitles to each of his characters. When examined more closely, one can determine whether each of the characters is real or false based on their traits and personalities. In The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer primarily utilizes indirect methods of characterization through the various pilgrims in the General Prologue and throughout the poems in their entirety. Throughout The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer relies primarily upon five techniques of indirect characterization. Chaucer also describes the physical appearance of the characters and this description allows the reader to form an impression about the character. Indirect characterization can …show more content…
This might seem ironic coming from a man in this period, but it is not so ironic when one looks at the Canterbury Tales and acknowledges it as a fine work of parody. Chaucer attacks other traditions vigorously, a good example of which is his discussion of corruption in the church . His critical look at the standards for women which are especially enforced by the church add humor to the tale of the Wife of Bath while also making a political statement. Chaucer prepares the reader for the tale with his brief description of the wife in the Prologue. She is a skilled cloth-maker and devoted Christian pilgrim trips as well as several other shrines in different countries. The irony comes in when Chaucer adds that she is a gap-toothed woman in scarlet red leggings, who has been married five times. This description does not sum up with the image of a hard working, devoted Christian woman according to the doctrine of the church. Chaucer's physical description is important because it makes the Wife of Bath more acknowledged ; she reeks of feminine
A characterization a process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character. Characterization is revealed through direct characterization and indirect characterization. A direct characterization tells the audience what the personality of the character is. An example would be, “The patient boy and quiet girl were both well-mannered and did not disobey their mother” In this quote the author is directly telling the audience the personality of the two children. That the boy is “patient” and the girl is “quiet.” Another example would be, “Karen is bright, energetic, and helpful.” This quote is directing us by telling us that Karen is both bright, energetic, and helpful. Another example is, “Joe was motivated by money.
Characterization is an essential component in a short story. Characterization is based on two things , indirect or direct characterization. Indirect Characterization shows the audience what the personality of the character is , and Direct tells the audience what the personality of the character is. Authors make characters be presented by means of description,through their actions,speech,thoughts and interactions with other characters. Authors frequently apply characterization to their stories to develop a theme or moral to the stories. Practically every novel that was made in the history of literature has a theme.This means any kind of short story like The Whistle by Anne Estevis and Marigold by Eugenia Collier has characterization.
Characterization is the process by which the author reveal the personality of a character. Characterization can be created in two different ways: direct and indirect characterization. Direct characterization is when the author tells the readers what a character is like. Indirect characterization is based on clues from the story, the reader decides what a character is like. Indirect characterization can come from what the character says/does, what the character thinks, what others say about the character, and the character’s physical appearance.
In the words of the Broadview Anthology’s introduction to the Wife of Bath, she is “a sexually experienced cynic who teaches young people the tricks of love…. The Wife’s history and the literary shape of her prologue conform to many of the traditional misogynistic stereotypes found in her husband’s book” (Broadview 298). Why would Chaucer write such a clever portrayal of personal pleasure through the eyes of a woman, and yet design her to possess every quality so despised and abhorred within her so-called lifetime? Because the audience of this poem would probably include wives, and because everything the Wife describes is almost laughably vulgar, it can be understood that this poem would not be interpreted literally and women would instead be forced to listen to an account about female power, desire, and pleasure written, unfortunately, as cruel satire of their
The narrator begins this passage with the characterization of the Wife of Bath, meaning the character is introduced and the audience is provided with a description of them that gives a sense of the character's traits either directly through the author or indirectly through the character's actions or thoughts. Chaucer describes the Wife of Bath as "somdel deef" meaning that she is heard of hearing and "of clooth-making she hadde swich an haunt" meaning that she has worked as a cloth maker (446-447). This establishes that she is most likely an older woman as well as a member of the peasant class given that she has had a career in which she has worked at long enough to gain a high degree of skill and since religious leaders and knights would not have had to earn their living by doing manual labour. Already, Chaucer is implying as to the nature of the wife's tale through his account of her given that comedic stories often centred around peasants due to the fact that they were permitted to be less dignified than the nobles. He also goes on to inform the readers of the wife's past before joining the pilgrimage, imparting that "housbondes at
Characterization has been established as an important part of literature as it allows authors to fully develop characters’ personalities, allowing readers to understand the characters and their actions. In the poem Judith, the author uses adjective phrases to describe Judith and Holofernes’ personalities. The diverse contrast in their nature highlights the heroic qualities in Judith, which teach the reader to have faith in God, as that is where her courage and strength stems from. Therefore, characterization can further be used as a technique to establish major themes in a work of
The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, has gone through many adaptations. Some authors decided to translate the story into verse, while others chose to write the as a narrative in prose. Although all adaptations are based off the same story, they are vastly different and can be the result of opposing interpretations of the original work. After reading a text translated by Nevill Coghill (referred to as Version I) and a text translated into a narrative by a different author (referred to as Version II), it is obvious that for each similarity they share, there are many more differences in language, syntax, and imagery as well.
