Unlock the more straightforward side of The Merchant’s Tale with this concise and insightful summary and analysis! This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Merchant’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer, which centres on marriage, a common theme running through The Canterbury Tales, as the old Januarie weds – and is eventually cuckolded by – the young and beautiful Maye. The Tale shares many features with the bawdy, humorous fabliau, although it also stands out from this genre with its refined setting, noble characters and sophisticated style. Geoffrey Chaucer was the author of The Canterbury Tales, a collection of stories which is one of the earliest known examples of English-language literature and has been a key influence on subsequent generations of writers. Find out everything you need to know about The Merchant’s Tale in a fraction of the time! This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you: • A complete plot summary • Character studies • Key themes and symbols • Questions for further reflection Why choose BrightSummaries.com? Available in print and digital format, our publications are designed to accompany you on your reading journey. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time. See the very best of literature in a whole new light with BrightSummaries.com!

Unlock the more straightforward side of The Miller’s Tale with this concise and insightful summary and analysis! This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Miller’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer, a humorous fable from the Canterbury Tales. It is narrated by the eponymous Miller, whose drunkenness leads him to select a bawdier tale to tell his fellow travellers than he perhaps meant to. It tells the story of John the carpenter and his much younger wife Alisoun, who is seduced by the scholar who lodges with the couple. However, John is paranoid that his wife might be cuckolding him, and keeps a careful eye on her, leading the lovers to come up with a truly outlandish scheme to outwit him and steal away to spend the night together. Geoffrey Chaucer was the author of The Canterbury Tales, a collection of stories which is one of the earliest known examples of English-language literature and has been a key influence on subsequent generations of writers. Find out everything you need to know about The Miller’s Tale in a fraction of the time! This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you: • A complete plot summary • Character studies • Key themes and symbols • Questions for further reflection Why choose BrightSummaries.com? Available in print and digital format, our publications are designed to accompany you on your reading journey. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time. See the very best of literature in a whole new light with BrightSummaries.com!

Unlock the more straightforward side of The Reeve’s Tale with this concise and insightful summary and analysis! This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Reeve’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer, which tells the story of an unscrupulous miller who cheats the townsfolk out of corn and sees himself as superior to them. He gets his comeuppance when he tries to steal corn from a nearby college: two northern students who have come to his mill to guard against theft get their revenge on him by sleeping with both his wife and his daughter. Geoffrey Chaucer was the author of The Canterbury Tales, a collection of stories which is one of the earliest known examples of English-language literature and has been a key influence on subsequent generations of writers. Find out everything you need to know about The Reeve’s Tale in a fraction of the time! This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you: • A complete plot summary • Character studies • Key themes and symbols • Questions for further reflection Why choose BrightSummaries.com? Available in print and digital format, our publications are designed to accompany you on your reading journey. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time. See the very best of literature in a whole new light with BrightSummaries.com!

Unlock the more straightforward side of The Nun’s Priest’s Tale with this concise and insightful summary and analysis! This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Nun’s Priest’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer, a beast fable centred around the rooster Chauntecleer, who is known far and wide for his beautiful singing voice. He has a vivid dream about being attacked by a fox, but puts aside his misgivings when the crafty fox Russell praises his singing voice. Having been lured into the fox’s jaws, he will now need all his wits to free himself... Geoffrey Chaucer was the author of The Canterbury Tales, a collection of stories which is one of the earliest known examples of English-language literature and has been a key influence on subsequent generations of writers. Find out everything you need to know about The Nun’s Priest’s Tale in a fraction of the time! This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you: • A complete plot summary • Character studies • Key themes and symbols • Questions for further reflection Why choose BrightSummaries.com? Available in print and digital format, our publications are designed to accompany you on your reading journey. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time. See the very best of literature in a whole new light with BrightSummaries.com!

