A-level English Wife of Bath essay: Explore how marriage is presented in The Wife of Bath’s Prologue
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Course
Unit 3 - Poetry
Institution
PEARSON (PEARSON)
A* A-level English Poetry The Wife of Bath essay titled: Explore how marriage is presented in The Wife of Bath’s Prologue, by referring to lines 1-20 and one other passage of similar length in the first 192 lines.
Explore how marriage is presented in The Wife of Bath’s Prologue, by referring to lines 1-
20 and one other passage of similar length in the first 192 lines.
In both lines 1-20 (extract 1) and 141-161 (extract 2) Chaucer explores authority in marriage
and attitudes to men, presenting a view that challenges medieval notions of male power.
The Wife arguably embraces a highly modern perspective on marriage with her desire to
dominate her husband and claim that sexual pleasure is a virtue. Through the Wife’s
questioning of male, clerical interpretation and distortion of biblical exemplum, Chaucer
presents a counter-narrative to the pious and patriarchal teachings in the 14 th Century.
However, whilst a modern audience may view the Wife as a protofeminist through her bold
declarations of marriage, a contemporary audience could interpret her as the epitome of an
unruly wife, which the Church condemned. In this sense, Chaucer’s presentation of marriage
could be intended to expose feminine flaws, or perhaps to create an entertaining and
humorous character.
Both extracts explore the concept of authority in marriage, subverting the traditional 14 th
Century view of male dominance over women. The Wife’s opening word in the first extract
‘experience’ directly challenges the male written ‘auctoritee’ as she immediately claims that
her own female ‘experience’ is sufficient to justify her speaking about the woes of marriage.
It is unusual that Chaucer places the analysis of marriage in the mouth of a woman as
literary and rhetorical power in the 14th Century was held heavily by men. Therefore, from a
modern perspective, the Wife could be seen as a…
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