2. The Wife of Bath's Tale is considered by some critics to indicate that Chaucer may have been a feminist. Why might they believe this? Do you agree? Remember to cite evidence from the text or some other source.
3. Hahn's essay (see critical reader) on The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle identifies the motif of the loathly lady, but arguably it has a different purpose than asserting the feminine. What does he think the function of the story is?
4. In the context of Elizabethan and Jacobean sonnets, how can we define "conceits"?
5. Discuss what you think is the most striking or outrageous example.
6. What does Revard (1997) suggest about the relationship between language, sex, power and transgression in the English Renaissance?
(Part 1) 4. In the context of Elizabethan and Jacobean sonnets, how can we define "conceits"?
ReplyDelete5. Discuss what you think is the most striking or outrageous example
In poetry, comparisons and metaphors are everything. They allow for connections between otherwise unrelated entities, and, in the right hands, they can showcase an aspect of humanity in a brilliantly relatable way. The masters of this style of writing were the poets of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, especially those that tended towards metaphysical poetry.
The biggest tool in the arsenal of metaphysical poets was the ‘conceit’. According to Abrams (1993), conceits are “metaphors that are intricately woven into the verse, often used to express satire, puns, or deeper meanings within the poem…” In other words, a conceit is an extended metaphor that has been further extended to take the place of the entire ‘narrative’ of the poem. A well-written conceit will often feature powerful imagery which evoke an intrinsic understanding of the poet’s key message. They take a poem a step beyond a simple comparison and allow the comparator to take the stage as the focal point. A typical simile – “her eyes like the stars themselves” – can instead form the entire poem, alluding to the true, deeper meaning in a subtle, metaphysical approach.
There were many poets who were able to employ conceits in a starkly unique and vivid style. John Donne, a poet most commonly known as the quintessential metaphysical poet, used conceits in various ways to create incredible allusions, of which few poets could hope to replicate. One of his most famous poems, “The Flea”, toys with the idea of an illicit sexual relationship, pre-marriage, between a noble and a peasant, that could not possibly be fulfilled. The lover imagines the mingling of the two’s blood within a flea - “It sucked me first, and now sucks thee/ And in this flea our two bloods mingled be” (Donne, 1633). In this distinct scenario, within the confines of a flea’s internal systems, the lovers’ body’s (in the form of their blood) can finally be together at last. Their love can finally be consummated, as their bodily substances mix and become one. However, just as love can be stamped out with force, so too can the body of a flea; the flea is crushed, and with it, all hope of the narrator’s dreams of forbidden love with the one he admires. This instance of a conceit is perfect to display the power that a well utilized conceit can possess; Donne uses it to convey a message that otherwise would be far too perverse and difficult to portray. By personifying their love in such a continuously developed, subtle manner, Donne shows an aspect of the “admirer from afar” that is unique in its depiction of a hopeless love.
(Part 2) Another brilliant poem that displays conceits in their purest form is written by the great Sir Philip Sidney. Titled “My True-Love Hath My Heart”, the conceit within this piece describes two lovers that have physically exchanged hearts to consummate their love for one another.
Delete“My true-love hath my heart, and I have his,/ By just exchange one for the other given:/ I hold his dear, and mine he cannot miss;/ There never was a bargain better driven.” (Sidney, 1554 – 1586)
To many, the simplicity of this concept, but the strong, underlying thematic issues that it deals with illustrate conceits fantastically. The concept of physically placing your lover’s heart in your own body, and vice versa, describes a kind of love that surpasses the boundaries of the typical human concept of love. Love in the real world is a metaphysical emotion; it does not exist physically. Only within the confines of consciousness can love truly exist, and thus, it cannot be physically observed, touched, or smelt. Yet, in Sidney’s poem, we see a physical depiction of love. By exchanging hearts, the lovers are connected physically in a way that otherwise could not be achieved. They depend on their new hearts, just as they depend on one another’s love. Following this already intensely provocative description of love, Sidney’s conceit shows the pain that love causes. To physically rip out one’s heart and grant it to another would cause any human being a pain that goes beyond measure; in doing this, Sidney shows that love can oftentimes cause a similar sort of pain. Without a strong conceit such as this, such a level of depth could hardly be achieved within such a small piece.
