Quotes

• 'Forked berd' - (General Prologue)


  • Cares about his appearance
• 'Flaudrissh bever hat' - (General Prologue)


  • Well-travelled, stylish
• 'In dette' - (General Prologue)


  • Covering up his debt with expensive appearances.
  • Appearance vs reality
• 'Worthy' - (General Prologue)


  • Chaucer's sarcastic description of the merchant
  • Superficially worthy
  • January later described as 'worthy'-sarcastic too.
• 'I noot how men him calle' - (General Prologue)


  • Not as important as he thinks that he is.
• 'Weping and wailing' - (M's Prologue)


  • In media res.
  • Suffering on account of his wife.
  • Hyperbolic-immediately establishes a melodramatic anti-feminist tone and agenda.
  • Echoes the last line of 'The Clerk's Tale'-'And let him care, and wepe and wringe and waile', tells the tale of an extremely virtuous bride, Griselda. Marries a knight + promises to obey him totally before. He tests her promise beyond all reason.
  • Merchant clearly trying to refute this image of women in his tale.
• 'She is a shrewe et al' - (M's Prologue)

  • Ill-tempered woman
• 'I have a wyf, the worste that may be; for thogh the feend to hire ycoupled were, she wolde him overmacche, I dar wel swere' - (M's Prologue)

  • Merchant explains how awful his wife is, would outmatch the devil
  • Melodramatic description-how trustworthy is he?
• 'Grisildis grete pacience' - (M's Prologue)


  • Expresses that his wife, and most women, are not as virtuous as Griselda.
• 'I wolde nevere eft comen in the snare' & 'Under this yok of mariage ybounde' - (M's Prologue)


  • Marriage a trap
  • Metaphor - inescapable but foolish to get yourself stuck in.
• 'Pavie' - (Lines 33-54 - Merchant introduces Jan)

  • Merchant sets tale in Pavia, city in Lombardy, famous for bankers and brothels at the time.
  • Famous tyrants, Visconti dynasty from here.
  • Sets base tone of the tale.
• 'On wommen, ther was his appetit' - (Lines 33-54 - Merchant introduces Jan)

  • Unfaithful, sleeps around-ungodly
  • 'appetit' - shows his attitude to women. Consumption to fulfill his desire, nothing more.
• 'Were it for hoolinesse or for dotage, I kan nat seye' - (Lines 33-54 - Merchant introduces Jan)


  • Holiness or senile old age
  • Ironic, he is clearly just marrying to satisfy sexual desire, secure an heir and ensure that he goes to heaven.
• 'Blisful lyf' within 'hooly boond' - (Lines 33-54 - Merchant introduces Jan)

  • Foreshadowing?
  • Contrasts everything previously said
• 'Noon oother lyf' seyde he, 'is worth a bene; for wedlock is so esy and so clene, that in this world it is a paradis.' - (Lines 33-54 - Merchant introduces Jan)

  • Marriage for personal desire - 'esy' and 'paradis' - garden of eden, proleptic irony - the way in which he is cuckolded. Shows naivety Eden - The Fall - ironic - he is 'so wis'
  • Marrying to satisfy bodily desires and produce an heir - makes his debauchery acceptable under law and by the church - wants to be holier to get into heaven.
• 'Whan a man is oold and hoor; thane is a wyf the fruit of his tresor.' - (Lines 55-80 - Merchant extols the benefits of having a wife-Ironic encomium)

  • Shows physical contrast of Jan and MayFabliau plot - senex amans marrying young wife
  • Mercantile imagery-a wife is a treasured possession.
  • Wife as fruit (fresshe, ripe, youth, links to childbirth) - pears. Again proleptic irony-pear tree.
  • Combines images of life and money.
  • Ironic encomium thought to be spoken by the Merchant but there is discourse amongst critics.
• 'A wedded man in his estaat Liveth a lyf blisful and ordinaat, Under this yok of mariage ybounde' - (Lines 55-80 the Merchant extols the benefits of having a wife-Ironic encomium)


