Re: Wife of Bath: Chaucer Discussion Deck
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line. Chaucer & Re: Wife of Bath
Posted by SONNET CLV on May 25, 19101 at 14:24:31:
In Reply to: Wife of Bath posted by Philip on April 24, 19101 at 03:54:37:
You'll garner a lot by reading the brief introduction to the Wife of Bath in the Prologue of the CANTERBURY TALES. And ... being a person going into the A-level, one would suppose that is what you would do.
After you do read that, turn to the story itself, the Wife of Bath's Tale, complete with its frame that reveals even more about this lady who had five husbands "all at the church door," meaning they all died ... most likely from her over-exuberant physical uality. She is on the Canterbury pilgrimage as a sort of shopping trip more than anything else.
When you finish the frame story and tale, turn to the books of criticism. I would recommend looking up anything edited by Harold Bloom for a start. Dr. Bloom of Yale suggests that Wife is, next to the Pardoner, the most developed character of the TALES, almost Shakespearean in her dimension. She is certainly one of the characters worthy of discussion.