Question of the Week (10/30/09)

Using evidence from the text compare and contrast Camelot with Bertilak's court and castle. How are their hosts and inhabitants similar? Different? What bargain is made at the end of Part II? Post your response by Sunday, 11/1, and don't forget to respond to a classmate's response. Happy Halloween!

Question of the Week (10/23/09)

Looking forward to our study of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, share what you know about Arthurian legends? Post your response by Sunday 10/25. Enjoy your weekend.

Question of the Week (10/16/09)

Give an example of Chaucer's use of satire in your favorite Canterbury tale. Don't forget to use supportive evidence from the text. Post your response by Sunday 10/18 and respond to a fellow classmate's response.

Wife of Bath

Question of the Week (10/9/09)

After you have read the Wife's tale, consider first what might have led Chaucer to give her this story to tell. As you know from the reading throughout The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer generally gives his pilgrims tales that fit their character. Thus the Knight, who is the noblest member of the group, recites a chivalric romance, while the Miller, who is one of the commoners, tells a bawdy tale. In other cases, Chaucer creates a dramatic motivation for his pilgrims' choice of tales, as when the Friar's insulting tale of a summoner prompts the Summoner to tell an insulting tale about a friar. Consider all of the following questions from the Wife of Bath's Tale, but answer only one of the following:

• To what extent does the Wife's tale seem appropriate to her character as it has been depicted?
• Does the tale reveal new or unexpected aspects of her character? Does it illuminate any of the very different relationships that she has experienced in marriage?
• The moral of the tale seems to confirm her argument in the "Prologue," that wives should have authority over their husbands, but the proof of the moral seems to come through magic. Are we to take the story at face value, or is it, in the truest sense, a "fairy tale"? How does this reflect on the Wife's character and opinions?
• Does Chaucer in this way represent the Wife as seeing herself as the "loathly lady" waiting for some loving husband to unlock the beauty inside her?

 Post by Monday 10/12 for full credit. Don't forget to read the summoner's and merchant's tales, complete the WofB worksheet and finish your original prologue due 10/13. Enjoy your long weekend.

Homework for the weekend of 10/2/09

Read the Nun's Priest's and the Pardoner's Tale for homework, finish the vocabulary worksheet (handed out on Thursday) and don't forget to answer the question of the week.

Question of the Week (10/2/09)

How does the literary criticism of The Monk's Tale enhance your reading of it? Click on the Question of the Week, it's a link to the Monk's lit crit!