How does the Wife of Bath treat her first three husbands?
The Wife of Bath How does the Wife of Bath treat her first three husbands? On page 33 the Wife of Bath reveals that, of her five husbands, "three of hem were goode and two were badde", going on to say that "The three men were goode, and ryche, and olde". This suggests that, since the Wife of Bath regarded her three oldest and richest husbands as her favourites, she was fonder of their wealth than their personalities. Indeed, she then reveals: "And by my fey, I tolde of it no stoor,/They hadde me yeven hir land and hir tresoor". Evidently they didn't mean anything to her, and in marrying them she was thinking of herself. On page 34 she tells her audience "Me neded nat do lenger diligence/To wynne hir love, or doon hem reverence". As the Wife of Bath is telling her audience that her husbands loved her passionately without much effort on her part, it's clear that she'll exploit their love and devotion, and she even admits that this was her intention: "But sith I hadde hem hoolly in myn hond/And sith that they hadde yeven me al hir lond,/What sholde I take kepe hem for to plese,/But it were for my profit and myn ese." With the Wife of Bath so blatantly taking advantage of her husbands, it's obvious that her relationships were far from peaceful, and she admits this to her audience: "The bacon was nat fet for hem, I trowe,/That som men han in Essexe at Donmowe." Referring to the
An occurrence at Oul Creek Bridge - How does the narrator indicate by his methods of writing that PF's experiences aren't real?
AN OCCURRENCE AT OUL CREEK BRIDGE How does the narrator indicate by his methods of writing that PF's experiences aren't real? At the beginning of the third section it begins by saying PF fell and lost consciousness. Not many people would survive a fall like that, which makes us think "Oh that's strange he's still alive." It says, "and was as one already dead." This is very unlikely because in any normal situation the rope would have probably snapped his neck. PF awakens to find a pain around his neck. He feels as if the rope is suffocating him. The pain is shooting down him, "heating him to an intolerable heat." Note the language used here, using the word heat twice. The writer says that PF has no senses except his sense of feeling; this is a very unlikely event because if one sense works the rest usually do too. PF then feels that he is the centre of a cloud, that he is the fiery heart. He feels himself swinging in oscillating arcs like a pendulum. The language used here is strange as well; it's like describing something that would happen in a dream. All of a sudden the rope breaks and he falls into the stream. All these events are unlikely to have ever happened, because they are of a far-fetched nature. As he is floating down the stream, he manages to break the rope that has bound his hands together. This is near impossible, because he also has to try to breath and swim
A Critical Analysis of Plot in "Rope" By Katherine Anne Porter
A Critical Analysis of Plot in "Rope" By Katherine Anne Porter Keen (2003) states when looking at plot the problems begin with definition. It may be fairer to conclude that definition can vary depending on the author and how he/she wishes to present his/her story through the use of narration and plot devices. In the case of 'Rope' by Katherine Anne Porter plot could be defined as what the narratee understands as the real story, after deciphering the narrators telling by getting at the underlying events through the authors use of plot devices. The plot begins in a state of equilibrium and we are presented with a couple that have recently moved to a new home in the country. A wife comes out to greet her husband after he returns home on foot with essentials from the local convenience store, which is a few miles away. The equilibrium is disrupted when the wife discovers her husband has purchased some rope that not only seems unnecessary but may also be responsible for the destruction of some eggs within the groceries. The disruption caused by the rope continues to grow revealing to the reader deeper issues within the couples relationship. The story is narrated in the order in which it happens, but the narrator uses analepsis through the voice of the wife to let the reader know of an affair the husband had a year earlier whilst working away from home. Although the story is
Cannery Row by Steinbeck.
