Page 125 - DENG405_BRITISH_POETRY

British Poetry

Notes 13.4 Keywords

Incitement : Persuade to act in a violent or unlawful way.
Villa : A large country house in its own grounds.
Stoic : A member of the ancient philosophical school of stoicism.
Pomp : Ceremony and splendid display.

13.5 Review Questions
1. Name each of the tests Walter applies to test Griselde’s loyalty.
2. Does Walter ever relent in his testing of his wife?
3. What does “Chaucer’s Envoy” add?
4. What is the significance of the names of the husband and wife in the Merchant’s tale?
5. Describe the trickery and deception used to dupe January.
6. What is function of the advisors to the old Knight?

Answers: Self Assessment

1. This tale is based on the writing of Petrarch and Boccaccio’s Decameron.
2. It combines the elements of the romance and the exemplum.
3. He persuades the Pope that his people are turning against Griselde since she is lowborn.
4. He thinks his peasants are not wise enough to choose his bride.
5. The hearer is intended to avoid behaving as Walter did while still admiring Griselde.
6. It is a fabliau.
7. Men are easily manipulated and made fools of by their wives.
8. Old men should not marry extremely young women.
9. He is very unhappily married.
10. The host sympathizes with him.

13.6 Further Readings

The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales — Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales — Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer — Harold Bloom

Online links http://www.pinkmonkey.com/booknotes/monkeynotes/pmCanterbury02.asp
http://www.bookrags.com/notes/ct/index.html

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