Quotes Flashcards
(90 cards)
1
Q
This shows Merchant’s extreme dissatisfaction with his wife, illustrating her perceived wickedness, disillusionment from marriage, making a universal truth, lacks authority, unsubstantiated, deceptive and manipulative nature of women
A
“For thogh the feend to hire ycoupled were, / She wolde him overmacche, I dar wel swere.
2
Q
Biblical imagery: January’s idealized view of marriage, commodification of women, ironic undermining of naive view, extualing perfection of wife, owned, property controlled
A
wyf the fruit of his tresor
3
Q
allusion to Venus (Roman goddess of love). Fire met - overwhelming, consuming nature of Damyan’s passion, emphasizing its intensity and danger - extremity of his emotions, presenting him as the archetypal courtly lover who suffers physically and emotionally for unrequited love. plosive alliteration
A
Damyan in Venus fyr / So brenneth that he dyeth for desir.
4
Q
January’s self-delusion, comparing himself to a tree to assert his continued vitality despite his old age. proleptic imagery, - virile, age not a constraint - fruitful, sexually potent, amplified view of self and abilities
A
“Though I be hoor, I fare as dooth a tree.”
5
Q
‘Woman is for mannes help wrought’ -
A
medieval expectations of subservience and docility in women, biblical imagery: adam and eve, male domination and control. Chaucer employs irony through Januarie’s naive belief.
6
Q
marriage = blissful, wholesome, paradise, biblical imagery adam and eve, natural/original state, ironic, trust in eve will be betrayed, eden = idyllic state/perfect union sanctified by god. (pre-lapsarian)
A
‘paradis’
7
Q
Januarie uses religion to facilitate his desire, morally misguided, marriage avoids divine punishment
A
‘for in our actes we mowe do no sinne’
8
Q
Possessive pronoun - ownership, commodification/ objectification, biblical imagery, compatibility- state/perfect union sanctified by god, innocence, purity
A
His fresshe May, his paradis, his make
9
Q
possession, control, (total ownership), blurring pleasure with holiness - physical posses.
A
‘Her mighte han hire al’
10
Q
control/dominance, proleptic irony, simile - moulding, young - manipulate, pliable, trained
A
‘Warm wex with handes plye’
11
Q
possession, objectification - lacks emotional investment, transactional, juxtaposes marriage cermonony
A
‘She was feffed in his lond’
12
Q
arduous nature of marriage, parallels merchant, expense, suffering associated with marriage, juxtaposes Januarie’s naive view
A
‘I finde in but cost and care
12
Q
sense of predictability in marriage, personal attributes and experiences, dometic, discomfort in marriage
A
‘I woot best where wringesth me my sho’
13
Q
marriage gods weapon of punishment, reality, marriage may cause sufficient suffering - purged, god sanctioned bliss juxt by god sanctioned punishment
A
‘She may be your purgatorie’
14
Q
irony, sycophantic, dismisses religious authoritee, obsequious lang
A
I holde you’re owne conseil is the beste’
15
Q
semantic pejoration meaning of word becomes negative, subverting definition of honour, high status
A
Worthy knight’
16
Q
mental mirror - enjoying reflections (superficial imager) -, transactional view of marriage, commercial, physical value
A
‘Mirour,polisshed bright,/commune market place’
17
Q
hyperbolic dismissal, blithe, invective way of engaging with authority, baseless dismissal, ironic - merchant trying to make januarie’s view unconvincing
A
Writeth this man, ther God his bones corse’
18
Q
plosive and sibilance - evokes a sendr of fear, frozen, emotionally frozen and physically, submissive
A
‘stille as a stoon’,
19
Q
mythological reference to cupid, proleptic irony - juxtaposed by Januaries commodification, moral blindness/ blind to reality
A
‘For Love is blind alday, and may nat see’
20
Q
morally misguided januarie, viewing as a path to easy, carefree, holy sanctified way,
A
‘to lede in ese and hooliness his lyf’
21
Q
marriage is heaven on earth cannot gain eternal life in real heaven - sustained irony, naive
A
‘in erthe and eek in heaven’
22
Q
commodify, predatorial, dehumanisation, ownership, adj - young, innocence, sexual desire to consumer wholly.
