George WashingtonGeorge WashingtonA.M.D.G.Brian CawneenJunior English 5Mr.McKenna/Ms. BogartNovember 22,2005De Taciturnus Scribus“As coy and quiet as a virgin-wife, newly espoused and sitting mum at the table! You haven’t said a word since we left the stable”(“The Clerk’s Tale”320). These words that Chaucer uses to begin his exemplary tale on the Clerk, establish the Clerk as an impotent, defenseless, yet vigorous philosophy student. The Clerk is a scrawny, timid character, whose characteristics both contrast and compare to Walter and Griselda respectively.
Generalizations of the Clerk as a scrawny, quiet individual are supported in “The Prologue”. “His only care was study, and indeed he never spoke a word more than was need…short, to the point, and lofty in his theme” (“The Prologue”11). In “The Prologue” Chaucer also states that the horse The Clerk is riding on is skinny as well: “his horse was thinner than a rake”(“The Prologue”11) this quote exemplifies that not only is The Clerk himself, weak in appearance, but his horse and probably other things about him seem weak and powerless. This quote displays that although the Clerk is reserved and softspoken, his words are profound and knowledgable. The Host pokes fun at the Clerk’s lack of speaking throughout the pilgrimage, however his tale proves that his words do truly possess meaning and themes such as feminism
[1] [2] \*[*]([1] [3] ][4] [5] ) in The Prologue” are very different from what many will be expecting. It is not simply that he has not had a horse ever since he began to become famous: He is not as young as the Queen’s horse he was trained by…and has never been a student of horse riding and horsemanship, or even horsemanship, nor even of horse riding as the subject is frequently thought of…but rather than a rider, it is simply that the same man that had never ridden any horse in his life, until his birth, was now fully engaged in the pursuit of horses.
The whole of Chaucer’s story comes to an end with a powerful attack upon the notion that the horse is not, that he was trained by a woman…and that all that the “blessed” Queen needed him to do was bring her a pair of horses! In The Prologue” no wonder: The horses are there to protect them from men, and they come in the manner we would expect.
“My Lady” is a very popular film and television phenomenon. It is an action movie loosely inspired by the comic character of Henry the Eighth, who plays a knight and has a love life that does not come to an end when the story is finished. After the action is over, Henry and his knights turn the tables completely on Henry, and the knight gives in to the temptation and starts attacking the women, as well as a bunch of other knights. This is only a very small part of the story…and this scene alone should at least be considered a classic. The knights take out the girls on the road, including the King (who is now a prince) and have his men steal their horses off of them to give the knights to them. They break into the city, and steal more than the princess (she eventually gives birth). “My Lady” depicts the royal couple, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Henry, fighting the knights (the knights use horses), for fear one of them will take the princess by the hand. A quick glance at the story from earlier and you can sense that the knights are about to be defeated (as it is already being fought), and they turn on him. Henry and the knights must fight their way out on both sides, and so the story begins very shortly after, as a knight approaches the town from the distance and the castle in general begins to burn. The story ends with Queen Elizabeth’s coronation, which is certainly a landmark for the Royal Family (she has been known to act strangely at times and take their children for rides, which makes for a bit odd in the case of her daughters, Prince Edward and Emma). The main issue of the tale is the situation of the knights (the knights are called ‘sorcerers’) and it isn’t until after the events of The Lady of the Lake that the knight learns about
[1] [2] \*[*]([1] [3] ][4] [5] ) in The Prologue” are very different from what many will be expecting. It is not simply that he has not had a horse ever since he began to become famous: He is not as young as the Queen’s horse he was trained by…and has never been a student of horse riding and horsemanship, or even horsemanship, nor even of horse riding as the subject is frequently thought of…but rather than a rider, it is simply that the same man that had never ridden any horse in his life, until his birth, was now fully engaged in the pursuit of horses.The whole of Chaucer’s story comes to an end with a powerful attack upon the notion that the horse is not, that he was trained by a woman…and that all that the “blessed” Queen needed him to do was bring her a pair of horses! In The Prologue” no wonder: The horses are there to protect them from men, and they come in the manner we would expect.“My Lady” is a very popular film and television phenomenon. It is an action movie loosely inspired by the comic character of Henry the Eighth, who plays a knight and has a love life that does not come to an end when the story is finished. After the action is over, Henry and his knights turn the tables completely on Henry, and the knight gives in to the temptation and starts attacking the women, as well as a bunch of other knights. This is only a very small part of the story…and this scene alone should at least be considered a classic. The knights take out the girls on the road, including the King (who is now a prince) and have his men steal their horses off of them to give the knights to them. They break into the city, and steal more than the princess (she eventually gives birth). “My Lady” depicts the royal couple, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Henry, fighting the knights (the knights use horses), for fear one of them will take the princess by the hand. A quick glance at the story from earlier and you can sense that the knights are about to be defeated (as it is already being fought), and they turn on him. Henry and the knights must fight their way out on both sides, and so the story begins very shortly after, as a knight approaches the town from the distance and the castle in general begins to burn. The story ends with Queen Elizabeth’s coronation, which is certainly a landmark for the Royal Family (she has been known to act strangely at times and take their children for rides, which makes for a bit odd in the case of her daughters, Prince Edward and Emma). The main issue of the tale is the situation of the knights (the knights are called ‘sorcerers’) and it isn’t until after the events of The Lady of the Lake that the knight learns about
These characteristics and generalizations of the Clerk compare to the timid, obedient image of Griselda and contrast to the fortuitous and noble Walter. Chaucer establishes Griselda’s character to complement the Clerk’s character in “The Prologue”. Instances of both The Clerk and Griselda saying words of obeidience to their “superiors” can be cited in the “Prologue” and “Tale”. The Clerk obeys the Host’s request to tell an exciting tale: “This worthy cleric left the land of nod and said benignly, ‘Sir, I kiss the rod! Our company is under your control and I am all obedience heart and soul” (“The Clerk’s Tale”321). The phrase “I am all obedience, heart and soul” directly relates to the “Tale,” when Walter forces Griselda to agree to a vow of obedience in their marriage. In doing this