Authority And The Canterbury Tales - 1825 Words

Authority and The Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer, widely known for his influence in medieval literature, expresses a fourteenth century literacy concept of authority and gentility in The Canterbury Tales. There are two forms of authority and gentility that will be covered in this discussion: authority and gentility in Chaucer’s personal life and the one in his two tales, â€Å"The Wife of Bath’s Tale†, and â€Å"The Clerk’s Tale†. Chaucer himself loses a sense of authority over his writing after his death, when his scribe, Adam Pinkhurst takes over as his authorial supporter. A wide speculation follows Chaucer and his Canterbury Tales because it is believed that Chaucer himself did not complete his tales in its entirety, since his death came before the publication of the book as well as the arrangement of the tales not being in order. In Simon Horobin’s article â€Å"Compiling The Canterbury Tales in Fifteenth-Century Manuscripts†, N. F. Blake raises the possibility that â€Å"some of the earliest manuscripts of The Canterbury Tales may have been written under Chaucer’s supervision, and that differences in content and tale order would therefore represent separate stages of authorial revision† (Horobin, 372). Aside from the completion of the tales, more important the authenticity of his work is greater questioned because his idea for the pilgrims are perhaps borrowed from predecessors, for example Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron that holds a similar theme. Chaucer deals with a form ofShow MoreRelatedThe Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer1582 Words   |  7 Pages Geoffrey Chaucer wrote the Canterbury tales a collection of short tales in the 14th century. The compilation of stories are told by different characters within the narrative as part of a game proposed by the host. Each individual must tell two stories on their journey and two stories on their way back. Each story tells some aspects of English life during the time and often added satire like qualities to the English life. In particular Chaucer often tells stories with elements of the relationshipRead More Character Analysis of The Wife of Bath of Chaucers Canterbury Tales1623 Words   |  7 Pages Character Analysis of The Wife of Bath of Chaucers Canterbury Tales The Canterbury Tales is Geoffrey Chaucers greatest and most memorable work. In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer uses a fictitious pilgrimage [to Canterbury] as a framing device for a number of stories (Norton 79). In The General Prologue of The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer describes in detail the pilgrims he meets in the inn on their way to Canterbury. Chaucer is the author, but also a character and the narrator, and acts likeRead MoreCourtly Love in The Knights Tale and The Wife of Baths Tale1353 Words   |  6 Pagesin his work The Canterbury Tales. Through the use of satiric elements and skilled mockery, Chaucer creates a work that not only brought courtly love to the forefront of medieval society but also introduced feministic ideals to the medieval society. At times, Chaucer even makes readers question his beliefs by presenting contrasting elements of principle in The Knight’s Tale and The Wife of Bath’s Tale, both tales told in his profound, multifaceted The Canterbury Tales. Many tales of courtly loveRead MoreEssay about Relationships in Geoffrey Chaucers The Canterbury Tales520 Words   |  3 Pagesalso be found in stories about a husband and wife. In Geoffrey Chaucers The Canterbury Tales many of the characters make this idea apparent with the stories they tell. In â€Å"The Pardoner’s Tale†, a distinct relationship can be made between the character of the Pardoner and his tale of three friends. Also, the Wife in â€Å"The Wife of Bath’s Tale† boldly declares her relationship towards her husband. Throughout â€Å"The Pardoner’s Tale†, the main character teaches about greed, gambling, desecration, and drinkingRead MoreWomen And Male Authority Figures1507 Words   |  7 Pages In the fourteenth century, women were merely seen as subject to male authority figures. A wife was not seen as a competent adult because they were seen as so dependent on their husband (Bennett 104-105). After a marriage anything she owned became possessed by her husband (Bennett 104-105). Women who manipulated their husband and gained control of his assets defied the norm of women’s position in the fourteenth century. The church was a major part of Medieval England and controlled many peoples livesRead MoreUse Of Satire In Canterbury Tales1301 Words   |  6 PagesChaucer’s Satyric Attack (An analysis of Chaucer’s use of satire to reach his intended audience in his Canterbury Tales) Satire is defined as â€Å"the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize peoples stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues† (Oxford). Another term that people would be more familiar with to describe this would be sarcasm. Language can be utilized in a nasty way, especially when wanting to demoralizeRead MoreThe Wife of Bath1145 Words   |  5 PagesThe Canterbury Tales are an accumulation of many pilgrims’ stories as they make their journey to the site of Sir Thomas a Becket’s shrine, as he was the martyred saint of Christianity. There are many stories included in The Canterbury Tales. Of these many tales, one of them is the story of the Wife of Bath, whose real name is Alisoun. From her appearance and behavior, to her political and religious views, there is much to tell about the Wife of Bath, for her prologue and tale are quite long. Read MoreCanterbury Tales Character Analysis1334 Words   |  6 PagesThe Canterbury Tales is a written work, by Geoffrey Chaucer, that is a representation of the society he lived in. His work portrays the feudal system during the medieval times and how each level of livelihood was a character, whose personalities reflect how Chaucer and his culture view them. During his time, his society regarded the Christian Church as corrupt and manipulative, with a few clergy who are honest and genuine in their exertion. Therefore, the ecclesiastical persona has the dispositionsRead MoreGeoffrey Chaucer s The Canterbury Tales868 Words   |  4 PagesChurch authority to lead by example, ideally abiding by the practices they teach in The Canterbury Tales. Through the use of bickering ironic characters such as the Friar and the Summoner, Chaucer juxtaposes these hypocritical examples with the loyal and archetypal Parson’s description in the General Prologue. The Parson is concerned with the same governing leadership practic es and responsibilities for his parishioners as Richard II’s post-revolution kingdom. Figures of religious authority emphasizeRead MoreEssay on The Portrayal of the Clergy in the Canterbury Tales1169 Words   |  5 PagesThe Portrayal of Religion and the Clergy in The Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer, in his Canterbury Tales, felt that the Churchs turmoil experienced during the fourteenth century contributed to the a declining trust of clergy and left the people spiritually devastated. The repeated epidemics that the European Church experienced weakened the church by highlighting the clergys inability to face adversity. The clergys inability to provide relief for the people during a period of suffering did