there was once an Oxford student named Nicholas, who studied astrology and was well acquainted with the art of love. Nicholas boarded with a wealthy but ignorant old carpenter named John, who was jealous and highly possessive of his sexy eighteen-year-old wife, Alisoun. One day, the carpenter leaves, and Nicholas and Alisoun begin flirting. Nicholas grabs Alisoun, and she threatens to cry for help. He then begins to cry, and after a few sweet words, she agrees to sleep with him when it is safe to do so. She is worried that John will find out, but Nicholas is confident he can outwit the carpenter. Nicholas is not alone in desiring Alisoun. A merry, vain parish clerk named Absolon also fancies Alisoun. He serenades her every night, buys her gifts, …show more content…
But when the Miller interrupts and cries out that he can “quite the Knyghtes [Knight’s] tale,” he changes the word somewhat to mean “revenge” (3127). Indeed, the Miller does take “revenge” upon the Knight to an extent. Just as he transforms the meaning of the word “quite,” the Miller takes several of the themes from the Knight’s Tale and alters them. For instance, the Knight’s Tale suggested that human suffering is part of a divine plan that mortals cannot hope to know. In a completely different tone and context, the Miller, too, cautions against prying into “God’s pryvetee,” meaning God’s secrets (3164). He first raises this idea in his Prologue, arguing that a man shouldn’t take it upon himself to assume that his wife is unfaithful. In the Miller’s Tale, John repeats the caution against prying into “God’s pryvetee.” Several times, John scolds Nicholas for trying to know “God’s pryvetee,” but when Nicholas actually offers to let John in on his secret, John jumps at the chance. John also jealously tries to control his young wife, reminding us that the Miller equated an attempt to know God’s “pryvetee” with a husband’s attempt to know about his wife’s “private parts.” The two round tubs that the foolish carpenter hangs from the roof of his barn, one on either side of a long trough, suggest an obscene visual pun on this vulgar meaning of “God’s …show more content…
Mystery plays, which typically enacted stories of God, Jesus, and the saints, were the main source of biblical education for lay folk in the Middle Ages. As John’s gullibility shows, his education through mystery plays means that he has only a slight understanding of the Bible. The Miller begins his biblical puns in his Prologue, when he says that he will speak in “[Pontius] Pilates” place. His statement that he will tell “a legende and a lyf / Bothe of a carpenter and of his wyf” is a reference to the story of Joseph and Mary. “Legends and lives” were written and told of the saints, and the story in which Joseph finds out that Mary is pregnant (and the many jokes that could be made about Mary being unfaithful) was a common subject of mystery plays. The stories of Noah’s flood, and of Noah’s wife, are also obviously twisted around by the Miller. These biblical puns work up to the climax of the tale. When he says that Nicholas’s fart was as great as a “thonder-dent,” the Miller aligns Nicholas—the creator of the action—with God (3807). Absolon, who cries out, “My soule bitake I unto Sathanas [Satan]” (3750), becomes a version of the devil, who damns God by sticking him with his red-hot poker. The result of Absolon’s actions is that John falls from the roof in a pun on the fall of
Throughout the Canterbury Tales, various characters are introduced and tell a tale, each of which tells a different story. All of the tales are unique and address different issues. “The Miller’s Tale” is the second of the many stories and varies from all of the rest. As seen from the “General Prologue,” Chaucer clearly depicts the Miller as a crude, slobbish man who will say anything. This reputation is held true as the Miller drunkenly tells a story full of adultery and bickering. Despite the scandalous nature of “The Miller’s Tale,” the story also displays some of Chaucer’s prominent beliefs. As “The Miller’s Prologue” and “The Miller’s Tale” are told, it becomes evident that Chaucer is challenging the common roles and behaviors of women, and he is also questioning the effectiveness of social class.
Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales are some of the most widely read and anthologized pieces of medieval poetry. These tales are generally celebrated and enjoyed because of the author’s use of wit and satire, as Chaucer often uses word play and characterization to deliver hard-hitting, yet entertaining truths about his time period. This is the case in “The Miller’s Tale,” which portrays the story of a carpenter with an adulterous wife and the shenanigans that take place during and after one of her affairs. After closely examining “Absalom’s Revenge,” the last section of this tale, it is clear to see that Chaucer uses language, puns, and other writing techniques to provide a commentary on the lewdness of some who lived during the Middle Ages.
