Self & Society: British Lit @Hood College

Original...  They daunce and pleyen at dees bothe day and nyght, And eten also and drynken over hir myght, Thurgh which they doon the devel sacrifise Withinne that develes temple in cursed wise By superfluytee abhomynable.                  lines: 467-471 Translation... They dance and play at dice both day and night,   And also eat and drink beyond their capacity, Through which they do the devil sacrifice Within that devil's temple in cursed manner By abominable excess.

"Youre lyking is that I shall telle a tale. Now have I dronke a draughte of corny ale" Lines 455-456

The Black Adder episode 3 "The Archbishop" scene in link. Edmund and his cronies discussing "how to make a bit of money off this church thing"/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyF7YmHYhYc 920       I have relikes and pardon in my male              As faire as any man in Engelond              Whiche were me yeven by the Popes Hond             -the Pardoner's Tale, lines 920-922

The Pardoner's tale comes off as very religious. What caught my attention was when he said "Radix malorum est Cupiditas" (greed is the root of all evil) quoting the scripture 1 Timothy 6:10. He is a hypocrite because he admits to preaching for money. In todays time greed has become a big problem and many people think its the most important thing to have. This made me think of the saying "practice what you preach" and it shows that the Pardoner isn't doing that at all. I also wonder how many people are like this is the world today, especially pastors or ministers. https://www.google.com/search?q=money+hungry&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwinlNi80NLWAhVqCZoKHawECGMQ_AUICigB&biw=1920&bih=964#imgrc=BAoTNPIpt6NTtM:&spf=1506971009986

I found the Pardoner a very interesting character. Again, I believe Chaucer writes about many different types of charterers to emphasize the diversity of people traveling  on the pilgrimage. One may have a set idea, as to maybe the type of person who would be going on a pilgrimage, but Chaucer defies those typical people. The Pardoner appears to be a hypocrite. As he is a preacher, I would expect him to be a good person and do respectable actions. Instead  he is the total opposite.The Pardoner does not try to hide who he is which I find very interesting. He is very open about why he preaches. Later in his tale, he states that gluttony,drunkedness,gambling and swearing are what makes people evil. The Pardoner talks about these specific "sins".Does he think what he is doing is right? Is he aware that he also is committing sins as well?

Hogges Tord https://englishtutorbournemouth.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/the-pardoner.jpg This whole passage reminded me of something that young people, like me, sometimes do on the internet where they try to outwit a person of faith and make them look stupid and foolish for believing in what they believe. They allow the person of faith to speak and explain themselves and then try to come back with a quick witted jab that will destroy the foundation of the person of faith's argument but really only attacks their cause and makes it look like less than what it is. This can be seen when the Host makes jokes about the Pardoner's request to "kisse the reliks everichon" (line 944). He worries about the tread marks and would rather take the Saint's testicles and "shryned [them] in an hogges tord!" (line 955). As you can see, he doesn't take the Pardoner's request seriously and makes him the laughing stock of the tavern.

The Pardoner explains that he is a hypocritical preacher and a con artist in his prologue and then goes on to tell a tale about sins. He identifies greed, gluttony, drunkenness, gambling and swearing. The story he tells is of three Flemish youngsters who learn that their friend was taken by Death and decide, in a drunken stupor, to go after Death and kill him. An old man points them in the direction of a tree where they find a bounty of coins. They send the third one off to fetch wine and bread so that they can sneak the gold in at night time. Both the two boys and the third plot to kill each other and all are successful; death takes each of them. This story reminded me of the Deathly Hallows story from Harry Potter, or at least that is the way I imagined the story looking in my mind. The Pardoner's version is more about how greed is the greatest sin, but he tells the pilgrimage that he sells fake relics and concludes his story by trying to sell them to the Host and accusing him o...

In the Wife of Bath's Tale there is a knight that is talked about. From my understanding he took advantage of a girl and the King wanted to kill him. I did some googling and this was what I gathered from it. So he basically raped this girl for no other reason than that he simply wanted to. Then these girls begged the King not to kill him and sent him instead on a mission. A mission to find out what it is that women really want. I found this odd, I remember thinking it was strange in high school as well when I read this. Why would they want him to stay alive after he did that awful thing, and why would they send him on such a wild goose chase. Theres the phrase, "A happy wife is a happy life" and this came to mind while I was reading because there is such truth in that statement. The Knight ends up coming up with the answer that women just want control of the relationship. This is an interesting concept, and I agree to a certain extent. Women like to be in control and have...

The lines state ,"In parfit joye. And Jesu Crist us sende/Housbondes meke,yonge,and fresshe abedde,/And grace t'overbyde hem that we wedde./And eek I preye Jesu shorte hir lyves/That noght wol be governed by hir wives;And olde and angey nigardes of dispence,/God sende hem some verray pestilence"(1258-1264). I believe in these last lines the Wife of Bath calls to Jesus and asks him to help all woman live longer than their husbands?