Unlock the more straightforward side of The Clerk’s Tale with this concise and insightful summary and analysis! This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Clerk’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer, which tells the story of Griselda, a poor young woman who is subjected to a series of trials by her husband, the marquis of Saluces, in order to test her obedience. The text’s source material is drawn from Boccaccio’s Decameron and Petrarch’s Latin translation of the story, but Chaucer complicates our interpretation of it and undercuts its apparent praise of wifely obedience. Geoffrey Chaucer was the author of The Canterbury Tales, a collection of stories which is one of the earliest known examples of English-language literature and has been a key influence on subsequent generations of writers. Find out everything you need to know about The Clerk’s Tale in a fraction of the time! This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you: • A complete plot summary • Character studies • Key themes and symbols • Questions for further reflection Why choose BrightSummaries.com? Available in print and digital format, our publications are designed to accompany you on your reading journey. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time. See the very best of literature in a whole new light with BrightSummaries.com!

Unlock the more straightforward side of The Wife of Bath’s Tale with this concise and insightful summary and analysis! This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Wife of Bath’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer, one of the most popular and enduring of the Canterbury Tales. It is narrated by the eponymous Wife of Bath, a serial widow who frankly discusses her enjoyment of sex and the control she exerted over her husbands, which would have been seen as scandalous at the time. In the story she tells, a knight who has raped a young maiden is sentenced to death, but granted a last-minute reprieve: if he is able to discover what women want most within a year, his life will be spared. In the end, the knight does indeed find the answer: women most desire to be in control of their relationship with their husband or lover. Geoffrey Chaucer was the author of The Canterbury Tales, a collection of stories which is one of the earliest known examples of English-language literature and has been a key influence on subsequent generations of writers. Find out everything you need to know about The Wife of Bath’s Tale in a fraction of the time! This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you: • A complete plot summary • Character studies • Key themes and symbols • Questions for further reflection Why choose BrightSummaries.com? Available in print and digital format, our publications are designed to accompany you on your reading journey. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time. See the very best of literature in a whole new light with BrightSummaries.com!

A comprehensive study guide offering in-depth explanation, essay, and test prep for Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, arguably the most famous of all Middle English literature. As a series of twenty-four stories, The Canterbury Tales was written in 1392 and tells of the pilgrimage of thirty people from various social classes to Canterbury. Moreover, Chaucer uses each story to represent a theme in order to exemplify the changing of societal roles. This Bright Notes Study Guide explores the context and history of Chaucer’s classic work, helping students to thoroughly explore the reasons it has stood the literary test of time. Each Bright Notes Study Guide contains: - Introductions to the Author and the Work - Character Summaries - Plot Guides - Section and Chapter Overviews - Test Essay and Study Q&As The Bright Notes Study Guide series offers an in-depth tour of more than 275 classic works of literature, exploring characters, critical commentary, historical background, plots, and themes. This set of study guides encourages readers to dig deeper in their understanding by including essay questions and answers as well as topics for further research.

Praised by reviewers as highly recommended, indispensable, and thorough, comprehensive, usable, and unquestionably useful, theChaucer Name Dictionary is the ultimate A-Z guide to the writer who stands at the head of the English curriculum. It provides full information on all the hundreds of proper names mentioned throughout Chaucer and essential to an understanding of his works. Each entry provides historical and/or literary definition, references to occurrences in Chaucer's works with explanations of the context, a list of related words, etymology, and a bibliography of primary and secondary works. Special Features The only reference source that identifies the hundreds of historical, literary, and mythological names mentioned in Chaucer, Provides reliable background information essential to understanding Chaucer's text, Alphabetical arrangement and clear format allow quick answers to reference questions, Includes an important Glossary of Astronomical and Astrological Terms, along with six astrological maps Suitable for courses in:Chaucer, Medieval English Poetry, Medieval Literature in Translation, Old and Middle English Literature, Glossary Also includes maps.

The classic respected series in a stunning new design. This edition of The Merchant's Prologue and Tale from the highly-respected Selected Tales series includes the full, complete text in the original Middle English, along with an in-depth introduction by Maurice Hussey, detailed notes and a comprehensive glossary.