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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 14 page research paper that examines the Merchant's and the Franklin's Tales and looks specifically at the cultural, metaphorical and allegorical significance of Chaucer's references to medieval gardens and landscapes in these representative stories. Chacerian critical scholarship indicates there is a great deal that can be discerned on this subject and the writer discusses how this information illuminates modern readers' understanding of the stories. Bibliography lists 8 sources.
Page Count:
14 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khchmefr.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
away the hours as they journey to Canterbury reflect the values and perspectives of the Middle Ages, as well as the individual perspectives and orientations of the various storytellers. As
the pilgrims are a diverse group, representing various medieval professions, they represent a broad swath of medieval society. The modern reader, however, in attempting to discern the meaning behind many
of Chaucers allusions, metaphors and allegories, is at a disadvantage from Chaucers contemporary audience, as readers no share a common culture with this author. Therefore, it is enlightening to explore
what constitutes this cultural framework. The following examination of The Merchants and the Franklins Tales looks specifically at the cultural, metaphorical and allegorical significance of Chaucers references to medieval
gardens and landscapes in these representative stories. Chacerian critical scholarship indicates there is a great deal that can be discerned on this subject. For example, Laura Howes indicates that "spaces
such as gardens play an important role in the construction of medieval" subjectivity (Uebel 67). This examination will demonstrate that, for Chaucer, gardens constitute a useful way of "looking
at and reshaping the world" (Uebel 67). In both of these tales, Chaucer uses these elements to indicate a deeper moral meaning that goes beyond the sexual frivolity of the
French fabliaux, which provide the source material on which many of the tales are based. Essentially, Chaucer use of gardens suggests that this provided him with a landscape in which
anything was possible, permitting the mixing of all the various elements, Celtic, pagan and Christian, that made up the "landscape" of medieval culture. The Franklins Tale The Franklin begins
by setting the stage for his narrative, which he does by describing the courtship of Dorigen and Arviragus. Several views on marriage have been presented thus far in the Tales,
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