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Characterization of Chaucer in Canterbury tales
Characters and their attributes in chaucer Canterbury tales
Characterization of Chaucer in Canterbury tales
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There are similarities and differences in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Tales The Pardoner, and the Wife of Bath. Learning a lesson from’s one’s experience is one difference between the two tales, however greed and using money to try and get what you want are a common thread in both tales.! ! In both tales the author uses greed in different ways. In the tale The Pardoners the pardoner was greedy because he tried to trick people by using his association with the church to get people to believe him and buy his pardons and relics. In return he benefited from purchase, while the customer was given a false promise. In The Wife Of Bath the knight is acting greedy by trying to buy the old woman off. After the old woman had already given the knight the answer to the …show more content…
question that the queen had asked him to get, to pardon him from his sentence to death. ! !
The characters in both tales try to use money to get what they want. In the Wife of Bath, the knight tries to buy off the old woman after she gives him the answer. “But for God’s love pray make new request. Take all my wealth and let my body go”. (line 204-205). The old woman rejects his offer and forces him to keep is promise to do her one favor and marry her. In the Pardoners Tale he is constantly telling the towns people what they want to hear, that his relics if they buy them will grant them pardons and miracle works. The author states in line 444 , “ My holy pardon cures and will suffice, so that is brings me gold, or silver brings, Or else I care not-brooches, spoons or rings” (line 444-446).! ! ! The Pardoners Tale does not end with him learning from his experiences of his actions, his bottom line is still how he can become wealthy. “And you shall kiss the relics every me, aye for a groat! Unbuckle now your purse” (line, 483). We are left unsure if the Pardoner every really gets what he wants but he is still trying to earn his wealth to the last line in the tale. The Wife Of Bath, the knight learns that by leaving the choice to the woman, which is what he said women most desire, to have freedom, control as
well as love. By learning from his experience he earns the prize, and lives happily ever after. ! ! Understanding that there repercussions to your actions and that the desire for wealth and money, or beauty can make us greedy. The result of this can have different outcomes, sometimes turning out positive and living happily ever, or continuing to chase after the wealth that may never be enough
Through the Prologue to the Pardoner's tale, the character of the Pardoner is revealed. Although the Pardoner displays many important traits, the most prevalent is his greed. Throughout the prologue, the Pardoner displays his greed and even admits that the only thing he cares about is money: "I preach nothing except for gain" ("Pardoner's Tale", Line 105). This avarice is seen strongly in the Pardoner's tale as well. In the Pardoner's tale, three friends begin a journey in order to murder Death. On their journey, though, an old man leads them to a great deal of treasure. At this point, all three of the friends in the tale display a greed similar to the Pardoner's. The three friends decide that someone should bring bread and wine for a celebration. As the youngest of the friends leaves to go buy wine, the other two greedily plot to kill him so they can split the treasure only two ways. Even the youngest decides to "put it in his mind to buy poison / With which he might kill his two companions" (383, 384). The greed, which is evident in the character of the Pardoner, is also clearly seen in the tale.
The knight from the "Wife of Bath's Tale" is not a very likable personality. His actions suggest he is just an abstract character, a receiver of the actions, who is used to give the tale's plot a meaning. Neither he nor other characters in the story are even mentioned by name. However, the traits of his character are very real and do exist in the real world. Brought together, they create an un-exciting personality of a man without a purpose in life.
of his riches and fortune. Additionally, the people of his court show to be honest, full of chivalry,
These two tales were alike in some ways whether you know it or not. Firstly, they are related because there’s someone who’s trying to find something. For example, in the Pardoner’s tale the three rioters are trying to find “death” while in the Wife of Bath there’s a knight who’s trying to find the answer to the Queen’s question. Secondly, the author of both tales are the same which is Geoffrey Chaucer. Lastly, the time period
First, the knight is giving two choices by the old woman; either he can pick her or someone else. The old woman’s actual words were “’You have two choices: which one will you try? To have me old and ugly till I die, but still a loyal, true and humble wife or would you rather I were young and pretty and chance your arm what happens in a city where friends will visit you because of me, yes, and in other places too, maybe. Which would you have? The choice is all your own.’” ([Prentice Hall Literature] page 149 lines 365-373). For the knight, this is a simple answer which he throws the question back at the old women, saying that you pick for me. Giving her the power to c...
Through the Prologue of the Pardoner's Tale one can say that he lives up to his name. As the “Webster” dictionary states, “a medieval ecclesiastic authorized to raise money for religious works by granting papal indulgences to contributors.” Pardoner's were known to be granters of the church. Which in reality, they would keep all of the money given to them by generous people. They were generally associated with being untrustworthy and sneaky. In reality they did have a gift for preaching, but they didn’t exactly follow what they preach.