A
‘tendre veel/creature’
23
Q
phallic imagery, violent, harmful depiction, comic delusion
A
‘corage … so sharp and keene’
24
lustful desire, intoxicated by desire, blind to actions, prol iron
‘Dronken in plesaunce’
25
suffering/pain of intense love - fantasy, true pain of love, becoming almost mad - an attempt to evoke pathose undermined by hyperbole
'verray peyne he was ny wood
26
ironic undermining of the marriage, courtly love with Damyien, letter lacks value - scatological undermining of the passion of courtly love
privee softely ... /secrely that no wight of it wiste’ (67)
27
- Januarie’s view of Damyien shows his foolishness and short-sightedness, subversion of traits deemed good for squire as harnessed for deception, ironic, metaphorically blind to damyien’s deception.
‘gentil squire by my trouthe’ , ‘wys, discreet’
28
damning indictment/reveal, undermines all his actions, not affected, doing what she is contracted to do
‘She preyseth nat his pleying worth a bene
29
status difference, deceptions Damyien lusts for May - appears servile, animal imagery - sexual appetite for may, ‘dog’ - often a symbol for loyalty becomes a symbol of deception, app vs reality
dide a dogge for the bowe’
29
although May appears obedient and submissive she is deceptive. both seductive and treacherous, May as a figure of moral corruption, The scorpion metaphor - medieval antifeminism = women as duplicitous and untrustworthy,
‘scorpion so deceyvable’
30
animal imagery - commodifying, meat of greatest quality, juicy tender - consumption,
‘Old boef is the tendre veel
31
brash, lack of emotional depth, a job/duty, not an affectionate intimacy, januarie's age restricts him, unpleasant, prolonged image, satrical comedy, self- amplified view of self, virility and strength.
Ther is no werkmen ... wol ve doon at leyser parfitly’
32
(personified winter) Tina Davidson
The personified force of winter attempts to repress the resurgent spring. Needless to say, winter always fails”
32
canrivorous,brutal fish, violent, territorial - ironic, undermining of oneself
pyk
33
Tina Davidson
“By letting May off the hook, Chaucer shows the inevitability of youths victory over age”
34
John Thorne
January's bending of religious authority to his own selfish purposes leaves religion untouched but adds to our sense of his delusion and error'
35
'January shops for his bride'
Stephanie A. Tolliver
36
- Donaldson
"Marriage in The Merchant's Tale is presented as a commercial transaction, stripped of idealism and reduced to the basest self-interest."
36
- Mann
"Chaucer’s use of fabliau and irony transforms what might have been a simple moral tale into a complex critique of human folly."
37
Pearsall
"The Merchant's Tale undermines the clerical ideal of marriage by exposing the gap between theory and practice." -
38
ironic subversion of desire and wedding night, subverts sexual prowess
‘T’encressen his courage’
39
May lowering herself, unconventional as ‘lady of the house’, within the intimate setting of his room - is position as a lovesick, bed-bound figure reinforcing the idea that his passion has physically overwhelmed him, serves as a vehicle for deceit and betrayal
‘Beddes side sit she than/comfortinge him’
40
Januarie’s insistence on a young wife reflects his desire for control and his illusion that youth guarantees obedience and satisfaction, delusions regarding his own vitality and sexual prowess, and ironic undermining of his religious arguments for marriage.
"She shal nat passe twenty yeer"
41
diminishes philosophy, exclamative, januarie dismissing authority, naive
‘Straw for they senek and thy proverbs!
