There is no introduction to "The Physician's Tale." We begin en media res. The tale cites its source as Titius Livius ("Livy") the great Roman historian, though Chaucer likely borrowed sections from The Romance of the Rose which he also partially translated. Unlike other tales, "The Physician's Tale" is not about unrequited love or the … Continue reading History Contra Poetics in The Physician’s Tale
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The Wife of Bath’s Tale: Autobiography and Arthurian Parody
The Wife of Bath is the most famous, albeit the most troubling character in Chaucerian literature. As with other speakers in The Canterbury Tales, we are only given her title at the outset, the "Wife of Bath." Later we learn her name is Alysoun, or she sometimes goes by "Aly" (recall that she shares a … Continue reading The Wife of Bath’s Tale: Autobiography and Arthurian Parody
As You Like It, Act I
Scene 1 At the outset, we encounter Orlando, an English spelling of the French hero named Roland (of Chanson de Roland, or the "Song of Roland", the great French heroic poem from the reign of Charlemagne) bemoaning his state of affairs to the family servant Adam in an orchard. The setting is far from the … Continue reading As You Like It, Act I
