Tales Flashcards
The Knight’s Tale
Courtly romance.
The Knight’s Tale as a story of chivalry and love. It follows the lives and lives of two knights; Palamon and Arcite, who both fall in love with Emelye. Their rivalry leads to a tournament, and eventually, a tragic and ironic resolution.
The Miller’s Tale
Fabliaux, parody of romance (courtly love, biblical material) (also use of animal imagery).
The Miller’s Tale is a bawdy and humorous story of love and deception. It involves a clever scholar, Nicholas, and a parish clerk, Absolon, who seduce the carpenter’s (John) wife, Alison.
Nicholas convinced John that a flood is coming, and this gives him the opportunity to be alone with Alison. Absolon also tries to win her love, serenades her, but is rejected.
Nicholas has a secret meeting with Alison while John is away, and they have an affair. However, when Absolon begs for a kiss at the window, she plays a trick on him, she promises him a different surprise. He kisses her buttocks.
The Wife of Bathe’s Tale
Folk-tale
The Wife of Bath tells a feminist story about a knight who, after a misdeed, must answer a question to save his life.
Jankyn: her fifth husband
The Franklin’s Tale
Breton Lay, a subgenre of Romance (happy ending, unrealistic, idealistic, ethics and morals, sometimes supernatural, Saint’s lives and courtly love).
Arveragus and Dorigan’s love is tested with a squire, Aurelius, falls in love with her beauty and virtue. He begs for her love. Dorigan says she will love him when he makes all the rocks in Brittany disappear. The squire’s brother advises him to seek the help of a magician. When Arvaragus returns, he learns of Dorigan’s promise and tells her to keep it. Aurelius, moved by his humour, released her from her promise.
The Pardoner’s Tale
Exemplum!
Moral tale about the destructive power of greed and the consequences of sinful behaviour.
Revolves around three young friends who hear about a mutual friend who was killed by Death. They want to avenge their friend’s death, so they set out to kill Death. They encounter an old man who tells them that they can find Death under a nearby tree. Instead, they find a pile of gold coins.
They decide to keep the gold. One of them leaves for town to buy food and wine for their celebration. The two friends plot to kill the third, increasing their share.
The two murders also meet a tragic end. They decide to celebrate with the poisoned wine, and both die.
Characters:
1. The Pardoner
2. Three Young Men
3. Old man
The Nun’s Priests Tale
Beast fable, mock epic
Humorous tale, teaches danger of flattery and the importance of being cautious.
Tale about a rich/handsome rooster Chaunticleer who lives on a farm. He has a beautiful voice, and has seven hen-wives, and his favourite is Pertelote.
One night, Chanticleer has a disturbing dream about a fox trying to deceive him by flattering him and then grab him by the throat. Pertelote says the dream is nonsense. Later, Chanticleer does encounter a fox, which uses flattery and cunning rhetoric to convince him to close his eyes and sing. The fox grabs Chanticleer by the throat and runs off into the woods. He uses his wits to outsmart the fox, convincing the fox to boast about his cunning aloud, allowing him to escape when the fox opens his mouth.
Characters:
1. Chanticleer
2. Pertelote
3. The fox
4. Farmers
The Reeve’s Tale
Fabliaux (with animal imagery)
A humorous and often bawdy tale, focusing on deception and revenge. Comedic elements.
The Reeve, Oswald, was once a carpenter but now a miller. He takes offence when a young student named Alan insults him. The Reeve decides to get back at the student.
Alan and John, who secretly speak into the miller’s house to spend the night with his daughter and wife (attractive). The students switch the doors of the mill so that the miller will not be able to find the way in the dark. So, he stumbles into the wrong bed, ending up in the bed of the wife of a local cleric.
Tale ends with the miller being humiliated, the student having their revenge.
Characters:
1. Oswald the Reeve
2. John and Alan
3. Miller’s wife
4. Clerk’s wife