  • Marriage provides security.
  • Yoke can also bind unwilling partners, negative connotations for marriage.
• 'What force though Theofraste liste lye?'(Lines 81-98 Merchant rejects authorities view of marriage in particular Theophrastus' view)

  • Theophrastus(c. 372-287 BC) anti-feminist author, wrote the satiric 'Golden Book of Marriage'
  • Merchant referencing him implies that this too is ironic.
• Theophrastus warned 'Ne take no wyf' - 'A trewe servant dooth moore diligence thy good to kepe, than thyn owene wyf, for she wol claime half part al hir lyf' - (Lines 81-98 - Merchant rejects authorities view of marriage in particular Theophrastus' view)


  • Ironic since his wife is greedy and betrays him AND his servant also betrays him - sleeps w wife - comic, prophetic irony.
  • Merchant suggesting that no one can be trusted, both Theophrastus is wrong as Jan's servant betrays him and the Clerk as May betrays him?
• 'A wyf is Goddes yifte verraily; Alle othere manere yiftes hardily, As londes, rentes, pasture, or commune, Or moebles, alle been yiftes of Fortune, That passen as a shadwe upon a wal' - (Lines 99-124 - Why God made women & how marriage is a precious sacrament)

  • A wife is certainly God's gift - others are all gifts from Fortune
  • Ironically lists all the things that are of importance to him.
  • A wife is mortal so it is ironic to state that worldly goods will not outlast her.
  • Compares a wife to possessions - mercantile imagery, misogynistic attitude to women.
• A wif wol laste, and in thyn hous endure, Wel lenger than thee list, paraventure'(Lines 99-124 Why God made women and how marriage is a precious sacrament)


  • A wife is forever, even if you don't want her
  • Irony-obvious criticism of the longevity of marriage.
• 'Marriage is a ful greet sacrement' - (Lines 99-124 - Why God made women and how marriage is a precious sacrament)

  • Ironic given short wedding ceremony later, followed by lavish pagan celebration - 'cherry picked bible authority' John Thorne
• 'That wyf is mannes helpe and his confort; His paradis terrestre, and his disport.' - (Lines 99-124 - Why God made women and how marriage is a precious sacrament)

  • Reference to the Garden of Eden
  • Proleptic irony - Jan's fall is established from the offset.
  • 'disport' - pleasure
• 'Buxom' - (Lines 99-124 - Why God made women and how marriage is a precious sacrament)

  • Describing wives as obedient.
  • Ironic considering May.
• 'How mighte a man han any adversitee That hath a wyf? Certes, I kan nat seye.' - (Lines 125-149 - Why men should be grateful for their wives)

  • 'adversitee' - obstacle
  • Rhetorical q generates reflection in the audience, we are complicit through laughter.
  • Irony - obvious through the authorial intrusion. Hypaphora.
• 'She seith nat ones 'nay', whan he seith 'ye.' 'Do this,' seith he; 'Al redy, sire,' seith she.' - (Lines 125-149 - Why men should be grateful for their wives)

  • The internal rhyme makes the obedience seem ridiculous and false.
  • Seems to be describing a servant more than a wife, Theophrastus argued a servant is better than a wife.
• Merchant uses Biblical examples of women to enforce his ironic point - 'Rebekke' and 'Judith' are two - (Lines 150-162 - Biblical examples to 'prove' the joys of marriage.)