Conceits are perhaps the most powerful tool in a poet’s arsenal. By allowing for enough time to develop the conceit effectively, a poet can be prescribe much more meaning into their work than simple extended metaphors, personifications or similes could ever achieve. It truly transports the reader into the mind of the poet, and allows for a better understanding of the true message of the poem, whilst still leaving a degree of uncertainty – a very postmodern concept that was truly far ahead of its time. Those metaphysical poets that chose to employ such conceits are often referred to as the masters of wordplay, and throughout their works showcased a cunning, intelligent approach to writing that has hardly been replicated since.
References
Abrams, M.H. (1993). The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 6th ed. New York:W.W. Norton and Company.
Donne, J. (1633). The Flea. In Abrams, M.H. (1993), The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 6th ed. New York:W.W. Norton and Company.
Sidney, P. (1554 – 1586). My True-Love Hath My Heart. In Carpenter, F. (1906), English Lyric Poetry 1500 – 1700. London: Blackie & Son.
I really love the way that literature of the past, a bit more so than no, tends to focus on themes above all else it's really interesting given that character and story are focused on more these days.
DeleteThank you for your blog. it is amazing. you explained ‘conceits' very clearly and easy to understand. However, I think metaphysics poems are not very meaningful. Because, we even can't control ourselves to keep permanent,how can we require our partner love us forever? The misery of love is not significant at all.
DeleteHowever, the poems are beautiful themselves.I like metaphor expressed irony, puns or deeper meanings of the poems. They need deep writing skills. Personally, I think love is just a very wonderful memory, that is enough.
DeleteHello there, i agree with both authors above but maybe add some examples of your own and what you believe and what u think about the conceits and etc.
DeleteI will be answering question 2.
ReplyDeleteWhether or not Chaucer was a feminist is, in my opinion, more complicated than yes or no, often questions of ideology are, thankfully, more complex than such simple answers.
Feminism as a concept is always to be defined by the time period. To ask "Was Geoffery Chaucer a feminist?" is to ask a combination of other questions which I will answer one by one for the sake of staying on topic. 1. what makes a feminist work in middle English? 2. What was Chaucer's intention with this story? And 3. Can it even be answered through the text?
1. The closest to feminist literature that The Wife of Bath's tale ever really gets is saying that rape is bad and that women want sovereignty. That doesn't seem like much by modern standards, but at the time women were considered property and it wasn't even agreed upon that they had souls. At the time having a piece of writing that outright said that women have agency of their own and wished to have sovereignty and rights would have been a radical and to some deeply disturbing suggestion. That being said Sir Gawain does not receive a punishment that would even approach being considered appropriate for the crime by modern standards. Sir Gawain's punishment for rape is to marry a woman who he thinks is ugly. Oh no, what a disaster.
2. The Wife of Bath's tale is something of a perverse parody of the Irish myth of Sovereignty and it may have been specifically to spit in the eye of that mythology rather than to actually tell any kind of female empowerment story. The Irish mythological version of the story was the explanation for the Irish royal lineage, descending from Sir Gawain. Him having taken a wife who would be considered ugly but who became the beautiful goddess Sovereignty. Here Sir Gawain is recast into a rapist of an innocent woman and as the eventual unwilling husband of an ugly woman representing Sovereignty as punishment who has all the power over him.
3. Can it even be answered through this text? That's another question more difficult than yes or no. First of all, it is impossible to get into well and truly understand what Chaucer was thinking given that he's been dead for centuries and his socio-political positions aren't really something that we can fully understand and his feelings and beliefs are lost to time. Secondly, it's not unheard of for works of satire to be presented as though they may have been more genuine than they are The Starship Troopers film being an excellent example of this. And above both of these is the concept of the death of the author, which states that the politics, religion, class, etc of an author should not be taken as any more important than anything else in literary criticism and analysis.
All and all while it is a very fascinating question, the best answer I can possibly give is "Maybe, who knows?".
