Verified Document

Wife Of Prioress Essay

Chaucer's Canterbury Tales There are a bevy of similarities that exist between the tales of the wife of bath and the prioress in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. The similarities largely pertain to the circumstances in which these individuals tell their tales. They are both women, and each are telling a tale to other pilgrims in which there presumably is both entertainment as well as ecclesiastical value in the subjects. However, a close analysis of these two particular stories reveals that despite the similarities between them, the differences between them are more pronounced. Although both tales emphasize various elements of satire, characterization, and tone, it is clear that the principle distinction between them is that the wife of bath's tale is ultimately secular while the tale of the prioress is ecclesiastical in nature.

An analysis of the characterization in both of these stories readily proves this thesis. One point of similarity in the characterization is that in both tales, males are the protagonists. However, the protagonist in the tale of the wife of bath is compelled by worldly pursuits, while the protagonist in the prioress's tale is compelled by godly and religious pursuits. The descriptions of these characters reinforce their differences. In the former, the protagonist is a lascivious knight who is a convicted rapist. In the latter, the protagonist is a young boy who...

Whereas the knight is one who "bereft of her maidenhood" of the maid he raped (Chaucer), the young child is a study in opposition, who sojourns through a Jewish slum while religiously singing songs to the Virgin Mary. The fact that these characters are central to the stories told underscores the difference between them and their themes. Ultimately, the wife of bath's tale is about a man obsessed with the worldly, while the prioress's tale is about a young boy obsessed with the spiritual and God.
The Canterbury Tales largely functions as a satire, and in many ways the characters in the story help to demonstrate humor in human folly. The fact that both the Wife of Bath's Tale and the prioress's tale function as satires is another eminent similarity between them. However, it is clear that the former satirizes worldly concerns, whereas the latter satirizes spiritual concerns. The wife of Bath does not merely tell a licentious tale involving rape, near death, and beautiful women as a bounty (all of which are elements that satirize the regard for women). But she also personifies the satire herself since she "have had husbands five at the church door" (Chaucer). This woman is obviously a professional wife. However, the prioress also satirizes nuns and church people. The fact that a hymn to the Virgin Mary features prominently in her tale is part of…

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. www.archive.org. 1904. Web. http://www.archive.org/stream/canterburytaleso00chauuoft/canterburytaleso00chauuoft_djvu.txt
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Wife of Bath It May
Words: 1113 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Her prologue is like a bold challenge to the knight in her company. She anticipates Shakespeare's Katerina in the Taming of the Shrew. Just as Katerina challenges Petruchio, so too does the Wife of Bath appear to be challenging the only true man she has likely ever met: one who is in command of himself and thus able to command others. She is like the ermine in Leonardo's painting

Canterbury Tales Humor in Canterbury
Words: 2351 Length: 8 Document Type: Term Paper

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

Beowulf As a Hero Lesson
Words: 2900 Length: 10 Document Type: Journal

Those with issues to overcome are always more heroic. Hector also becomes a hero when, after at first running from Achilles, he eventually stands up to him and dies a heroic death. The Iliad is primarily a war epic. In your opinion, is the Iliad condemnation of the it could easily be argued that the Illiad glorifies war, as much of the poem is spent portraying the warriors as brave

Beowulf As a Hero Lesson
Words: 8817 Length: 19 Document Type: Journal

Your answer should be at least five sentences long. The Legend of Arthur Lesson 1 Journal Entry # 9 of 16 Journal Exercise 1.7A: Honor and Loyalty 1. Consider how Arthur's actions and personality agree with or challenge your definition of honor. Write a few sentences comparing your definition (from Journal 1.6A) with Arthur's actions and personality. 2. Write a brief paragraph explaining the importance or unimportance of loyalty in being honorable. Lesson 1 Journal

English Literature Canterbury Tales
Words: 2776 Length: 8 Document Type: Term Paper

Chaucer's "Retraction" and Its Meaning within the Context of the Canterbury Tales The "Retraction," a fragment that follows the last of the Tales in Chaucer's masterpiece, has attracted much critical attention, as students of Chaucer attempt to divine whether it implies a renunciation on the author's part of his work, or is intended ironically. Benson comments that "the authenticity of the Retraction has been challenged" (Benson, 2000), and certainly it is possible

Canterbury Tales the Exact Date
Words: 1601 Length: 5 Document Type: Term Paper

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,

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now