Other
'The Merchant's Tale' critics + quotation bank
- Course
- Institution
Written for A-Level OCR English Literature Drama and Poetry pre-1900s For 'The Merchant's Tale and Prologue' by Chaucer
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
acmolte
Content preview
Chaucer quotation bankIronic/euphemistic words repeated throughout
‘Fresshe’
‘Pitee’
‘Ese’
‘Gentil’
‘Felicitee’
‘Blisful’
‘Wis’
‘Esy’
‘Noble’
‘Herte’
‘Grace’ – associated with courtly love; parody; ironic connotations of
purity
‘Pleasant’
‘Corage’
‘Sikernesse’
‘Worthy’
‘Honurable’
P15
‘I have a wyf, the worste that may be;// For thogh the feend to hire
ycoupled were, // She wolde him overmacche’ – more evil than the devil,
Eve
‘She is shewe at al’ – derogatory
‘my wyves cursednesse’ – Eve
‘snare’ – marriage as a trap
P17
‘A worthy knight, that born was of Pavie’ – worthy vs. Pavie
‘sixty yeer a wyflees man was hee’ – setting up Fabliau
‘On women, ther as was his appetit’ – appetite for sex, gluttony, lust
‘to live under that hooly boond with which that first God man and woman
bond’ – reference to Adam and Eve; inevitable failure; contrast to
Merchant’s views on marriage
‘Noon oother lyf is worth a bene’ – irony
‘wedlok is so esy and so clene, that in this world it is a paradis’ – Original
Sin, foreshadowing, irony
‘take a yong wif and a feir’ – passive wife’s role; Fabliau set up
P19
‘bacheleris have often peyne and wo’ – opposite to Merchant
‘so buxom as a wyf’ – obedience; expectations for women
‘Who is so trewe, and eek so entenif// to kepe him, sik and hool’ – job of a
wife as servant
P21
, ‘Deffie Theofraste, and herke me’ – ignoring warnings; ironic
foreshadowing
‘A wyf is Goddes yifte verraily;// Alle othere manere yiftes hardily, // As
londes, rentes, pasture, or commune, // Or moebles, all been yiftes of
Fortune’ – reducing wife to object/ commodity
‘Mariage is a ful greet sacrament’ – irony/undermined by Januarie
‘womman is for mannes help ywroght’ – woman’s place as a servant
‘wyf is mannes helpe and his confort;// His paradis Terrestre’ and his
disport’ – objectifying; paradise then destroyed is foreshadowing and irony
P27
‘The lusty lyf, the vertous quiete, // That is in marriage hony-sweete’ –
gluttony involved with his delusions for marriage
‘I am hoor and oold’ – Fabliau set up
‘in a l the haste I kan’ – marriage is not well-thought-out
‘I may be wedded hastily’ – quick to marry, not thoughtful
P29
‘a yong thing may men gye, // Right as men may warm wex with handles
plye’ – irony of him being in Fabliau; she will deceive him
‘nat oonly for paramour or love’ – opposite to his previous words; irony
P31
‘stark and suffisaunt’ – self-absorbed, delusional
‘so ful of sapience’ – sycophantic Placebo, fuelling delusions
‘weyven fro the word of Salomon’ – ignorance, irony
P33
‘Myn owene deere brother and my lord’ – sycophantic
‘I woot wel that my lord kan moore than I’ – sycophantic
‘youre words alle and youre opinioun’ – irony that the advice Januarie
follows is Placebos, which are just Januarie’s beliefs
P35
‘Justinus, thay ay stille sat and herde’ – genuine and wise character
‘be patient’ – good advice ignored by Januarie (haste)
P37
‘of all blisses bare’ – describing marriage, reference to Merchant,
undesirable (trustworthy character)
‘Ye shul nat plesen hire fully’ – foreshadowing, wise, Fabliau
P39
‘chees hire of his owene auctoritee’ – mockery of his lack of control in
future
P41
‘Hir fresshe beautee and hir age tendre, // Hir middle small… Hir…// Hir…’
– anaphora; his delusions; Fabliau; distasteful perception as object
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller acmolte. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $7.19. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
64438 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now