  • Resourceful and successful women, all their tales feature deception - parallels to May - somewhat complementary - shows her as resourceful and intelligent - blaming Jan for his naivety.
  • Addresses 'clerke' for much of this section - counter to Griselda.
• 'Love wel thy wyf, as Crist loved his chirche' - (Lines 163-180 - The Merchant instructs husbands to listen to their wives; commands and cherish their marriage)

  • References the traditional Christian marriage service where the congregation is reminded that the relationship between the man and the woman in marriage was designed to be a reflection of the relationship between Christ and his church.
  • Clerk referred to it in his tale.
  • Jan and May's marriage is nothing like this; he wants to satisfy his base desires and secure an heir, she wants to climb the social ladder.
• 'Hony-sweete' - (Lines 181-256 - What Januarie desires from marriage)

  • How marriage is described by the Merchant.
  • Image of consumption, more about sexual gratification than piety.
• 'Freendes, I am hoor and oold...on my pittes brinke' - (Lines 181-256 - What Januarie desires from marriage)

  • highlights Jan's age - makes his desire for such a young wife comic and naive.
  • About to die, perhaps he should be thinking
• 'I have my body folily despended' - (Lines 181-256 - What Januarie desires from marriage)

  • 'I have foolishly wasted my life'
  • 'despended' - financial transaction, perhaps Chaucer's voice breaking through to criticise the Merchant and liken his pursuit of material wealth to Jan's lust.
• 'nat passe twenty yeer' - (Lines 181-256 - What Januarie desires from marriage)

  • Some manuscripts this even reads as sixteen
  • Accentuates her youth and beauty - comic compared to jan as senex amans.
  • Makes him seem predatory and sexually perverse.
• 'oold fish and yong flessh' and 'bet than old boef is the tendre veel' - (Lines 181-256 - What Januarie desires from marriage)

  • Highlight age gap
  • Meat links to objectification, mercantile, transactional theme
  • Image of meat shows base desire from January.
  • Food again just shows that Jan's decision to marry is merely based on consumption.
  • Desirable object, not a woman
  • Naïve to think a young woman would want 'old boef'. Irony, he is deluded.
• 'A yong thing may men gye, Right as men may warm wex with handes plye' - (Lines 181-256 - What Januarie desires from marriage)

  • 'Men can direct a young girl, like moulding warm wax in their hands'
  • manipulative - men can control women to their desires.
  • Naive again showing his deluded view of women, May shows that they are not so easily manipulated as he believes.
  • Prophetic irony, it is May and Damyan's wax moulded key that allows her to cuckold him.
  • Again emphasises perception of women as male property
• 'myn herte and alle my lymes been as grene as laurer' - (Lines 181-256 - What Januarie desires from marriage)

  • 'heart and limbs as green as laurel'
  • implies he is youthful, ironic, even he has stated that he is nearing death - delusion and naivety.
  • 'grene' - contrasts his name January, connotations of coldness, barren, little life. Whereas May symbolises new life.
• 'ye been so ful of sapience' and 'i holde youre own conseil best' - Placebo (Lines 256-356 - January consults his brothers on his decision to marry)

  • Placebo ('I shall please') - a sycophant
  • 'sapience' - wisdom
  • Flatters jan, telling him this is a great idea - tells he is full of wisdom and that his own opinion is best.
  • Placebo and Justinus not real characters per se, more hyperbolic types.
• 'It is an heigh corage of any man that stapen is in age to take a yong wif' - Placebo - (Lines 256-356 - January consults his brothers on his decision to marry)

  • Again just telling Jan what he wants to hear.
• 'Youre herte hangeth on a joly pin!' - Placebo - (Lines 256-356 - January consults his brothers on his decision to marry)

  • Sexual connotations.
  • Seems to be an image of courtly love. But considering Jan's age and that he is by no means motivated by love this is an inversion of the genre.
• 'Senek...seith that a man ought him right wel avise to whom he yeveth his lond or his catel' - Justinus - (Lines 256-356 - January consults his brothers on his decision to marry)

  • Justinus uses seneca's words, warns jan should consider a wife carefully - she will inherit his land and goods.
  • Mercantile attitude, relfects the Merchant who only cares for wealth and goods.
  • Justinus - 'The just one' - reflects the Merchant's anti-feminist opinions.
• 'It is no childes pley to take a wyf withouteth avisement' - justinus - (Lines 256-356 - January consults his brothers on his decision to marry)

  • Really should've listened to this one