Harvard university. (2008, April 8). Chaucer: The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale -- An Interlinear Translation. Retrieved from http://sites.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/teachslf/wbt-par.htm
Verhoeven, P. (Director). (n.d.). Starship troopers [1997]. United States of America: Touchstone Pictures.
Tvtropes.com. (n.d.). Death of the Author. Retrieved from https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DeathOfTheAuthor
Hey Sam, you took a really interesting approach to answering this question. I like the way that you broke down the answer into its most important constituents, and your answers to these are thorough and well thought out. My only thought is that perhaps you'd have more of an inspiration in your writing if you chose to argue a side? Rather than taking the middle ground, it would be more interesting of a viewpoint to investigate deeper and try and find evidence for either perspective. That way, as a reader, we get to see your views and opinions. In saying that, your writing style was great and I really enjoyed the slight satirical approach you took. Good stuff.
Delete2. The Wife of Bath's Tale is considered by some critics to indicate that Chaucer may have been a feminist. Why might they believe this? Do you agree? Remember to cite evidence from the text or some other source.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion I do believe that Chaucer could be considered a feminist. However did he intentionally mean to be one, I do not think so. Feminism is a very broad term. I define being a feminist as a individual wanting equal rights for women, whether it's in a work environment or in a social environment. Brunell and Burkett (2019) describe feminism as the belief in social, economic, and political equality of the sexes. While writing The Wife of Bath, Chaucer was trying to tell us what he thinks women want. The Wife of Bath's tale is about a knight that rapes a women thinking she's a peasant. Queen Guinevere would spare him the death penalty by one condition. He had to find out what women desire most. He goes around town asking people what women desire most, no one knew the answer until he met an old ugly lady. She says she’ll tell him the answer, but he has to marry her. He ends up marrying her because his life is at stake, the answer to what women desire most was sovereignty. The loathly lady gives the knight the choice. Either she becomes old but faithful or young but not faithful. He replies by saying “I put myself in your hands whatever you want my wife.” Her we can tell that he is giving her all the power so she ends up making all the decisions and choices. In the end she turns into a beautiful young lady.
Feminism was introduced not until the late 1880s. Chaucer wrote The Wife of Bath's tale in 1405. Feminism at the time wasn't introduced no one knew of it. I believe that Chaucer was a feminist, unfortunately he could not express that or be vocal about it. However he showed us he was a feminist through the Wife of Bath. In the Wife of Bath we could tell that women were the center of everything happening. The queen has to decide whether she wants to give him the death penalty or not. We can also clearly tell the loathly lady had control over the knight. Chaucer was giving his audience the message that women are capable of doing what men can do and even more. Women were able to make decisions and deserve to be respected just as much as men. Some people argued that Chaucer was more anti-feminist than feminist. He raped a girl so people were questioning whether or not he was really considered a feminist. Furthermore I do believe that Chaucer was a feminist. Although at the time there was no specific definition of “feminism” and women still did not have equal rights. Women did not have the right to vote, get a proper education or even conduct a business without a male figure being there.
References:
Brunell, L. and Burkett, E. (2019). Feminism. [online] Encyclopedia Britannica.Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/feminism/
Dictionaries, O. (2011). A brief history of feminism. [online] OxfordWords blog. Available at: https://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2011/03/08/international-womens-day/
Msfostersenglishvids. (2012, November 15). The Wife of Bath's Tale - animated. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3cvOm7qStk
I like your critical view of Chaucer in regards to feminism, giving your personal understanding towards the term. However, could you suggest Chaucer was doing this in a manner as though he was making a mockery of female rights ?. just something to think about.
DeleteHi , I read your blog because I have done good research and answer the same question as you which is " The wife of Bath's tales" I am feminist too and I think women desire sovereignty over men its ridiculous because God is sovereign over us. So I don't know what was Chaucer's try to say .
