The Wife of Bath's Tale

The Wife of
Bath’s Tale
BY GEOFFREY
CHAUCER
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, we will be able
to:
 Know who Geoffrey Chaucer is.
 Identify the literary devices used in the
story.
 Analyze the story of “The Wife of Bath’s
Tale”.
 To explore the historical context that
informs this depiction of the rights of
women in marriage.
Motivational Activity
4 PICS, 1
WORD
THE AUTHOR
Geoffrey Chaucer, THE
- (born c. 1342 London, AUTHOR
England—died October
25, 1400, London)
- the outstanding English
poet before
Shakespeare and “the
first finder of our
language.”
- His The Canterbury
Tales ranks as one of the
greatest poetic works in
English.
THE AUTHOR
- Geoffrey Chaucer is considered one of the
first great English poets.
- He is the author of such works as The
Parlement of Foules, Troilus and Criseyde,
and The Canterbury Tales.
- Humorous and profound, his writings
show him to be an acute observer of his
time with a deft command of many
literary genres.
THE AUTHOR
- Written at the end of his life, The
Canterbury Tales is Geoffrey Chaucer’s
best-known work.
- a collection of 24 stories told by a group
of 30 pilgrims who travel from
Southwark to Canterbury to visit the
shrine of Thomas Beckett.
- Chaucer did not complete the work
before he died.
The Wife of Bath’s Tale
THE WIFE OF BATH’S TALE
The wife of Bath tells the story of the time
of King Arthur when England was the land of
fairies and elves. But, at that age as well,
women were dishonored and treated as sub-
humans because Friars rape women, Elves
raped women in those times.
One of King Arthur’s knights rapes a

woman whom he discovered while passing by
the forest. The whole court is outraged and
the punishment for such crime is death.
However, King Arthur bows down to the
decision of his wife. The queen promises to
spare the life of the knight if in one year’s time
he can bring the answer to the question: what
do women desire the most?
The knight goes on the journey of finding the
answer. He asks the same question every
woman he meets and every one of the replies
differently. Honour, lust, sexual satisfaction,
freedom, dominance, etc. were the answers he
gets from women.
Dissatisfied, while coming back, he sees the dance of

twenty-four ladies. When he tried to approach them,
they disappeared, leaving an old woman in their place for
the knight to find. The knight is promised to be given the
correct answer if he would grant her one request. The
knight agrees.
They appear in the court and the knight told the
answer to the queen: the women desire independence
and mastery over their husbands. The old lady
announces the knight’s promise in the open court
leaving the knight with no other choice.
He marries her next day but is completely
dissatisfied with the marriage. The old lady is
aware of his disappointment. He criticizes her
for being old and ugly. The old lady tells him
that the true beauty lies within.
The rich people might have deformed
character and poor might have a pure heart.
She asks him to choose between a wife who’s
faithful but old or young and beautiful but the
one who’d cuckold him. The knight says the
choice is yours, giving her sovereignty.
The knight gives her the authority to
choose and she says that she’d be both
beautiful and true. She asks him to kiss
her and when he does so, she turns into a
young beautiful lady. The wife concludes
by praying to Christ to grant every women
submissive husband and kill all those who
are not.
Background
Analysis
BACKGROUND ANALYSIS
 Women’s role and identity in society during the
medieval period were different from their role
and identity in society now. Women are still
living in a double-standard society, trying to
overcome many barriers.
 In the Middle Ages, women were primarily their
husbands’ possessions. Obviously, formal
education was not necessary for a woman,
since her fate had already been decided, which
was to be a housewife pleasing her husband all
her life, among many other tasks.
BACKGROUND ANALYSIS
 Women did have education, but not any formal
education, for they were denied the privilege of
college.
 Women were not involved in any part of society
whether it be the work force or whether it be
politically. It is quite ironic to see that even
though women have "come a long way", they
still are not involved in government, however,
they are now much more involved in the work
force.
BACKGROUND ANALYSIS
 Though times have not changed much, but a
woman of today has the right to choose how
she wants to live her life without being
subordinate to the male figure.
 there are still many double standards, things are
much better than in the Middle Ages.
 without meaning to sets an example, allowing
women to take stand to fight the injustices that
go on even today.
ANALYSIS
ANALYSIS
 The Wife of Bath uses the prologue to explain
the basis of her theories about experience
versus authority and to introduce the point that
she illustrates in her tale:
(1) The thing women most desire is complete
control ("sovereignty") over their husbands.
(2) The written work serve an idea of accepted
gender roles.
(3) This is a tale in which women not
only desire sovereignty, but get it.
(4) the Wife's fantasy of how the world ought to
be.
ANALYSIS
Tone: Straightforward
- the tone of "The Wife of Bath's Tale" is
straightforward, narrating the incidents it
relates with little embellishment or
emotion.
ANALYSIS
Genre: Quest, Breton lai
- "The Wife of Bath's Tale" is a Breton lai,
which is a short romance that features
knights, noble ladies and supernatural
incidents. This kind of tale originated in a
northeastern part of France called
Brittany, hence the adjective "Breton" to
describe it.
 Writing Style: Iambic Pentameter in Rhyming
Couplets, Fantastic and Hyperbolic
- point is that this is the language of fantasy,
with a hyperbole that befits its larger-than-life
quality. Another distinctive feature of "The Wife
of Bath's Tale" is consistent enough alliteration
that it's noticeable; after the knight hears his
punishment, "forcefully he seethe and winded
forth his way" – that's two fairly distinctive
instances of alliteration.
 Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
(1) The Knight - We are probably meant to
understand the knight as a symbol of the
sovereignty of all men, which may give way to
the power of women in the fantasy-world of the
romance, but firmly asserts itself at the margins
of this world.
(2) The Queen / The Loathly Lady - If the knight
is a symbol of men's sovereignty, then you can
probably guess what the queen and loathly lady
symbolize – that's right, women's sovereignty.
ANALYSIS
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGES:
- Allusion: to legendary British King
Arthur of the 5th and 6th Century.
- Irony: in the fact that the knight hoped
to gain wisdom in youth (Dancing ladies)
but instead gained wisdom in old age.
(The Old Hag)
- (symbolism): The old wife symbolizes
female dominance and sovereignty.
QUESTION AND ANSWER
1. What do women seek?
2. What are the figurative languages
mentioned?
3. What are the literary devices
used?
4. What is the request of the woman
that help the knight to find the
answer for his question?
5. What is the role of the queen?
FINAL ACTIVITY
1. Would you say that a good marriage is
basically an equal partnership, or do you
think that one person needs to be the
decision maker? Explain your opinions
(10 pts)
2. When it comes to the ways that men
and women interact, what is the
difference between attention and
respect? Which does the wife of bath
seek? (10 pts)
SOURCES:
https://englishsummary.com/lesson/wife-ba
ths-tale-summary/
http://csis.pace.edu/grendel/projf983a/wife.
htm

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The Wife of

One of King Arthur’s knights rapes a

Dissatisfied, while coming back, he sees the dance of

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