Ashley Lazo

ENG 413

4/10/2015

The Clerk’s Talehttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/-thL5Dcf6Qj8/Tw0N7073sLI/AAAAAAAAFuQ/Nc9-CgFcduI/s400/17_15_03.jpg

He is a university student of Oxenford (Oxford).He has studied logic for a long time.He is poor (he and his horse are very thin and

impoverished).He would rather have books written by Aristotle and

his philosophy than riches.He tends to borrow money from his friends and spend

it on books and learning.He does not speak much, but when he does it is with

due formality and respect.He is generous with his knowledge and is very serious

about learning.

Who is the Clerk?

Christian Romance/ or a morality play?Characters:

Walter (Marquis)- a young and handsome ruler of the most respected lineage.

Griselda- a beautiful young woman, who is also poor. Part I:

The Marquis of Saluzzo, Walter, lives for the present and never thinks of the future especially marriage.

His people, out of fear that he would die with no heir, beg him to marry and even offer to find him a wife.

He agrees to get married and sets a date for the wedding, but says God will provide a wife.

He asks his people to accept the woman he chooses no matter who she is.

The Clerk’s Tale

Part IIWalter falls for a poor woman named Griselda and

asks her father if he can marry her.With her father’s blessing he asks her to be his wife

and asks if as his wife she will agree to everything he wishes.

She agrees and they marry.The people of Saluzzo love Griselda.She gives birth to a daughter.

Part IIIThe first test of GriseldaHer manner did not change and this pleased the

Marquis.

The Clerk’s Tale (continued)

Part IVGriselda has a boy four years laterSecond test of GriseldaWalter’s people start to hate him and think he is a

murderer but he sticks to his plan.Third test of Griselda

Part VGriselda is sent back to her father’s house to live as a

poor, divorced woman.Part VI

Walter asks Griselda to prepare for his wedding to another woman (the nerve!!) and she of course agrees.

He finally sees her loyalty to him and tells her of all the tests and that her children are alive.

They then live happily ever after.

The Clerk’s Tale (continued)

Envoy- short, simple, concluding stanzaChaucer warns husbands not to test their

wives as Walter did, because the wives will not be like Griselda.

Chaucer tells wives to take control of their own minds and tongues.

Lenvoy de Chaucer (Chaucer’s Envoy)

https://chaucereditions.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/021-the-clerks-tale.jpg

It follows the Summoner’s TaleFragment IV (E)

The Merchant’s Tale Wife of Bath’s TaleThe Marriage Group:

The Wife of Bath’s Tale, The Merchant’s Tale, and the Franklin’s Tale

Connection to Other Tales

Theme of VirtueTheme of MarriageRole of Women

Themes

Connection to the Wife of Bath’s Tale“The Marriage Group” talesThe connection to the book of Job in the bibleThe role of women in different tales

Research Project Ideas

Chaucer, Geoffrey, and Larry Dean Benson. The Riverside Chaucer. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1987. Print.

N.p., n.d. Web. <http%3A%2F%2Fir.uiowa.edu%2Fcgi%2Fviewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D1766%26context%3Dmff>.

"The Canterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer Summary and Analysis The Clerk's Prologue and Tale." The Clerk's Prologue and Tale. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2015. <http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/c/the-canterbury-tales/summary-and-analysis/the-clerks-prologue-and-tale>.

"The Student's Tale." The Student's Tale. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2015. <http://english.fsu.edu/canterbury/student.html>.

Works Cited