There are countless ways to tell a single story. The Wife of Bath in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales has been heavily debated for its supposed genre: is the prologue a sermon or an autobiography, an exemplum, or perhaps something else? Analyzing the prologue leads to the most clear choice being a confession.
Though it certainly borrows from other styles of writing, the Wife of Bath’s prologue is primarily a confession from the Wife. “People who study medieval stuff generally recognize the Wife of Bath's prologue as part of the "confessional" genre” (Shmoop). She confesses to being somewhat of a harlot, including the lies required to be a successful harlot; “[...] Any time she admits to morally questionable acts like lying and lust” (Shmoop). However, the other styles present in the prologue could not …show more content…
For one, “The prologue attributed to the Wife of Bath is longer than any other in The Canterbury Tales. It is also longer than her tale” (Crossref-it). Another point of interest is The method which Chaucer expresses a lesson through the Wife’s prologue: by exaggerating the Wife to be extremely promiscuous while also attempting to respect the idea of marriage, Chaucer is able to point out the flaws of the thoughts behind marriage at the time. “It is also longer than her tale. It is, rather, a device constructed by Chaucer to satirise abuses of - and by – women, through exposing them and presenting that exposure as if it is coming from one of the abusers” (Crossref-it). With the irony present in her prologue, a lesson to learn is imposed upon it, leading it to also partially be an exemplum. Yet there is still one more reason for The tale; as others have analyzed, “It is also an ironically misdirected attempt to promote her chances of obtaining a sixth husband” (Crossref-it). Thus - though this is more of a humorous joke by Chaucer - the Wife’s prologue is an advertisement of the
Though it certainly borrows from other styles of writing, the Wife of Bath’s prologue is primarily a confession from the Wife. “People who study medieval stuff generally recognize the Wife of Bath's prologue as part of the "confessional" genre” (Shmoop). She confesses to being somewhat of a harlot, including the lies required to be a successful harlot; “[...] Any time she admits to morally questionable acts like lying and lust” (Shmoop). However, the other styles present in the prologue could not …show more content…
For one, “The prologue attributed to the Wife of Bath is longer than any other in The Canterbury Tales. It is also longer than her tale” (Crossref-it). Another point of interest is The method which Chaucer expresses a lesson through the Wife’s prologue: by exaggerating the Wife to be extremely promiscuous while also attempting to respect the idea of marriage, Chaucer is able to point out the flaws of the thoughts behind marriage at the time. “It is also longer than her tale. It is, rather, a device constructed by Chaucer to satirise abuses of - and by – women, through exposing them and presenting that exposure as if it is coming from one of the abusers” (Crossref-it). With the irony present in her prologue, a lesson to learn is imposed upon it, leading it to also partially be an exemplum. Yet there is still one more reason for The tale; as others have analyzed, “It is also an ironically misdirected attempt to promote her chances of obtaining a sixth husband” (Crossref-it). Thus - though this is more of a humorous joke by Chaucer - the Wife’s prologue is an advertisement of the