Dead, Alive, then Dead again.

In Prologe of the Wife of Bath, on page 279-280 after her fourth husband hits her because she ripped his book, she says, "And down I fell upon the floor for dead." Then after she tells him, "O have you murdered me, you robber, you" he says he shall never hit her again, and fears for her. She sits up, smacks him in the face, then lays back on the floor, and says, "Now let me die, I can't speak anymore."

If she had the engery to smack her husband on the face, she should be able to live, or at the very least speak. Why did she have such a burst of energy when she was supposed to be laying as if dead, then afterwords, couldn't speak because she is so near death?

Wife of Bath

In the prologue of the Wife of Bath, she tells of her fourth husband's funeral. She goes on to say that they get married a month after her previous husband was buried in the grave

In this time period, weren't there social rules which forced the lady to mourn for a certain period of time? And even if she did disregard the customs, would a respectable clerk, who hates women, agree to re-marry the Wife of Bath so quickly after the death of her fourth husband? It seems very unrealistic to me.

Love

When Palamon first sees Emily, he blanches and falls madly in love. After being locked in a cell for such a long time with only his friend as company he has not seen a woman for ages. Being so crazed, he cannot belive his eyes, and calls this lady a goddess. However, when Arcite saw her, he must have been more in his senses than his friend.

This lady could be the most beautiful woman in the world, she could also be a normal lady. Like tasting your first meat after weeks of eating nothing but crackers, or seeing color for the first time after living in a gray room. This would explain why Palamon first thought she was a goddess.

Later, Palamon leaves the prison and now loves the woman still, as a woman, not goddess, because he has been exposed to more of real life than just the inside of that cell.

Overall, they do love her equally, despite the fact Palamon first thought her a goddess.

Difference in Love, or not?

In the Knight's tale, two miserable knights are locked in a dungeon and happen to see the beautiful Emily wandering in the gardens. Instantly, both prisinors are smitten with her, although Palamon sees her more of a goddess figure, while Arcite sees her as she is - a pretty woman.

As Arcite and Palamon are arguing over who should love Emily, their varying feelings show through. (Pg. 34) [Palamon to Arcite] "'I loved her first and told my grief to you as to the brother and friend that I swore to further me, as I have said before, so you are bound in honour as a knight to help me, should it lie within your might; else you are false, I say, your honour vain!' Arcite proudly answered back again: 'You shall be judged as false,' he said, 'not me; and false you are, I tell you, utterly! I loved her as a woman before you. What can you say? Just now you hardly knew if she was girl or goddess from above!'"

At first, I think their loves were different, Palamon feeling more worshiping adoration then Arcite, but after they both got out of prision and by the time they went to duel for Emily's hand, they felt the same way about this pretty girl.

~Hannah

Canterbury Tales Rap in Middle English

Everyman Scene from Independent Production

I think this scene is actually quite powerful, isn't it? It is all very bizarre, of course, but that in itself contributes to giving the thing an otherworldly feel that is quite appropriate. I also think it is a good example of the point I made in class about how stories and human interactions can be more compelling than abstract arguments. The scene we see here definitely leaves more of an impression than if one were to read something general about how all men have to die, and how you have to be ready because you never know when death may come. In this scene one gets an idea of the real surprise and terror Everyman feels, which one might not get from the mere statement of the facts.

Lego Everyman