In the book Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses both Direct Characterization, and Indirect Characterization, to describe the characters. Direct characterization is when you tell the reader the characteristics of the character directly. For example, “She is tall and skinny.”On the other hand, Indirect characterization is when you give a description of the character, without directly saying what the character is like, through speech and actions. Direct And Indirect Characterization can easily be compared and contrasted in many ways.
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.
One of the most interesting and widely interpreted characters in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer is the Wife of Bath. She has had five different husbands and openly admits to marrying the majority of them for their money. The wife appears to be more outspoken and independent than most women of medieval times, and has therefore been thought to symbolize the cause of feminism; some even refer to her as the first actual feminist character in literature. Readers and scholars probably argue in favor of this idea because in The Canterbury Tales, she uniquely gives her own insight and opinions on how relations between men and women should be carried out. Also, the meaning of her tale is that virtually all women want to be granted control over themselves and their relationship with their husbands, which seems to convince people that the Wife of Bath should be viewed as some sort of revolutionary feminist of her time. This idea, however, is incorrect. The truth is that the Wife of Bath, or Alisoun, merely confirms negative stereotypes of women; she is deceitful, promiscuous, and clandestine. She does very little that is actually empowering or revolutionary for women, but instead tries to empower herself by using her body to gain control over her various husbands. The Wife of Bath is insecure, cynical towards men in general, and ultimately, a confirmation of misogynistic stereotypes of women.
In the 14th century Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, which included a progressive view of women's concerns in "The Wife of Bath." During a time when women were still considered chattel existing almost exclusively to produce heirs, Chaucer takes a stand on issues affecting women that were not commonly given consideration. Writing in the first person, Chaucer is able to describe life from the viewpoint of a woman. Through this style, Chaucer addresses subject matter that would have been too candid for a female writer during his time period. By writing "The Wife of Bath" in a satirical way, Chaucer points out issues facing women regarding double standards, the validity of female desire, and the economic necessity of women to marry well while keeping the text humorous with some common female stereotypes regarding deception that have persisted into present day culture.
Characterization: Most of the characterization is indirect. We learn about these characters mostly by their action and their dialogue. However, there is some direct characterization when the narrator tells us of what has shaped the mother into what she is today.
The Wife of Bath represents the "liberal" extreme in regards to female stereotypes of the Middle Ages. Unlike most women being anonymous during the Middle Ages, she has a mind of her own and voices herself. Furthermore, she thinks extremely highly of herself and enjoys showing off her Sunday clothes whenever the opportunity arises. She intimidates men and women alike due to the power she possesses. Because of her obnoxious attitude Chaucer makes her toothless, fat and large. Doubtlessly, she is very ugly, almost to the point of "not-presentable. This to me shows how Chaucer depicts what men don't want. The Prioress, on the other hand, serves as a foil to the Wife of Bath. Chaucer describes her as "tender-hearted" who cannot bear the sight of pain or physical suffering. She will cry at the thought of a dog dying. It could represent that she has a frail soul with low tolerance for pain and suffering. The latter description carries over into the modern stereotypes about women as skittish and afraid members of society who need to be cared for.
Unlike the Pardoner, the Wife of Bath is celebrated for her actions, despite her queerness. For example, in the introductory material to The Riverside Chaucer, the Wife of Bath is revered for her unique qualities: “Moreover, though most of her characteristics can be traced in anti-feminine satire and she herself embodies almost all the faults traditionally imputed to women…her frankness, vigor, and good humor render her a zestful and engaging defender of life itself” (11). Accordingly, The Wife of Bath may not have been a typically feminine character, but that may be her greatest attribute. The Wife of Bath may still face the countless limitations imposed upon women in the Middle Ages; however, because of her promiscuity and manipulation of men, she is has been able to make her own fortune and acquire freedom to travel unaccompanied. Thus, when comparing her rich, though violent, character to the weaker Pardoner, Chaucer appears more sympathetic towards the queerness of the Wife of
Gilbert Highet affirms Chaucer’s satire in these tales to address the institution of marriage in his book The Anatomy of Satire: “Such is that delightful satire on marriage seen from the woman 's point of view, the Wife of Bath 's Prologue in Chaucer 's Canterbury Tales.” In Chaucer’s day, the idea that women were not supposed to and generally did not enjoy sex was widely accepted. Chaucer immediately shatters this societal assertion when his character, the Wife, avows, “I can’t keep continent for years and years…One may advise a woman to be [a virgin]; Advice is no commandment in my view.” Chaucer secondly attacks the assumption that women are inferior to men throughout the prologue and her tale, but it is clear that the Wife knows how to manipulate her men. Her only challenge was her last husband, married for love: he believed readily in the wickedness of women. In physical confrontation, they fought it out, until he apologized, although she herself was also hurt. “In the end we made it up together…So help me God I was as kind to him as any wife from Denmark to the rim of India, and as true. And he to me,” vividly indicates that their relations were not peaceful until a mutualistic and equivalent understanding was