42
‘I woot wel that my lord kan moore than I’
through sycophantic, ironic: emphasizing januarie as naive, ‘lord’ - elevated status, never contradicts
43
harsh, sandpaper beard - rough and sharp ironically undercut his attempts for care and affectionate, animal imagery - primal, aggressive, natural imagery - abrasive
Lyk to the skin of houndfissh, sharp as brere'
44
views actions as harmful and aggressive, legal term - criminality of behaviour
yow greetly offende
45
tender, excited januarie, affectionate, compassionate
'he taketh hire, and kisseth hire ful ofte'
46
power difference between wife and husband, januarue knight - parody or romantic love
'he seyde, han som plesaunce'
47
The garden is an allegorical space that echoes the Garden of Eden. It serves as a setting for deception and betrayal, just as the biblical Eden was the site of humanity’s fall. Januarie’s attempt to enclose and possess May. idealized retreat for Januarie and May, symbolizing his delusion of marital bliss. However, it ironically becomes the stage for May's infidelity with Damyan.
"a gardyn, walled al with stoon"
48
'he wepth and he waileth ... the fyr of jalousie' (line 859)
- parallels merchants prologue - torturous imagery of hell
- fire imagery symbolises the anti-feminist ideas of suffering in marriage as a result of the deceptive nature of women
- January's excessive lamentation can be seen as both pathetic and ironic
- the metaphor of fire illustrates jealousy as a destructive, consuming force - however, the Merchant’s cynical tone encourages the audience to mock Januarie rather than sympathize with him.
49
'but ever live as widwe in clothes blake/soul as the turtle that lost hath hire make'
- extreme possessiveness - control in life and also posthumous control over her.
- (turtledove) is a common medieval symbol of fidelity, as turtledoves were believed to mate for life - embody absolute loyalty
- Dramatic Irony: this expectation contrasts sharply with the plot, as May, his young wife, is neither faithful nor devoted
50
''or elles she moot than him as hir leste'
- subverting ideals of innocence and naivety - ironic -not a grand passion, lust driven, hyperbole - presenting passionate, love relationship.
- Chaucer’s satire of marriage is evident here. Januarie, convinced that he controls May, is in reality blind (both literally and metaphorically) to her actions.
51
For as good is blind deceyved be/ as to be deceyved,whan a man may se.
- spoken by the narrator, reflecting on Januarie’s blindness
- lamenting Apostrophe - inevitability - irony of situation
- naive - metaphorically blind
52
'warm wex had emprented the clicket/ .. small wicket'
- Wax as a Symbol of Male Control: reflects his belief that he can shape May into an obedient and submissive wife - ironic subversion
- The key represents male authority and penetration, while the gate symbolizes female sexuality. By taking the key and making a wax impression, May metaphorically and literally takes control of her own sexual autonomy.
- ingenuity and deceit of women - anti-feminist ideals
53
'my wyf, my love, my lady free/ .. my dowves sweere''
- triplet - used to intensify and emphasise his hyperbolic declaration of love
- repetition of 'my' - possessive language
- 'lady free' - ironic - seeks to control and imprison her, both physically (within his walled garden) and metaphorically (through marriage).
- dove - symbol of fidelity - proleptically ironic and depicts May's capacity for deception and emphasise Januarie as naive senex figure
54
'The winter is goon with alle he reynes weete'
- suggests a transition into spring
- January as symbolic of winter - ironic, unwitting celebration of winter's gone
55
'Forbere to been out of you're compaignye/ for verray love'
- January’s love is possessive - surface level and transactional
- ironic: he believes his love is reciprocated, but in reality, his marriage is built on illusion.
- viewing relationship as true love - ironic,
56
"Damyan sitteth...among the fresshe leves grene"
- natural imagery -> spring, renewal, vitality -> contrats d as young virile lover with aged Januarie who symbolises winter
- setting of the garden, mirrors the garden of eden -> Januarie - naive fantasy of martial bliss and control over may ironically subverted has become a space of deception and adultery
57
‘And she obeyeth, be hire lief or looth’
> female subjugation -> januaries dominance due to both masculinity and high class -> May not satisfied or content, due to rhming nature of looth and wrooth - emphasises a sense of discomfort or loathing.
> reflects the patriarchal expectations of medieval marriage, where women were expected to be obedient to their husbands regardless of their own desires.