ReplyDeleteI could totally agree with Chris as to the interpretation and the analysis of the concept of conceit ss I have already selected and discussed the same point of discussion. Specifically, in his interpretation to the evolve and powerfulness of conceit idea in this sonnet. I like the way in which Chris included the postmodern idea in his explanation since this could give a sense of how the conceit idea is predominated in Shakespeare’s sonnet
ReplyDeleteSince I have tackled The Wife of Bath’s tale I can a bit disagree with Sam to some extend and specifically in some points in his analysis to the narrative. The controversial point of Sam is that he is kind of overstated and exaggerated his explanation as to The Wife of Bath’s tale particularly the spit in the eye phrase. The final part of his clarifications are reasonable and meaningful to the point.
ReplyDelete1 According to Chaucer (c.1930), the cruel of a woman express she belongs to the wild world; her unstable body is chaos like a forest. Beauty (although is not described) but also wild in her body’s female character. Strong, independent and positive takes part in the desire, against and control ability. As a woman, this is a woman; this is a woman who knows who she is. She hopes and will create a miracle for herself: her selfish desire is a challenge for the hero but not control water source. One of the reference points may Acteon, a hunting man came across a revenging woman then obedient.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Hahn (1995), ‘A loathly lady’ is a part of common allegories in Middle Ages. As a king must face the challenge, then he can require the sovereign land. Sovereign goddess first appeared as an ugly witchy. She wanted to get married to the king. At first, he did not agree, but if he forced her, she will become a beautiful woman. After that, she became his partner and the source of legitimacy of his dominates. Although the author himself concealed to these fables.
According to Chu and Zhao (n. d.), a loathly lady was cursed ugly. She got rid of the charm when she married Sir Gawain.
The loathly woman was a woman who wanted to be her. She also asked Sir Gavin whether he wanted her to be beautiful during the daytime or at night. She was not happy with any decision Sir Gavin had decided for her. It was only when Sir Gavin said he could choose she could be beautiful anytime that she was happy and free from the charm completely.
2 Yes or no. I think Chaucer may have been a feminist. According to Chaucer (n. d.), for the knight to give her the power to choose herself, the old woman said that she would be beautiful and real. She asked him to kiss her, when he kissed her, she became a beautiful young woman. From that on, they lived a happiness life. The story of The Wife of Bath’s tale about the loathly lady change to a pretty maid is a very popular plot. However, Buss's screwy wife is that at last, women must have sovereignty over their husbands, and women's loyalty depends on the freedom they were given actually. On the other hand, He was not feminist enough. In my view, women must have sovereignty over their life is the real feminist. Personally, I think husband is not important, marriage is an old traditional fashion. Women do not need to spend too much time and energy on having sovereignty over their husband. Women should spend time on enjoying life, working hard, making friends and buying clothes and cosmetic to appreciate them in the mirror every day. However, I will recommend women to have love experiences. They are wonderful and good feeling. After husband cheat the relationship or treat the wife not good, woman should leave the relationship without thinking. As long as that women already have had good loving memories. I also recommend woman only seek young handsome husband. Marriage is for enjoying not bearing. This is the real feminist. Maybe because of the time period limit, I can say the author may be the feminist, he already was very critical about woman’s real desire and breakthrough the cultural but the author was not feminist completely.
ReplyDeleteReferences:
Chaucer, Geoffrey (c.1390). The Wife of Bath.
Chaucer, G. (n. d.) The Canterbury Tales. Retrieved April, 11, 2019, from https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-canterbury-tales/the-wife-of-bath-s-tale
Chu, H & Zhao, O. (n. d.) Sir Gawain and The Loathly lady- Short story Analysis. Retrieved April,1 2019, from https://prezi.com/zcd435rfzgq9/sir-gawain-and-the-loathly-lady-short-story-analysis/
Hahn, T. (Ed.). (1995). The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle. In Sir Gawain: Eleven Romances and Tales. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Medieval Institute Publications
Answering question 2
ReplyDeleteGeoffrey Chaucer, a well-known celebrity writer of the Middle English period in the 1300s, wrote his famous work, The Canterbury Tales, which included the Wife of Bath’s Tale. Among the original stories, others, such as, the Wife of Bath’s Tale, relate back to older fables, for example, The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle, the ‘loathly lady’ and male choice and reward.
