Friday, 10/26 - Finish "The Wife of Bath's Tale"

*P&P

*Finish "The Wife of Bath's Tale." 

*Answer the questions below in your Journal section of your binder, entitling  it J5 - "The Wife of Bath's Tale." 

Reading Check 

a. What were the knight’s crimes, his original sentence, and his second sentence? 

b. What bargain do the knight and the old woman strike? 

c. What payment for her help does the old woman demand, and what is the knight’s response? 

d. What final choice does the old woman offer the knight at the end of the tale? What is his response? 
 

Shaping Interpretations 

1. The knight’s quest is to find out what women want. What irony do you see in this? 

2. In lines 276–278, the knight moans about having the old woman for his wife. How does she respond to each objection he raises? 

3. How does the knight’s response to the choice given him by the old woman show that he’s learned his lesson about what women want? 

4. No doubt the following Bible verses provide an important aspect of the background for this tale: so . . . read these verses. Now for the questions (answer two of the questions below): Considering the Wife of Bath's character/history, 

1. What do you think would be her view of the scriptures above? 
2. In what ways does her tale militate (argue) against Genesis 3:16?
3. In what ways does her tale reflect the truth of Genesis 3:16? 
4. In what ways is the Biblical injunction for wives to submit to their husbands misunderstood and/or misapplied?
5. How could her tale be read as a criticism of those who might pigheadedly misinterpret the Biblical mandate for wives to submit to their husbands?
6. What is the deep wisdom you've learned from the old lady in the tale?

HW: Study for Middle Ages quiz on TUESDAY!!!. Please know the following material:

1. The Middle Ages - overview 
1. The Code of Chivalry and Courtly Love
2. Lit Terms (blog)
3. Vocab (blog) 
4. Bedford 19 (Fragments) and 20 (Run-ons)
5. Literature
1. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (see Focus for document)
2. Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
1. The General Prologue  
2. "The Pardoner's Tale"
3. "The Wife of Bath's Tale"