Weeks 4-6
Please use the comments section to answer questions. Do not try to answer all questions. Try to keep up an average of one per week, with time for a few comments on the ideas of others.
2. The Wife of Bath's Tale is considered by some critics to indicate that Chaucer may have been a feminist. Why might they believe this? Do you agree? Remember to cite evidence from the text or some other source.
3.Hahn's essay (see critical reader)on The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelleidentifies the motif of the loathly lady, but arguesit has a different purpose than asserting the feminine. What does he think the function of the story is?
4. In the context of Elizabethan and Jacobean sonnets, how can we define "conceits"?
5. Discuss what you think is the most striking or outrageous example.
6. What does Revard (1997) suggest about the relationship between language, sex, power and transgression in the English Renaissance?
1. Cite some variations in the Loathly Lady Fabula across the three tales in your Reader. Focus on the conditions by which the lady is either beautiful or ugly, and the actions of the knight/king/"hero"...
ReplyDeleteThe Wife of Bath's Tale
Geoffrey Chaucer
The Queen deciding whether the Knight should be condemned to death or not or whether she should give him a task to do all because of the knight’s actions to try to seduce a maiden to have sex with him .
(P.65)
He seeks every women to know the answer but the problem is everyone who he asks this too gives him a different answer so they are never agreeing on the answer he seeks. (p. 66-67)
The knight wanting to know what the answer of what woman desire is by meeting the ugly lady who is his mother. So she tell the knight what he needs to know.
(p 67-69)
King Arthur having two donkey ears connected to his head and the wife wanting to be ugly to be with her husband. Also that she tell no one of his ugliness.
, (p. 67-68)
The knight is in bed with his new wife and talks with his old wife. The new wife tells the knight he has saved his life
,(p 69)
The knight has a final decision to make which is to choose whether he wants his wife beautiful or ugly which the wife ends up choosing for him.
,(p.72)
The knight returns to the village he was in a year and a day before. The knight gives the queen his answer.(p 68)
The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle Modern version.
King Arthur meets the ugly lady after he rides a horse out a gate.
(p.73)
The ugly ladies conditions to be ugly are these yellow teeth, her breasts very large and back curved in a “u” shape,( p 73)
The ugly lady asks King Arthur if she can marry knight Gawain or he loses his head or I can save your life. I might not be able to persuade Gawain to marry you,(p 74.)
King Arthur rides to where Sir Gawain is and tells him his predicament and decides to marry her straight away. He just needs to know a few more details like when precisely are they going to marry each other. Gawain saves his life and her name is Dame Ragnelle. Arthur asks the ugly lady what her name is,(p 75-76)
The wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle.
Original version
King Arthur rode to Inglewood to get some good news from the ugly lady.
,(p.77)
He sees this ugly lady who has big teeth and hair all matted on her head also her mouth is
,(p.77)
She was sitting on a horse covered with gold and precious stones waiting to tell King Arthur something.
p.77)
She wants to give Arthur some advice that might save his life if he chooses correctly.
p.77)
Then she tells Arthur what she wants him to do to save his life and if you do not choose correctly you lose your head, (p.77)
Why is my life in your ugly hands lady,(p 77)
Now you must grant me a Knight to marry or lose your head or live make your choice now King Arthur, (p.78)
King Arthur is telling the ugly lady that he will now go and find Gawain to him the news that he has to marry this ugly looking lady,( P.78)
King Arthur tells Gawain the pickle means an awkward situation a person is in to notify him that he needs to marry this person to keep him alive or he’s dead. (pickle. n.d.)
(p.78)
Sir Gawain accepts that he needs to marry this ugly lady to be his future wife to save King Arthur’s life.
(p 79)
Reference list
Chaucer.G,(2006). Geoffrey Chaucer Interlinear translations of the Canterbury tales. Retrieved from http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/index.html
Hahn.T,(1995.a). The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle. In Sir Gawain: Eleven Romances and Tales,(Ed.).M. Michigan: USA. Medieval Institute Publications
Hahn.T,(1995.b). The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle. In Sir Gawain: Eleven Romances and Tales,(Ed.).M. Michigan: USA. Medieval Institute Publications
pickle. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved April 27, 2015, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pickle