The main theme of The Wife of Bath’s Tale is set in the more ancient tale of King Arthur. As a medieval text it reads more like a modern story as there is relatively explicit discussion and perspective relating to relationships between men and women. For example, the knight believed the old woman and saw that she had become “A woman lovely as any empress or queen” and “his two arms / Reached out and wrapped around her. He kissed her, too,. . . And when they fell to making love, he led / the way, and she obeyed, and they rocked the bed.” Chaucer (2008.p.192).
The term, feminist, was not conceived in Chaucer’s day. However, The Wife of Bath’s views are expressed candidly and shockingly for those times: she questions the value of virginity at a time when the Virgin Mary was a powerful symbol of the church. Her story, and the following tale, “The Friar’s Tale“are what some critics consider may be evidence that Chaucer was a “Proto-feminist” because it seems he supports wives controlling their husbands lives. This is totally opposite to the existing social status.On the other hand, her behaviour could also be judged to be unseemly if one lived at that time. The knight in the Tale does succumb to his wife’s wishes, and they live together very happily and peacefully. For example, (Chaucer, 2008) said “And this is how they lived, till life was ended, / in perfect joy.” (P.192). Also, It is disclosed that women want their men to be faithful, true, honest, listening to their wives, loving and respectful. Women revealed also, “that what we love the best / Is freedom, doing what we choose, and blessed / With no one able to scold us afterward, / But only say we’re wise and follow our hearts.” (P.184) .This indicates an understanding of human experience, which applies even today. Some may call it feminism.This does not mean the story is expressing modern notions of female emancipation. The Wife of Bath’s ‘voice’ is given expression at a period in history when women were expected to hold their tongues and not speak out. Further, contrary to the literature of this period, women are not scorned.
Reading The Wife of Bath’s Tale was an enjoyable, asthe text is amusing as well as enlightening.
References:
Chaucer, G. (2008). The Canterbury tales. New York, United states: Modern Library.
Chaucer, G. (1958). The Canterbury tales. Berwick street, London: Campbell.
Chaucer, G. (1974). The Canterbury tales: A selection of critical essays. Basingstoke, London: Gresham Press.
Heaney, S. (1999) (trans). Beowulf: a newtranslation. London: Penguin,
3. Hahn's essay (see critical reader) on The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle identifies the motif of the loathly lady, but arguably it has a different purpose than asserting the feminine. What does he think the function of the story is?
ReplyDeleteAs stated, Hahn (1995) believes the portrayal of Ragnelle - as the Loathly Lady - builds upon the recurrent patterns of this motif; significantly in that Ragnelle, as motif, acts as a centralised core between the male characters. As the Loathly Lady, Ragnelle also symbolises a union between the wild unknown and civility, which Hahn posits as the function of the tale. In this brief exploration of Hahn's essay, I will provide historical and relevant literary information behind the story and present an outline of how the motif and function are set forth.
As a piece of narrative, The Wedding is surrounded with questions - not unlike its inner riddle - in regard to the authorship of the story. For a time it was considered anonymously penned until Arthurian scholar, P.J.C Fields (1999) proposed Thomas Malory as the potential writer of the story based on resemblances to Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur. This is unproven, but oft-mentioned by those who analyse the piece - which is evidence of, at the very least, belief. If true, it still remains an analog to Geoffrey Chaucer's Wife of Bath's Tale - released earlier at the beginning of the fifteenth century - through it's shared use of the motifs Riddle Asked and Answered and Loathly Lady. The latter is a medieval archetype manifested within Dame Ragnelle.
