LIT 251
Prof. G. Steinberg

Response Paper:  Chaucer, Clerk’s Tale and Franklin’s Tale

We have discussed the themes of sovereignty and "gentilesse" in the Wife of Bath's Tale.  What do the other tales in the Marriage Group have to say about those themes?  How does each tale conceive of sovereignty and "gentilesse"?

Choose one of the following areas as the focus of your response paper:

1. The Clerk's Tale seems to be told in direct response to the Wife of Bath's Tale.  What kind of response does the Clerk's Tale make to the Wife of Bath's claims about sovereignty and "gentilesse"?  The Clerk's Tale is one place where we really need to keep all the wheels-within-wheels straight.  First, there are the characters in the Clerk's Tale (especially Walter and Griselda); they have certain attitudes and assumptions about sovereignty and "gentilesse."  Then, there's the Clerk, who is telling the tale; he has certain attitudes and assumptions about sovereignty and "gentilesse."  Finally, there is Chaucer, who has created the Clerk and his tale; Chaucer has certain attitudes and assumptions about sovereignty and "gentilesse."  What can we glean from the Clerk's Tale about each of these levels?  How do Walter and Griselda think about sovereignty and "gentilesse"?  What about the Clerk?  Does he agree wholeheartedly with his characters?  Is he at all critical of them?  What is he saying about the Wife of Bath's assertion about who should have sovereignty in marriage?  What is Chaucer saying?  What is the Clerk saying about "gentilesse"?  What are the implications of the Clerk's Tale in relation to the pressing social issues of Chaucer's day?
2. The Franklin's Tale is seen by some readers as Chaucer's last word on marriage.  Such readers see the Franklin's Tale as suggesting what Chaucer thinks of as the ideal marriage.  How do sovereignty and "gentilesse" operate in the tale?  What, if anything, is wrong with the picture of marriage in the Franklin's Tale?  Is the sharing of sovereignty in the tale flawed in some way?  Is there something else wrong with the characters and their relationships?  The Franklin concludes by asking who in his tale had the most "gentilesse."  Who would you say?  Who do you think the Franklin, given his portrait in the General Prologue, would admire as most "gentle"?  What are the implications of the Franklin's Tale in relation to the pressing social issues of Chaucer's day?

Click here to go to the syllabus.