Lyf

The Knight, the Miller, the Wife and the Pardoner. Four tales, and one word repeated over and over again: Life. Or, more accurately, lyf. The following were found in the corresponding tales, and capture the essence of the mood for each one:

The Knight's Tale -

"Allas, myn hertes quene, allas my wyfe,

myn hertes lady, endere of my lyfe" (2775-2776).

As you can see, this shows that the Knight's

tale is a dramatic and flowery story, full of love and

tragedy. Showing how fake the Knight is, and

how he wants to be viewed...noble, and chivalrous.

Because he is trying so hard, we can conclude

that he is the opposite of that.

The Miller -

" I am thy trewe, verray wedded wyf;

Go, deere spouse, and help to save oure lyf" (3609 - 3610).

In context, this excerpt shows the deceit of love,

and the blindness of the fools. It's vulgarness

describes the Miller's perverted sense of humor,

and his version of love.

The Wife -

"And be to yow a trewe, humble wyf,

And nevere yow displese in al my lyf" (1221-1222)

The wife, who had just been telling of her own

cruelty to her many husbands, tells a story of a

rapist marrying an old hag, who ends up becoming

beautiful, and pledging to dutifully serve her husband.

This shows us that the wife is a silly woman who

doesn't understand herself, or what she wants.

The Pardoner -

"Ne deeth, allas, ne wol nat han my lyf.

Thus walke I, lyk a restelees kaityf" (727-728).

This is the first tale that does not rhyme the words

lyf and wyf. This is most likely because the Pardoner

has been castrated, thus does not feel the pull of lust.

All four of these excerpts contain t he word lyf, and three of them rhyme lyf with wyf, except for the eunuch. Coincidence? I think not! However, I haven't exactly developed my ideas into a logical reason for this. I am sure it is very obvious, and after class tomorrow, I will most likely feel very dumb for not realizing it, and come home and finish this post.