After getting to read this piece, I came across some overall ideas. First of all, this can be classified as a feminist piece; and, as a overall concept, the story has different viewpoints from some of the other pieces we have read.
When it comes to being a feminist style of writing, readers observe the woman of the court taking a strong role of leadership. As we see the Knight in King Arthur's court, the wife of the King, along with some other ladies of the court, give him the second chance at life. The women inform him of going on this journey for a year, informing us readers that this is going to be another one of those epiphany moments. When I read this, I thought this was way ahead of its time. Chaucer definitely put himself way ahead of any other author of his time, by putting strong, independent female characters as leaders in his novels.
The one thing the really grabbed me in this was the idea that he had to answer the one question all men dread to be asked: What do women want most in this world? Guys, heart to heart moment, we don't even understand what is like to be a woman, let alone what they truly want. We can ask all of the women on this planet, and we still wouldn't know the answer to this Goddamn question. If I were in the Knight's shoes, I would beg for my head to be chopped off, because there is no way in hell I will ever know the answer to this question.
This was definitely a different style read than the other pieces we have read in this class for a lot of reasons, mainly the idea of reading in middle english, and it grabbed my attention right from the beginning. The concept of middle english is much different from today's english, For me, since I didn't obtain the book with middle english in it (amazon didn't have the book mentioned online... my life lol), I had to read this off of the Harvard website. In a couple of words I can describe to you that this was interesting and difficult to read. That's what grabbed me; the idea that I can have so much fun reading a book makes me want to read more and more.
Overall, I thought this was a great read. I read this story before my junior year of high school, and after reading this for a third time, I understand what the story is truly trying to tell me.
You mean this one? http://www.amazon.com/The-Canterbury-Tales-Prologue-Critical/dp/0393925870
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DeleteI enjoyed reading your perspective on the story. It was slightly hilarious. I agree that I liked how the story showed an image of empowered women especially since this was forward thinking for Chauncer at the time. I was pleasantly surprised that there were such strong and independent female characters because you do not see that as often with authors of that time period. I also liked how Chauncer threw in that dreaded question that there are numerous amounts of answers to. I agree that in Middle English it was a little difficult to read but once you got the hang of it, it was a good read.
ReplyDeleteI too had to read this story in high school, and for me it was the most interesting tale that we had to read and I am glad I got to talk about it with this class too. I did not think about it how you phrased Chaucer's version; that it is ahead of its time. I totally agree with that, and I appreciate the giving me something to look forward to in these stories that we have yet to read, and if they too are ahead of their time.
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