> ironically subverts Januarie's idealistic 'fantasyne' of martial bliss and perfect love
58
‘the tresons whiche that wommen doon to man’
> Dialectic debate between pluto and prosperina -> pluto represents antifemnist views of women as treacherous and innately decietful
> Merchant as the narrator, bitter and disillusioned view of marriage - presenting his views through pluto.
59
Man may do no sinne with his wyf. Ne hurte himselven with his owene knyf
> Januarie -> moral salvation through marriage ironically subverted by his lust and desire for may his intentions are not as pure as he intends to potray.
> his - possessive pronoun sense of ownership over may through marriage
> Knyf: May likened to a weapon - ironically subverting Januaries idelaistic vision of marriage -> dangerous
> moral and intellectual blindness—he assumes divine approval for his desires: self-deception
60
'gan pullen up the smok, and in he throng’
> crude, blunt and graphic sexual image
- subverts courtly love - > never sexual consummation - undermines any notion of romance
> he verb “gan” adds a sense of immediacy and Throng" is an intense verb that conveys forcefulness and lack of ceremony
> indecent within the context of medieval literature
> adheres to a fabliau-like conclusion of the tale, where May, despite being married to the elderly January, deceives him by having an affair with Damian.
61
Proserpina: ‘that in sovereyne bontee, nis noon but God, but neither he ne she.
> Proserpina provides a different interpretation of gender roles by declaring that men and women are equally inferior to God - both flawed, contends with Pluto’s male-centric view of morality and justice
> that supreme goodness or virtue belongs only to God, and no mortal can truly embody it.
> directly challenges Pluto’s assertion that women are deceitful and deserve punishment.
> Chaucer through this dilactic debate is exploring different ideas in relation to gender including antifeminist and proto-feminist ideas
62
'And folwed ay his bodily delit/ On wommen, ther as was his appetit'
> January has always indulged in bodily pleasures, making his sudden desire for a “holy” marriage seem hypocritical -> undermining it and presenting Janurie as deceptive
> "Bodily delit" - hendonistic indulgence
> reducing lust and desire, animalistic urge -> carnal motivations for marriage
63
"Amonges a thousand men yet foond I oon, But of wommen alle foond I noon" - pluto
> patraichal view of women as innately decietful and treacherous in a post-lapsarian society suffering from original sin
> Solomon - biblical allusion as authorities is ironically undermined by solomon being punished by god for turning away from him
64
"this worthy knight", "blind and old" and "his owene man shall make him cokewold"
> 'worthy' - semantic pejoration -> lack of virtue and satirises chivalric ideals
> language which is intended to evoke pathos - sympathetic portrayal of a
65
"old, blinde, worthy knight"
> blindness - morally blind/naive
66
Prosperina: "wol ye so?"
shorter questions - potraying her as more confident and challenging partrichal views - more colloquial - presenting a more contemporary outlook
67
Prosperina's gift: "i shall yevem hire suffisant answere/alle wommen after for hir sake"
Prosperina is depicted as strong and independant, structurally dominating the speech in this dialectic debate - significant in a tale where men (like Januarie) seek to control women
> subverts traditionally biblical/divine intervention acting not to uphold truth, but to protect women using deception
> proto-feminist -> kind of collective female resistance to male control, turning the stereotype of the deceitful woman into a tool of empowerment.
> deception as necessary tools for survival in a male-dominated world.
68
“blisse which that is bitwixe hem tweye/Ther may no tonge telle, or herte thynke.”
inexpressibility trope, can't capture in words, ironic - can't express because these virtues and traits don't exist -> emphasises merchants mocking and satrical tone
69
"Whan tendre youthe hath wedded stoupyng age, Ther is swich myrthe that it may nat be written."
> blends occupation with the inexpressibility trope - encouraging the reader to imagine a comic and ironic reality beneath the polished surface
> Merchant pretends to be tasteful or restrained, but he’s really mocking the characters - builds the Merchant’s sarcastic, critical tone
> line becomes deeply ironic -> mirthe evoked by absurdity and uncomfortable coupling
70
""O Januarie, brother, Ful litel nede hadde ye, my lord so deer,"
Circumlutio - parody sycophantic behaviour in court or noble households., emphasises insincere politeness and exaggerated reverence.