Cannery Row - In class Essay Like the title suggests Cannery Row is another of Steinbeck's novels that is set in that rougher areas of regional America during the Great Depression . It is described as a novella of short stories as it is a compilation of character studies and atmosphere rather than plot. Steinbeck's real gift for characterization is evident in the gang of penniless itinerant workers known as "Mack and the Boys," It is through these men's masculine views of the world that enables Steinbeck to celebrate humanity and community mate ship. The absence of female characters is not to suggest that woman had no roles in society instead it is to portray that females are stereotyped to be companions. The theme of community and mate ship is explored by the men throughout Cannery Row, being most alive in Mack and the boys. This "elder, leader, mentor' in the novel is Mack who leads the other boys away from the low to high ways of life into the sense of community by the creation of "The Palace Flophouse and Grill." A way that 'Mack and the boys" showed their manly affection for each other as a surrogate family was by competing in making something out of nothing for the Flophouse. Their discoveries consisted of "an army cot" to a stove that took the them three days to carry from Seaside to Cannery Row. "With the great stove came pride, and with pride, the Palace became
Chaucer: Satire And Humor
Chaucer: Satire And Humor Until Geoffrey Chaucer wrote the Canterbury Tales, he was primarily know for being the writer of love poems, such as The Parliament of Fowls, narratives of doomed passion, and stories of women wronged by their lovers. These works are nothing short of being breath taking, but they do not posses the raw power that the Canterbury Tales do. This unfinished poem, which is about 17,000 lines, is one of the most brilliant works in all of literature. The poem introduces a group of pilgrims journeying from London to the shrine of St. Thomas a Becket at Canterbury. Together, the pilgrims represent a large section of 14th-century English life. To help pass the time of the journey, the pilgrims decide to tell stories. These tales include a wide variety of medieval genres, from humorous fables to religious lectures. They vividly describe medieval attitudes and customs in such areas as love, marriage, and religion. Chaucer was a master storyteller, and his wit his shown throughout his work by the use of humor and satire, and it is most present in The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, The Pardoner's Tale, and The Wife of Bath's Tale. Many people that the most popular par to of the Canterbury Tales it The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, which has long been admired for the lively, individualized portraits it offers. More recent criticism has reacted against this
Book Introduction for "Women Behaving Badly"
Extension English Non-essay Response: Book Introduction for "Women Behaving Badly" Throughout the ages, women all over the world - from every race, culture and religion - have 'behaved badly'. This 'bad behaviour' has occurred in innumerable forms, yet is generally universally agreed to be defined as the transgression of the implicit social, behavioural and moral conventions - and of course the explicit political regulations - that bind a society. Thus, a woman who behaves in an undesirable manner is one who defies her society's conformist expectations of her place in its composition, and thus acts in such a way as that her behaviour offends those around her. Hence in this particular context, the term "behaving badly" could perhaps be more appropriately expressed as "behaving differently". In light of this, many of the world's most famous women: both historically and in our modern era, can be regarded as 'women behaving badly'. Consider the first woman, Eve, whose disobedience of the world's first set of laws resulted in man's expulsion from paradise; French national heroine St Joan of Arc, a simple fifteenth-century peasant girl who rescued France from defeat in one of the darkest periods of the Hundred Years' War with England; African-American seamstress Mrs. Rosa Parks, who through refusing a white passenger her bus seat in 1955 staged one of the largest protests of
In the miller's prologue Chaucer informs us that the miller 'tolde his cherles tale in his manere.' Explore the ways that the miller's character is reflected in the miller's tale.
In the miller's prologue Chaucer informs us that the miller 'tolde his cherles tale in his manere.' Explore the ways that the miller's character is reflected in the miller's tale. The miller's character is made apparent from the beginning of the prologue. Most of the pilgrims expected people to tell their tales in the order of their social rank. For instance the knight went first as he was from the court. However the miller interrupts this order. This at once lets the readers know that the miller is loud, rude and he has no regards for people around him. These characteristics are also evident throughout the miller's tale. One way that the miller's character is shown is through the physical description of the miller. One of the things that is said in the portrait of the miller is: 'His nosethirles blake were and wide.' In the time that the miller's tale was set, people believed that they could determine ones character solely based on their physical appearance. Red hair and large nostrils were thought to indicate anger and foolishness, both of which are characteristics of the miller. Also the miller's character seems to be reflected in the tale as the story has a lot of similar traits to the miller. The story for instance, is raucous, bawdy and coarse, like the miller himself. Also the miller's physical ugliness is generally a sign of inner corruption in medieval
What does Act 1 tell us about contemporary expectations of women in London and the Country?
