But while it is true that he loved the funny side of life, he was also quite genuine and sincere in his purpose to expose the superficialities of social roles. "If we look at the whole corpus of his work, we see his tragic poems all interrupted, unfinished, or transfigured into celestial comedy" (Garbaty173). Chaucer unlike some tragedy masters of his time was not too concerned with gloom and sadness

They were seen as wives, mothers, daughters and usually "portrayed in relation to a man or group of man" (Klapisch-Zuber285). While they were given little freedom outside this restricted sphere, critics observe that medieval women were granted substantial autonomy within that sphere. Men "imposed a closely circumscribed domain in which women exercised a degree of autonomy... primarily the house, a space both protected and enclosed, and, within the house,

Wife of Bath's Prologue, by Geoffrey Chaucer is one of the first pieces of literature that introduces us to a smart, intelligent, and independent woman. One of the most important aspects of the wife's character is her sexuality. In a day when women were not prone to speak out about their sexuality, the wife does and not only that, she brags about how much she enjoys sex. The wife is

Knights in the Canterbury Tales, The Knight's Tale, And The Miller's Tale The narrator in the Prologue of "The Canterbury Tales" paints a noble view of the Knight. For instance, we are told that the knight is a distinguished man who practiced "chivalry,/Truth, honour, generousness and courtesy" (20). We are also told he is wise, and he fought in "fifteen mortal battles" across the world. (21) While the narrator may have an

http://find.galegroup.com/gps/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=IPS&docId=A21240794&source=gale&srcprod=ITOF&userGroupName=va0035_004&version=1.0 Works Cited Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. Trans. Neville Coghill. New York: Penguin Books, 1977.

Mentor for the Squire The Canterbury Tales" and "Beowulf" were written centuries apart, yet, each work contains similar elements such as heroism and chivalry. Chaucer's tale, set in the late 1300's England, depicts English society as each character tells a story to pass the time during a delayed journey. The anonymous author of "Beowulf" sets his story during the sixth century and describes the heroic life of its protagonist. Both