Such an intense reaction to the Miller’s tale—in which someone of the Reeve’s vocation is bested by a younger, more virile man—seems based upon the Reeve’s sudden need to defend his manhood against another man’s slander. By telling a story in which a carpenter is bested by another man sexually, the Miller has wounded the pride of the Reeve, who now must display a story in which a miller is dominated by another man to defend his masculinity. As Angela Jane Weisl explains in “‘Quiting’ Eve:Violence Against Women in the Canterbury Tales”, the need to reclaim his ego informs the Reeve’s desire to “become[] powerful and thus, violent, masculine” through his warning to the Miller that he might endure corporeal harm (123). By having the Reeve devise to reassert dominance over the Pilgrim Miller in such violent ways before the tale has even begun, Chaucer prefaces the clerk to share the same anxiety over requiting the tale’s miller through sexual
1. Do you admire Palamon and Arcite for sacrificing everything, including their friendship, to pursue Emily? Or, like Theseus, do you think it's sort of stupid?
For my report, I chose to summarize how Brian Helgeland’s movie “A Knight’s Tale” (2001) draws its medieval themes and story from Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales: The Knight’s Tale”. Besides the nearly identical titles of these works and the moderately similar storyline, it can be further proven that “A Knight’s Tale” is an adaption of “The Knight’s Tale” because Geoffrey Chaucer appears as a character himself—and a vital one at that—in the movie. Furthermore, just to make certain that there is no mistake among the viewers about who they are dealing with, Geoffrey Chaucer (Paul Bettany) even refers to himself as a writer in the movie and points out his very first own work “The Book of the Duchess” in disbelief when some peasants don’t
"The Knight's Tale" is one of many tales from the Canterbury Tales. This story sets in the city of Athens. Which opens into the theme of violence, foolishness, impetuousness, and impulsiveness; initially exceedingly emotional responses. One example is when two of our main characters, Palmon and Arcite, both fall in love with Theseus's sister-in-law (Emelye). These two blood brothers, leave each other after seeing Emelye out of the window of the tower. Which, I believe is a very impulsive decision, for they have not got time to know who she is and her personality. Also, they act like mortal enemies after just seeing her, so this thought process was completely impulsive and based on her looks. And later, Arcite tries to get to know her better after he was released from his imprisonment sentence by disguising himself, so he can take a job as a page in Emelye's chamber. I believe this shows that he wants to know her, but also it shows he is not being honest with her, which shows he was being impulsive and deceiving. He only learned about the little things that she liked, not her personality. Emelye learned a little bit about Arcite after the little conversing they shared, so they learned a little of each other's personality. This shows that the friendship was growing and not an intimate relationship, like Arcite wanted. So the story goes on and both Palmon and Arcite have been released from prison. And they happen to both decide to wander in the woods. Then they confront each other, each claiming the right to Emelye. The next day, they were brutally hacking away at each other. Honestly, I believe they are being impulsive and violent, they still barely knew Emelye (especially Palmon), and they decide to go kill each other. Then here shows up Theseus, which a loving and wise duke, but he can also be a little impulse when it comes to violence (which is fairly normal for a duke in the 1390s). Theseus tries to be loving when he sees the two men fighting, but he changes his mind when he found out it was Palmon and Arcite fighting. And that they were fighting because they "love" Emelye. Then Theseus was about to respond by killing them, but his loving wife and Emelye intervened, pleading for their lives. They pleaded
During the Medieval Era, their was not much to do for entertainment besides watch the tournaments that were held all over Western Civilizations. In modern times, many people know what jousting and sword fighting are but not like the way “A Knights Tale” show them. This movie was made in 2001 and was soon a crowd favorite. The modernization of a dark age era gave the audience entertainment through action, love and comedy. The tournaments were very exciting during this era, specifically the 14th century. This movie had many mixed reviews between historians and regular movie goers. There are a lot of great aspects of this movie but also many critiques historically. The movie is a portrayal of the Medieval games which helps a more modern audience
In Geoffrey Chaucer’s poem, The Knight’s Tale, the author encapsulates chivalrous characteristics in his telling of a battle for love. In its fundamental form, chivalry idealizes a knight’s conduct, both on and off the battlefield (Gregory-Abbott). Chaucer employs this “heroic code [of] bravery, loyalty, and service to one's lord” to illustrate the idillic knight throughout the narrative (Rossignol). Chaucer’s poem, The Knight’s Tale, exhibits the ideals of chivalry in the form of two knights, desperately in love with the same woman, and a wise Duke who embodies the voice of reason. Each knight upholds honor through compassion, troths, and heroism on the battlefield, despite their afflictions with each other.
