Hood College Chaucerians

Am I wrong to say that the “The Man of Law’s Tale” is more like a persuasive essay than a tale? “The Man of Law’s Tale” attempts to convince readers to convert to Christianity by illustrating three situations in which “God liste to shewe his wonderful myracle…for we sholde seen his myghty werkis…” (477-478). First, it is insisted that only God could have saved Constance from death (470-483). Second, Alla is smite by God for swearing a lie on the book (669-686). Lastly, Alla finds his wife and son while seeking penance (1149-1161). I guess the Man of Law’s angle is clever if the Host is Christian, which seems to be the case, considering the fact that the Host is ready for full sermon mode in the Epilogue. Speaking of the Epilogue, I love how Chaucer allows the Shipman to immediately interject the idea of a sermon and prepare the company for an entirely different, less elaborate tale than those that were told before him. "Thoughts on Secular Conversion" from In

How the heck does Custance get so unlucky as to have the two worst mothers-in-law in the world? I mean really, she’s so nice and great and the guys she gets married to are so loyal to her, but apparently that means nothing to Fate or Fortune or whoever. Anyway, while I was reading, two quotes from the text stood out to me. The first is from Custance as she is about to leave for Syria: “Wommen are born to thraldom and penance, And to been under mannes governance.” (“The Man of Law’s Tale,” I. 286-7) Here, Custance is speaking about how she believes women are meant to be married and submitted to their husbands, according to her Christian beliefs. However, a quote by the wicked Sultaness comes in sharp contrast to Custance’s remarks: "What sholde us tyden of this newe lawe But thraldom to oure bodies and penance…” (“The Man of Law’s Tale,” I. 337-8) Here, the Sultaness is speaking about how Christianity is a religion that will only enslave and submit her and her people. Bu

The Man of Law's Tale was not what I was expecting it to be. Although, religious justice is a theme throughout, it was not the "justice" I had in mind. In contrast to the other tales we have read, it is very different. It has conventions like the Knight's Tale, but instead of the tale being riddled with romantic medieval tropes, it is full of familiar religious narratives and iconography. In my opinion, this tale resembles a sermon. The Man of Law embeds his tale with Christian iconography to reinforce his own personal moral and religious beliefs. Looking at this tale in a broader perspective, it is clear that in Chaucer's world religious conflict was a very real issue, and this tale emphasizes his worldview. I still cannot decide if I like this tale or not. It is filled with death and suffering, but the outcome of it all, ends up being something good. Cantigas de Santa Maria 13th Century Alfonso X

Why does Chaucer juxtapose the Knight's tale by following it up with the Miller's tale?

"And up the window dide he hastily, And out his ers he putteth prively, Over the buttock, to the haunche-bon." Pp. 139 (3801-3803)

Whan Nicholas had doon thus everydel, And thakked hire aboute the lendes wel, He kiste hir swete, and taketh his sautrye And playeth faste, and maketh melodye. (3303-3306) Pinterest.com

' Nay, thereof care thee noght,' quod Nicholas, 'A clerk had litherly biset his whyle But if he koude a carpenter bigile.' ( 3298-3300) from Funny Goblin

What I immediately enjoyed about part three was Theseus's construction of what in my mind appears as a football stadium. Immediately surrounding the arena are the temples to Venus, Mars, and Diana who represent love/sex, war, and chastity (although I more think of woman power). This is just interesting given that love and war are controlling the situation, and Emelye just wants to live her life and be a virgin. I think it's also interesting that they each pray to different temples, with Arcite praying to the god of war. Clearly it works out for him, but I think this shows what was more important to him in this scene.

After lengthy descriptions of the three temples, the battle results in Arcite's victory, which is consistent with what the God of War tells him the night before. Then Arcite is mortally wounded by an earthquake and Palamon and Emelye marry after his death, consistent with what Venus and Diane told each of them as well. What interested me most about part four was the advice Egeus gives Theseus, about the nature of the world and how every man will die. Because the gods controlled the outcomes for each character, it is described like fate, which is a reoccurring theme, so far. Egeus seems like the character that understands best how to grieve for Arcite because he has seen fortune change for the longest, given that he is Theseus's father and has lived for longer than Palamon and Emelye, who mourn for a long time after his death. The lesson Egeus tells is that fortune is ever changing and that each of us will die eventually; and I am not sure if that is the moral of the story, but

After what seems like a lifetime of dialogue and plot development between Arcite and Palamon, I am so happy to have finally heard Emelye's voice in Part 3. Up until this point, the whole debate over Emelye has been between two males who she knows nothing about. Her monologue to Diana was finally the first time we, as readers, hear what Emelye wants and her thoughts on this tug of war for her heart. She has no designs of becoming a wife or bearing children. She's content to serve her goddess, be one with nature (which is exactly what we saw her doing in Part 1) and just live out her days holding onto her virginity. It's not a lot to ask for. I already liked Emelye, and felt sorry for her in the previous Parts, but I really respected her when she beseeches Diana to give her to a man who desires her most. I think, considering the circumstances and her fate regardless of winner, her mind was in the right place in asking for a man who truly wants her as a woman, rather than a m

The last part of this tale has always been the most enjoyable part for me. The theme of chance throughout this story is what I find most interesting. By chance, Emily walks by the prison, where both Arcite and Palamon notice her. Also, the God of destiny decides how the story ends by altering the outcome of the fight. I think reason goes out the window when they are acting out of emotion, such as the strong affection both men feel towards a woman they don’t know. By the end of the tale, both knight’s get some semblance of what they asked for, which makes me feel better about someone else controlling their destinies.