The Wife Of Bath s Prologue By Geoffrey Chaucer - 1694 Words

During the Middle Ages men were on top of the world in every aspect of life. They were kings, rulers, knights, and heroes and every woman would gladly forfeit her will for whatever they wanted, at least this was the socially accepted norm. Quite often, however, this was not the case as seen in the â€Å"Wife of Bath’s Prologue† written by Geoffrey Chaucer. The Wife of Bath was an unconventional woman who acted like the men of the age in multiple ways. The male pilgrims in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales were uncomfortable with her behavior because she was manlier than they were. The prologue begins with the wife, Alys, immediately stepping out of line and asserting herself as an expert on a subject matter. She states, â€Å"Experience, though noon auctoritee/ Were in this world, is right ynough for me† (1-2) Women at the time were not supposed to have knowledge over any subject, save looking pretty, and the fact that Alys not only knew about how marriage, b ut had experience in it scared the men. In addition to this, she admitted that the experience that she had in marriage was not sufficient evidence for having knowledge of a subject for most of the world and declared that it was enough for her. The authority to control knowledge, both from declaring it worthy to be used in an argument and having it in the first place, is something that was exclusively for men. The wife accomplished both in the opening two lines of her prologue. In order to further her command of knowledge, she showsShow MoreRelatedThe Wife Of Bath s Prologue By Geoffrey Chaucer1324 Words   |  6 Pagesnoteworthy difference in reference to other works. The first literary work that will be examined is The Wife of Bath’s Prologue, written by Geoffrey Chaucer. Throughout this work it is clear that the focus is that of the plight of a woman. The Prologue begins with the story of a woman whose name we later find out is Alisoun, before that however, she is simply referred to as the Wife. When Chaucer was planning out this particular character, he â€Å"drew upon a centuries old tradition of misogynist writingRead MoreChaucers The Canterbury Tales1381 Words   |  6 PagesThe Canterbury Tales serves as a moral manual in the Middle Ages. In the tales, Geoffrey Chaucer portrays the problems of the society. For instance, Chaucer uses the monk and the friar in comparison to the parson to show what the ecclesiastical class are doing versus what they are supposed to be doing. In other words, it is to make people be aware of these problems. It can be inferred that the author’s main goal is for this literary work to serve as a me ssage to the people along with changing theRead MoreThe Wife Of Bath s Prologue1134 Words   |  5 PagesThe Wife of Bath uses bible verses in â€Å"The Wife of Bath’s Prologue.† Further, she employs the verses as an outline of her life to find reason in God to justify her actions. Nevertheless, the purpose of the verses differs within each stanza of the poem. The Wife of Bath is a sexually promiscuous, lustful, and manipulative woman. She marries men one after the other as they get older and die. In order to combat and overthrow the speculation and criticism being thrust upon her by societal norms becauseRead MoreThe Wife Of Bath, By Geoffrey Chaucer1251 Words   |  6 PagesThe Wife of Bath, emphasizing â€Å"The Prologue of the Wife of Bath’s Tale† and the â€Å"The Prologue† in Geoffrey Chaucer s Canterbury Tales, is an example of the Middle English concept that male authors reflect misogynistic ideals of society onto female characters.With t he Wife of Bath, she is a fictional character, as told by Chaucer, going on a Pilgrimage, with constant ridicule for her sexuality and multiple marriages. Chaucer portrays her as a previously battered wife who uses her sexual promiscuityRead MoreThe Wife Of Bath s Prologue And Tale2067 Words   |  9 Pagesâ€Å"The Wife of Bath’s Prologue† and â€Å"The Wife of Bath’s Tale† by Geoffrey Chaucer functions as a way to both satirize and represent female equality. In particular, The Wife of Bath challenges the stereotypes of what may appear to be â€Å"normal† treatment of women during this time period (TheBestNotes.com). She identifies the distinctions between â€Å"traditional† gender roles and relates them to passages from the bible, which are then taken out of context. These passages are meant to justify The Wife of Bath’sRead MoreThe Wife Of Bath s Prologue And Tale990 Words   |  4 PagesThe Wife of Bath s Prologue and Tale is ab out female empowerment it shows strong protagonists. I believe Geoffrey Chaucer used The Wife of Bath’s Tale to advocate for feminism. Chaucer used a strong female character to expose female stereotypes. It was an oppressive time for women in male-dominated society. During the Middle Ages, Chaucer wrote from a woman’s point of view something that was not normal at that time. He set his feminist ideals through the characters of the Wife of Bath and the oldRead MoreGeoffrey Chaucer View and Change on Judgement968 Words   |  4 Pagesthis judgment process, we also form certain opinions towards that person or an organization. Geoffrey Chaucer is one of these people, but he actually did something about it. He had problems with some social aspects during the 1300s which included the church, gender differences, and hypocrisy. He wrote about these problems in a set of tales widely known as The Canterbury Tales. The first is The General Prologue which describes a pilgrimage to Canterbury that many people endure, but on this specific journeyRead MoreWho Was Geoffrey Chaucer?888 Words   |  4 PagesWho was Geoffrey Chaucer? One of the most unique poets of during the Middle Ages was Geoffrey Chaucer. He was born in London sometime between 1340 and 1344. His parents were John Chaucer and Agnes Copton. John Chaucer was an affluent wine merchant and deputy to the king’s butler. Geoffrey held several opportunities early in his life serving as a noblewoman’s page, a courtier, a diplomat, a civil servant, and a collector of scrap metal. He was given theses oppurtunities because of who his father wasRead MoreGeoffrey Chaucer s Impact On Literature1231 Words   |  5 PagesGeoffrey Chaucer’s Impact on Literature: English poet Geoffrey Chaucer is acclaimed to be one of the best and most influential poets in history. Geoffrey Chaucer wrote several famous literary works in what is called middle English. Geoffrey Chaucer was born in 1340 in London, England. Over the course of Chaucer’s life, he entered and exited several different social classes. He began to write his most known pieces when he became a public servant to Countess Elizabeth of Ulster in 1357. He diedRead More Canterbury Tales Essay - Marriage and the Role of Women in the Wife of Bath’s Prologue1384 Words   |  6 Pagesof Women in the Wife of Bath’s Prologue  Ã‚   The Canterbury Tales, begun in 1387 by Geoffrey Chaucer, are written in heroic couplets iambic pentameters, and consist of a series of twenty-four linked tales told by a group of superbly characterized pilgrims ranging from Knight to Plowman. The characters meet at an Inn, in London, before journeying to the shrine of St Thomas a Becket at Canterbury. The Wife of Bath is one of these characters. She bases both her tale and her prologue on marriage and