Sophie Birkett What does Act 1 tell us about contemporary expectations of women in London and the Country? Women and marriages in Restoration comedies are satirised for being based on economic or other considerations rather than love and mutual affection. In the late seventeenth century expectations of women were that they were still meant to respect and be faithful to their husbands, but as R.C Sharma says 'In the latter half of the seventeenth century, the position of women in England had improved. Though legally they were still subordinate to men, the custom allowed them a larger measure of liberty and equality.' In 1662, for the first time professional actress were allowed on the stage, showing that the status of women was improving and as in a lot of Restoration comedies, the heroines reflect an effort by women in Restoration society to both step up from the moral gutter and down from the pedestal. However in Act 1 of the satirical comedy, the views from the men on women are satirised. Act 1 is set at Horner's lodgings late in the morning, with the entrance of Horner, the rake and Quack, Horners medical confidant. Later on, other characters enter. Horner, as the main character, shows many a time his opinion on women. He is interested in intelligent women 'But methinks wit is more necessary than beauty; and I think no young woman ugly that has it, and no handsome woman
creative writing
Milk Delivery He had a good job in the city, from which in four and a half years time he would retire to receive a healthy pension. Recently, he set up life insurance for himself and his wife, so that his nineteen year old daughter, whom he adored, would be looked after if the worst happened to either of them. After all, he did work for an insurance company and thus knew the importance of life insurance - besides, his wife had urged him that at the mature age of sixty-one, it was the right thing to do. And he agreed. They lived in a beautiful bungalow in the Cotswolds, and he wished to ensure that his daughter could afford to live there once he was gone. His wife also had a substantial inheritance, so he had insured her too. In part her inheritance had been used as the deposit on the bungalow. In a few months, they were planning to use the surplus to buy the sports car he had always dreamed of owning. Their life in that bungalow had been happy. But of late, things had changed. His daughter, having decided to study in Edinburgh, had moved out of the house. This sudden change affected both parents significantly. Build up tension to this event ----- His wife would regularly come home late from work frustrated and angry. Arguments, which were non-existent previously, now held a dominant role in their lives. One issue which sparked such a quarrel stuck in his mind
Compare and contrast the presentation of three pilgrims from Chaucer's General Prologue' and show how their descriptions add to our understanding of his society
Compare and contrast the presentation of three pilgrims from Chaucer's General Prologue' and show how their descriptions add to our understanding of his society 'The Canterbury Tales' is a group of tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer in about 1387. Chaucer planned to write 24 tales but died before he could complete them, so, The Canterbury Tales consist of 22 verse tales and two long prose tales. The 'General Prologue' gives a brief but vivid description of each pilgrim journeying to Canterbury before the pilgrims actually begin telling their tales. Most literature written in the medieval period was written in either French or Latin, especially poems or Holy Scriptures, so when Chaucer wrote 'The Canterbury Tales' in Middle English he was making a statement. Chaucer wanted to promote the vernacular language of England and so wrote 'The Canterbury Tales' in Middle English. Three of the best portraits of the pilgrims in the 'General Prologue' are of the Knight, the Wife of Bath and the Monk who all tell us a great deal about Chaucer's society. The Knight is a "verray, parfit, gentil knyght", who earns his living by fighting for his faith and his king. He has high status in the feudal system and "Ful worthy was he in his lordes werre". He is as meeke as a mayde", and he is also worthy and humble. The way in which Chaucer writes 'The Knight' and the language he uses reinforces
