Cards (100)

  • '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