The Knight interrupts the “Monk’s Tale” under the accusation that it is far too depressing – no more of this!- he says. The Knight prefers the opposite of endless pitiful tragedies, the Knight desires a tale of “joye and greet solas” (2774). The Host agrees with the Knight: a good…
Month: July 2020
Further Thoughts on Aristotle’s Politics
Aristotle’s treatise on politics is the essential work on political philosophy from classical antiquity. Since the death of Socrates, philosophy had to learn to conceal itself from the wayward opinions of the majority. People are biased and occasionally these biases are directed at people in an unenlightened way. Each age…
Seventeen Tragic Biographies in The Monk’s Tale
The Monk’s Tale is another experimentation in form in The Canterbury Tales –this time the formal presentation is a biography. In a certain light, the tale is a parody of Bocaccio’s Concerning the Falls of Illustrious Men, or even Plutarch’s Lives. After the conclusion of the previous tale (i.e. Chaucer’s…
Fantasia (1940) Review
Fantasia (1940) Director: Various “What you’re going to see are the designs and pictures and stories that music inspired in the minds and imaginations of a group of artists. In other words, these are not going to be the interpretations of trained musicians which I think is all to the…