Bovaird-Abbo (2013) defines the Loathly Lady motif as a “grotesque hag” that knights encounter during quests and in exchange for assistance, are granted a request - usually of an intimate nature. This request provides a window for the knight to test their chivalric prowess through merit and commitment and be rewarded when the “lady’s” true nature is revealed. Within this tale, Ragnelle portrays that archetype by seeking Gawain’s matrimonial hand by first offering Arthur information. Ragnelle differs from other representations of the Loathly Lady through her eventual transformation into a more desirable woman that has formed harmonious bonds with all prominent male characters. By blood, Ragnelle already had ties to Gromer, who forced a quest on Arthur, but by becoming Gawain’s beloved wife and a member of his court, she then possessed the ability to erase the threat her brother posed and invite him into the noble fold. Through her deal struck with Arthur, she forged a fellowship based on saving his life - and as a result, his monarchical power (Hahn, 1995). The most notable relationship Ragnelle forms, however, is with her husband Gawain. This is due to Ragnelle, as the Loathly lady, providing Gawain with the opportunity to prove and display his chivalric prowess by committing to her and consummating their marriage - for which he is rewarded after her transformation.
As the Loathly Lady, Ragnelle also encapsulates what Hahn describes as "how the unknown, the marvellous, or the threatening is brought into line with legitimate, normative, idealized chivalric society." He believes this is what "lies at the heart" of the tale and serves as its function or purpose (1995, p. 1). This can be seen in Ragnelle's abhorrent wildness in several aspects of her life such as her appearance, origins and manner and her eventual union into Gawain and his court - the epitome of a 'utopian' or superior society.
References
Bovaird-Abbo, K. (2014). Alison’s Antithesis in The Marriage of Sir Gawain. Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality, 49(2), 29-69. https://doi.org/10.17077/1536-8742.1943
Fields, P.J.C. (1999). The Life and Times of Sir Thomas Malory. Cambridge, UK: D.S. Brewer.
Hahn, T. (Ed.). (1995). The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle In Sir Gawain: Eleven Romances and Tales. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Medieval Institute Publications.
4. In the context of Elizabethan and Jacobean sonnets, how can we define "conceits"?
ReplyDeleteAccording to the Merriam- Webster dictionary conceit is defined as an individual or favourable opinion that is a result of the production from the mental activity of thought. However, in the context of Elizabethan and Jacobean sonnets conceit is seen as a metaphysical tool of poetry that consist of verses containing a complexity of words that were handpicked and used in order to express a deeper meaning throughout the poem as well as satire and puns (Abrams, 1993). The conceits are a linguistic and philosophical construct that enable a writer to compare and contrast an entire narrative into a much deeper meaning with the aid of imagery and comparison that will later help the writer express the focus idea or main message. This form of poetic structure was evident in the Elizabethan and Jacobean era described by Revard (1997) as the woman’s renaissance. Utilizing conceits in poems to address relationship between the dominant masculine and rising feminine views, the careful choice of language to do so and the main idea or topic of focus surrounding sexes and power between the two sexes during the transgressions of the English renaissance.
5. Discuss what you think is the most striking or outrageous example.
A striking example of conceit is the intricate use of metaphors by the well-known poet John Donne, most known for his quintessential metaphysical style of writing creating imagery through metaphors to help express ideas and messages. One of his well-known poems “The Flea” weaves the metaphors of sexual desires a noble has towards a peasant and describes the attributes of unholiness as though it was in a flea. Creating a deeper metaphoric meaning along the way and shifting focus from the unholiness of the sexual relationship, to somewhat declaring the pair were not married. “The argument then shifts to a different position, where the flea suddenly becomes the entire world of the lovers; the symbolic becomes reality” (Abram, 1993). The sexual desires of the noble is not the main importance of the subject in question nor is the unholiness of such sexual desires/act, the shift into a deeper meaning evolves and new ideas of “the loss of innocence” is addressed and carries on the sequence through the use of conceit. So ultimately becoming the symbol of the world and reality, the flea is killed, the very flea whom the poet has given such strange attributes, the woman squashes the symbolic world the man has constructed and has brought them both back to reality.
Reference:
Abrams, M.H. (1993). The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 6th ed. New York:W.W. Norton and Company.
Conceit. (2003). In Merriam-Webster's dictionary (11th ed.). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.
Revard, S.P. (1997). Katherine Philips, Aphra Behn, and the Female Pindaric in Representing Women in Renaissance England, edited by Claude J. Summers and Ted-Larry Pebworth. Columbia: University of Missouri Press