Chaucer introduces a woman whom he simply calls, the Wife of Bath, who tells of her five husbands. This woman is portrayed as very cunning, manipulative, and smart. She loves sex and she can’t wait for her sixth marriage even though she calls marriage a “woe.” She tells the entourage how she wishes to control her men and she tells them of the cunning and trickery ways in which she got her husbands to listen to her. She was an absolute expert. In her tale, the Wife of Bath tells about a knight who has to go on a quest to find what it is that all women want, or else he dies. He goes in search and comes upon an old lady who tells him that all women want to control their men and they never want their husband to be above them. The knight ends up keeping his head, but because of a promise he made, he must marry the old woman. He reluctantly does and on their wedding night, he insults her to which the old lady has some very wise words in response. “When the knight realizes that the words the old woman says are true regarding the lack of wealth and beauty, he turns to find the old woman turned into a beautiful young maiden” (The Wife of Bath says, “cut short the lives of those who won’t be government by their wives; and all old, angry niggards of their pence” (The Wife of Bath’s Tale). By using satire, Chaucer is warning
The Pardoner admits that he preaches solely to get money, not to correct sin. He argues that many sermons are the product of evil intentions. By preaching, the Pardoner can get back at anyone who has offended him or his brethren. In his sermon, he always preaches about covetousness, the very vice that he himself is gripped by. His one and only interest is to fill his ever-deepening pockets. He would rather take the last penny from a widow and her starving family than give up his money, and the good cheeses, breads, and wines that such income brings him. Speaking of alcohol, he notes, he has now finished his drink of ¡§corny ale¡¨ and is ready to begin his tale.
In The Wife of Bath’s Tale, the queen use her powers of persuasion on the king to gain the authority to punish the knight. The author illustrates this in the text by stating “queen and other ladies also so
The major characters of the Tale of the Wife of Bath are the old crone and Jankin (one of King Arthur's knights). Her Tale begins with a knight, Jankin, who when riding home one day found a maiden walking alone and raped her. This crime usually held the penalty of death, but the queen intervened and begged her husband to spare the knight. She told the knight that she would grant his life if he could answer the question "what do women most desire?" She gave him one year to find the answer. The knight went on his journey and was not successful in finding his answer. When he reached the end of the twelve months before he must meet his fate, he found an old woman and asked her the question. She agreed to give the answer and assured him that it was right, but would only tell him the answer if he would marry her. She told him that women desire to have the sovereignty and to rule over their husbands. The knight was pardoned when he gave the queen his answer but he was bound by his promise to the old woman. The old woman realized his unhappiness with their marriage and gave him a choice. He can either have her as a wife old and ugly, but humble and devoted, or young and fair, but independent. He chooses to give her independence. When he kisses her, she transforms into a young...
While the Pardoner practices his greed by lying to others about the effectiveness of his pardons, Blagojevich practiced his greed by manipulating and taking advantage of people. For example, Blagojevich once usurped his own father-in-law, Chicago Alderman Richard Mell: “The argument came in 2005, after Blagojevich shut down a landfill site owned by a distant cousin of his wife, Patricia. It was later revealed that Mell had acted as an advisor to the cousin on the matter and, in a public feud, Mell accused Blagojevich of ‘using’ him to get ahead” (“Rod Blagojevich Biography”). Though the Pardoner and Blagojevich are after the same thing, the process used to achieve their goals
The Wife of Bath Prologue is the brutal and blunt set of short tales that makes the man seem the fool when his wife played all the cards. The wife’s tale was a play to seem smart, to prove the phrase, “I am the king of this house, and my wife gave me permission to say so.” is true. She told the stories about how she manipulated her husband, mocked him, and put them on a leash. The others in the party, at least the Friar and Pardoner, took these
The last of the similarities between these two tales is the karma-like endings. In the end all of the people in both tales got what they bargained for. In the tale, their deceit led to their own untimely deaths, although for the executives the punishment was not quite so rough. For most of them their lives were over. For a few, though, it was a second chance they happily took.
The knight changes in the story, “My lady, my love, and my dearest wife, I leave the matter to your wise decision. You make the choice yourself, for the provision. Of what may be agreeable and rich In honor to us both, I don’t care which; Whatever pleases you suffices me”(406-411). Likewise, the Wife of Bath states, “You have two choices; which one will you try? To have me old and ugly till I die, But still a loyal, true, and humble wife, That never will displease you all her life, Or would you rather I were young and pretty”(395-399). The first quote displays that this story is superior because it has a more complex plot. The knight’s character develops from the beginning to the end of the story, and that shows part of a complex plot. The second quote shows that there are other morals in this story, especially multiple morals that apply to real life. The lesson from the “Wife of Bath” informs us that it doesn’t matter how pretty she is or how rich she is, it’s about how loyal and loving she is. This is a lot more valuable lesson, especially in today’s society because some people are blinded by the unimportant things when it comes to love. The “Wife of Bath” has superior morals as well as more morals that apply to real life, and has a more complex plot, which makes the story overall
First the queen who gets to decide the knight’s fate. “He gave the queen the case And granted her his life, and she could choose Whether to show him mercy or refuse.”(line 72-74) Then the old hag who will tell him the answer to the queen’s question if he will marry her, and who he lets make the choice in which kind of wife he would rather have. ““My lady and my love, my dearest wife, I leave the matter to your wise decision.”(line 406-407) The point of her story is the only way a man can be happy is if his wife is happy, and for her to be happy she must be in