The Knight's Tale

is sentenced to death. But instead of losing his life, he is rewarded with the “most loveable among women” – the ideal wife, who is both beautiful and faithful. At the end of the tale, his power and freedom are restored. But this transformation is accomplished through the knight’s submission. At the beginning of the tale, the knight is mortally ignorant of what women want. Rape not only shocks that interest, but represents a tyrannical assault on one of modern civilization's most cherished…

Miguel de Cervantes’ universally known work, Don Quixote of the Mancha, uses zany characters and outrageous adventures to comment on the old art of chivalry and its absence from contemporary society. The protagonist of the tale, Don Quixote, and his squire, Sancho Panza, venture 17th century Spain following the codes of chivalry, as any Knight-errant should. Chivalry values loyalty, self-control, perseverance, generosity, respect, and honor. Though he cherishes chivalry, Don Quixote, ironically…

The first is that he shows the increasing middle class population. Many of the characters within Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales fit into at least one of the many molds and careers that would make them part of the middle class. The Reeve would be considered a part of the middle class because his job holds a higher, more honorable status than a simple peasant. As the leader of…

Bath The Wife of Bath, one of the most distinguished works of Chaucer in the Canterbury Tales, has evoked discussions among the feminist critiques for centuries now. Some believe that the Wife of Bath was an anti-conformist who challenged the tradition and restored the old anti-feminist mind-set of the medieval times. Others question her contribution and modernization brought to women’s status. Undoubtedly, this tale has also impeached Chaucer’s positioning towards women in the society. Was…

Code of Chivalry was born with the rise of King Arthur and his Knights. Scholar Chantry Westwell states, “The epic tales of King Arthur’s court, of chivalry, courtly love and the quest for the Holy Grail are some of the most captivating and poignant of all European fiction,”(Westwell). The stories of King Arthur are known around the world and have been told for centuries. These tales…

The Wife of Bath’s Tale and A Modest Proposal utilize satirical elements to better convey their message while also approaching similar themes, however A Modest Proposal was a more effective satire than The Wife of Bath’s Tale. They manage to stay authentic in their approach by using the various elements offered such as using humor or harshness to get their point across to the reader. First and foremost, A Modest Proposal is a Juvenalian satire that relies on harshness and realism to get the…

The Tale reveals that the perfectly good woman is powerful, or at least potentially so, insofar as her suffering and submission are fundamentally insubordinate and deeply threatening to men and to the concepts of power and gender identify upon which patriarchal culture is premised (Hansen, 190.) However, the happy ending brings the heroine the dubious reward of permanent union with a man whom the Clerk, embellishing his sources, has characterized as a sadistic tyrant, worst of men and cruelest…

Some time later after several character stories, it is the Wife of Bath’s turn to tell her tale. Before she begins, she gives a very lengthy Prologue. She begins by stating how she considers herself an authority on marriage due to her extensive experience of five marriages since she was first wedded at twelve (TCT, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue lines ). She states she 's received criticism for it due to people citing the Biblical story of the Wedding at Cana, which is the only such event Christ…

stories are timeless and still are prevalent in media today. A good portion of the most popular stories are based off of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. The stories are so broad and unique that one may not even realize certain stories are inspired by Chaucer. Anything from a noble tale of romance to a dirty bar story could be found within his timeless tales. From reading his prologue and stories it is very easy to see the types of people he respected and could care less about. The…

When looking back on medieval times, romance was at its peak. Chivalry was apparent in this time and men courted ladies in such a way that rivals romance today. Knights devote their lives to only one lady, which is something women desire today. In today’s society, men use sex for love and don’t call girls back after the first date. Men aren’t held to the same standards today in comparison to medieval times and it’s quite a tragedy. Women were also different back in medieval times. In Sir Gawain…