Hood College Chaucerians

I thoroughly enjoyed this tale. I have heard of a "January-May" wedding before, and when put in the context of this story (literally), it makes me laugh. Chaucer puts a lot of meaning into the names of these characters, and I found it really amusing that May takes the "forbidden fruit" from Damien. The involvement of Pluto and Proserpina was another interesting aspect of this story, because it takes some level of decision away from the characters: when it comes down to the big reveal of January catching May in the act, the characters' lives are heavily influenced by the gods when they intervene, both in allowing January to catch May, and in giving May a "believable" excuse. I really liked reading this tale, but I couldn't quite decipher the moral of the story. Adultery is bad, but May seemingly gets away with it. Jealousy is bad, but it appears like it works out for January in the end...Ah well, an enjoyable story nonetheless.

I was not expecting the Merchant’s Tale to pull me in so many different directions but he does! In the beginning of the tale, I was all on board with his long spiel about how amazing and wonderful it is to have a wife. As a wife, I know I'm pretty awesome so I appreciated the acknowledgement. But, then January (by the way, what a name!) comes into the scene and starts talking about his specifications for a wife. I mean, she can’t even be older than 20 so I guess all of us over-20s are just doomed forever. It's cool; those women didn't want to be ol' Jan's wife anyway.  After dealing with January and his lovely character, I got some major Tristan and Isolde vibes coming from May and Damian and I was all for it! And then Hades and Persephone (Pluto and Proserpina) come in!? Be still my heart. The Merchant is ticking all my fan-girl boxes. However, at the very end of the tale I had a feeling we were dipping into biblical territory with May being tempted by Damian in t...

A paragraph is an elusive thing: it seems like something really obvious, something we have known how to write since elementary school. But how do you define a paragraph? How can you tell a good paragraph from a lackluster one? And how do you write the kind of paragraphs that make it easier to communicate your ideas to your reader? Simply put, a paragraph is a group of sentences that develop a single idea. That’s it. The correct length for a paragraph is however many sentences are required to introduce the idea of the paragraph, explain that idea, provide any necessary examples or evidence, explain that evidence, wrap up your idea, and (sometimes) transition into your next idea. However, you have to stick to a single idea! If you can’t write a clear, well-developed paragraph, you can’t write a good paper, a clear memo, a convincing email, or an enticing cover letter. Those who master the paragraph are ready to take on the world! Home Office photo by Free-Photos on Pixabay.com ...