In the fourteen-hundreds women were seen differently by men than now a days. Women were viewed as a price or as an honor. Men would do crazy things in order to have that women they desire in their power. They would give up their lives for these special women who felt like queens around the men. Since woman were always being treated as a treasure, they started getting used and expected everything from men. In the Knight’s tale and The Wife of Bath’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer describe how these things happened back then 1400’s. Both of these tales are similar of how women would act with men.
A common belief is that a big part in the code of chivalry is courtly love. This is false. The documentary says the code of chivalry bound the aristocratic fighting class and protected the aristocracy families. This doesn’t have and didn’t have much to do with romance. Courtly love is more of the term to use for the code the knights followed in regards to romance. Chivalry was mostly a knights’ duties, roles, and behaviors he was to follow in order to remain honorable. It relates to the knights’ relationship with one another. Courtly love focused on how a knight treated his women. In The Knight’s Tale these two codes are at war with one another.
“The Knights Tale” is the first tale in Geoffrey Chaucers “The Canterbury Tales”. The story introduces various typical aspects of the knighthood such as chivalry, ethical dilemmas, and courtly love. Knights all have this characteristic which they call the code that they portray through out the tale. In Geoffrey Chaucers “The Knights Tale” is an effort on the knight’s part to preserve a virtuous code.
In “The Miller’s Tale” Chaucer explains how the Miller was a drunk and pale man that did not have a wife or children, but even before telling his story, it wasn’t his turn by interrupting the Monk before him and begins to explain his story. The miller start to explain about a young girl called Alison and her husband called the Carpenter, Alison was an only 18 years old when she married her husband and he was an old man. They lived in Oxford the Carpenter would admire the beauty of his wife and how the town man would be envious of him for his wife. It also involved two other man Nicholas and Absolon these men were also young, Nicholas was a clerk that would happen to be a secret love affairs, but also very clever and discreet and Absolon was a foppish clerk and a handsome man that every woman loved. Those three men were in love with Alison, but affording Alison only
The Canterbury Tales begin with The Knight’s Tale; which chronicles the tragic love triangle of Palamon, Arcite and Emilye. The following tale, which is told by the Miller, is also a love triangle, and is in many ways similar to the Knight’s tale. However, the Miller’s tale sharply contrasts the Knight’s, almost parodying it. The Knight’s tale is a tragic of nobility, heritage and focuses heavily on mythology and astrology, whereas The Miller’s tale is a comedy, focusing on the common-man and his less civilized, and bawdy lifestyle. The two stories mirror one another in many ways, but are presented from completely different sides of the spectrum. When the two tales are looked at closely, it doesn’t seem to be a coincidence that they occur
Geoffrey Chaucer’s romantic poem “The Knight’s Tale” chronicles the adventures of two ancient Greek knights and their quest to win the affection of Emily, a beautiful noblewoman. Bound to uphold the chivalric code of loyalty and honor of the time, Palamon and Arcite discover themselves at odds with their noble ideals as they battle one another in pursuit of love. Unable to reconcile the knight’s oath of honor with their obsessive and selfish desires, the actions of Chaucer’s main characters fail to uphold the basic principles of chivalry.
Artemis Fowl The Last Guardian is the last book of the Artemis Fowl series which was written by Eoin Colfer. The book is about a boy genius, Artemis Fowl. Who, is the head of a criminal empire. Artemis works with a secret civilization of magical creatures who have been hiding underground for centuries. An enemy named Opal Koboi who Artemis thought was defeated attempts a daring escape from jail.This is why I believe Artemis is a hero.