"And so bifel that this King Arthour/hadde in his hous a lusty bacheler" (882-883)

"Somme seyde wommen loven best richesse,/ Somme seyde honour, somme seyde jolynesse;/ Somme riche array, somme seyden lust abedde..." (925-927) "A man shal wine us best with flaterye;/ And with attendance and with bisinesse" (932-933)

I have heard the Wife of Bath referred to as the first literary feminist. Ladies, is the Wife of Bath's answer for what a woman wants most true to you? Gents, are you offended? http://www.picturequotes.com/funny-feminist-quote-1-picture-quote-610177

In the Wife of Bath's Tale, the knight's wife gives him the option to have an old, ugly wife that will be true to him, or a young, pretty wife that will be unfaithful. However, he gives her the power to choose, inherently giving her a degree of sovereignty in the relationship. As a reward, she turns into a young, beautiful woman and they live happily ever after. The idea that the correct answer to the wife's question was not to answer, but instead let her decide, is reminiscent of  what the Wife of Bath desires in her own marriages: power over her spouse, or at least an equal relationship. However, since the old woman was the only one who knew this, it can be speculated that the majority of people, at least in Chaucer's story, aren't aware of what women want in marriages, and therefore many wives may have been unhappy.  The Witch posing as an old woman to test the Prince's kindness. From Disney's Beauty and the Beast (disney.wikia.com).

The Wife of Bath’s Tale confused what I thought I knew about the gender structures of medieval times. The passage’s final words of wisdom were essentially that women want power. Whether over the home or the husband, The Wife of Bath’s Tale is saying women want power over it. This directly contradicts the accepted property laws of the time that gave the man of the house total ownership over all a family’s land. If this was the correct answer to not have the knight’s head chopped off, why does it not reflect the law more closely?

from Monty Python anth the Holy Grail (1975)     With the Wife of Bath's tale, Chaucer continues poking the fear held by men in his time (and indeed, still held by many) of women in command of their own sexuality, lives, and property. The Wife's tale draws from the stories of King Arthur. A young knight rapes a ypung woman of Arthur's court, and Arthur gives the Queen the duty of deciding an appropriate punishment. To such men, who believe that one sex must be dominant, having their punishment for crimes against a womanbe decided by women would be their worst nightmare

Middle English: For hadde God comanded maydenhede, Thanne hadde he dampned weddyng with the dede. And certes, if ther were no seed ysowe, Virginitee, thanne wherof sholde it growe? Modern Translation: For had God commanded maidenhood, Then had he damned marriage along with the act (of procreation). And certainly, if there were no seed sown, Then from what should virginity grow?

"They wolde han writen of men more wikkednesse Than all the mark of Adam may redresse."  line 695-696 of The Wife of Bath's Prologue

Upon this nombre diffinicioun. Men may devyne and glosen up and doun, But wel I woot express, withoute lye,  God bad us for to wexe and multiplye; That gentil text can I wel understonde. -The Wife of Bath's Prologue, lines 25-29 the Wife of Bath, as depicted on a vintage Cadbury's biscuits tin, circa 1911. photo credit Flickr user Lynda Gray 

I found the description of the Summoner very interesting. Chaucer seems to do very well with showing the characteristics of characters introduced in the poem. Summoner is described as "[a guy with] black and scabby brows and [a] scanty beard, He had a face that all the children feared." This shows how scary this man looked and how people feared him because of the way he looked. This reminded me of the detail description of the Knights son and how he was very "vain." It's very ironic that he is described as this ugly, scary man but later in the text it says that "and knew hir counseil, and was al hir reed." This showed how he knew the secrets of the girls and provided counsel for them. The footnote defines a summoner as a officer who appeared before the court. He was portrayed as a helper and counselor to these girl, but was introduced as being someone who children feared and that wasn't the case.

I love the description of the Wife of Bath. The Wife of Bath, is portrayed as a smart woman to me. She looks at life from the perspective of her own experiences, which may indicate that she is wise? She seems to live her life without caring about anyone's opinions.In the text it says "She was a worthy womnan al hir love:/Housbondes at chirche dore she hadde fyve"(459/460). I understand that she has been married five times and that perhaps she has learned a lot from all of her marriages. She seems like a tart, having been married a lot of times. At the same time she is worthy of marrying. Maybe the Wife of Bath is a noble woman. But why would this sort of person be traveling on this pilgrimage. I think Chaucer wants the characters to represent all different types of people. People may not like this character because the readers may feel like she is a arrogant and pompous woman seeking something that does not have anything to do with the pilgrimage.