71
"han they sye hir tyme, goon to reste, Soone after that, this hastif Januarie"
> Chaucer ridicules Januarie’s urgency and foolishness, using circumlocution to make it more comic
> allows the Merchant to maintain a veneer of discretion while satirising Januarie’s lustful haste.
72
“But God woot what that May thoughte in hir herte.”
occupatio - emphasises may's reaction
- Merchant first says, “God knows what May thought”, implying that May's thoughts are mysterious or unknown — but then immediately reveals May's inner disdain for Januarie’s “pleying”
- This contrast mockingly highlights Januarie's and emphasises mays reaction
73
In two of Tawr, was into Cancre glyden;
- medieval interets in astrological - would be easily understood reference
- mars and venys - colliding and contradictory entities -> opposites in marriage
- circumlutio - elevated manner of speech to potray the passage of time
74
This purs hath she inwith hir bosom hyd/ And wente hire wey; ye gete namoore of me.
- inexpressibility trope
- sexualised placement for the letter -> deception
- scrupulous, coy omission - mock modesty -> also sued to highlight merchants belief that women are trecherous
75
"shrewe" / "labbing shrewe" - Host
- reductive image of a blabbing, talkative wyf.
- deep-rooted misogyny in medieval literature - one of the stock medieval figures Chaucer uses.
76
"he stoupeth down and on his bak she stood"
- visually - power balance - change in power dynamics
- reversal of power - ironic foolish januarie as facilitating adultery
- 'stoupeth' - verb - literal humiliation of January, insignificant, foolish - senex figure, pathos undermined by comic reality
77
"Do strepe me and put me in a sak"
- performative, hyperbolic -> brutal punishment, attempts to depict her self-imperiling loyalty
- dramatic irony, proleptic irony - deceptive, submissiveness as a tool to create an unsuspecting facade of a doting wife
78
"I have assured in you're hond/whan that preest to yow my body bond"
- invoking the religious sanctity of marriage,- through references to the marriage ceremony and vows. ironic - literally must hold Januarie's hand - bound physically to him
- merchant -> language and religious rhetoric can be manipulated, for deception
- May weaponising the very ideology that traps her.
79
"I have mad yow see" "that evere I was so kind"
- dramatic irony: May's cunning and Januarie's gullibility
- Manipulation deliberality causing January to question his own senses and memory, asserting her innocence with complete confidence
- accusatory language - ingratitude
80
"ther may ful many a sighte yow bigile"
- irony - emphasises women's deception and present may as opportunistic.
- cynical view of both May’s manipulativeness and January’s foolishness
- facilitates future adultery and deception
81
"upon peril of my soul"
- religious language presents aldultrous affair as a scrifice made for his betterment
- risks her slavation for him - roesent herself as the most dutiful loving wife.
82
"Ymenus, that god of wedding is/saugn never his lyf, so myrie a wedded man "
- classical allusion - undercuts this grandiosity with irony, presenting this as not a genuine expression of love and joy but rather a surface level transaction based on lust
- hyperbole - satirises both January’s self-delusion and the idealisation of marriage.
83
"man that waketh out of his sleep/may nat sodemly wol taken keep"
May's swift and cunning manipulation, calm explanation - prosperina's gift. physically blind before but saw more clearly = ironic. reinforces fabliaux ending
84
"a cry as dooth the moodre whan the child shall die"
an attempt to evoke pathos, depicts intensity of feelings.
hyperbole - merhcnat mocking Januarie - as he facilitated his own deception.
85
"slakke skin about his neck shaketh"
grotesque image - sibilance - enhances discomfort
- emphasises age and depicts him as lecherous old man - January as a figure of ridicule.
> grotesque reality of his lust = aligns with the fabliau tradition — a genre known for crude physicality
86
"sholde leccherye eschue/ and yelde hir dette whan that is due"
- religiously misguided - avoid lechery. sexual gratification - moral salvation
- st paul's teaching of marriage debt
