Hey, it's Carly. I had handouts for my tale, The Franklin's Tale, but I dont think Mr. Lazarow ever made copies of them. (It's cool, no hard feelings.) I'll just post my info in case you guys didn't get it.
The Franklin’s Tale
General Prologue
•The Franklin accompanies the Man of Law
•Beard is as white as a daisy
•“Of sanguine temperament”: outgoing and optimistic because of predominance of blood in his system
•Loves to eat his bread dipped in wine in the morning
•Labeled as Epicurus’ son, who taught that utmost pleasure was the greatest good in life; therefore implies that the Franklin lives a hedonistic life in pursuit of pleasure and is a true Epicurean
•Great landowner
•Compared to St. Julian, patron saint of hospitality
•Always has the finest quality of bread and ale; cellars are always fully stocked with wine
•It seems to “snow food and drink” in his house
•His menus and diet change with the seasons of the year
•His coop is filled with fat birds and his fishpond is populated with breams and pikes.
•His table is always ready and set to eat
•Presides as lord at county sessions, and is a Member of Parliament for his country
•Has served as the King’s administrative officer and auditor for his country
•A dagger and a silk pouch hangs from his milky-white belt
•“Worthy gentleman”
Tale’s Prologue
•The Franklin politely interrupts the Squire when his tale seems never-ending, pretending he thinks it’s over
•He then obsequiously praises the Squire, and says that he wishes his own son were as learned and virtuous
•The host urges the Franklin to tell his own tale
•The Franklin states that he will try to relate and old Breton Lay as best he can
• a “lay” is a form of medieval French and English romance literature; they are short, rhymed tales of love and chivalry, often involving supernatural and fairy-world motifs.
•He then asks the pilgrims to excuse his homely style and speech, because he is a simple, blunt man
•“At my beginning must I first beseechYou will excuse me for my vulgar speech;I never studied rhetoric, that’s certain;That which I say, it must be bear and plain.”
The Franklin’s Tale
•In Brittany, a knight named Arveragus falls in love with a lady named Dorigen, who is of a noble lineage and thus out of his reach. However, Dorigen agrees to marry Arveragus, who is thrilled and promises her that he will obey all of her wishes. The two get married and are very happy together.
•The Franklin talks about marriage and relationships, saying that obedience, absence of mastery, and patience are all high virtues in love.
•About a year later, Arveragus leaves for Britain (now England), where he lives for two years, to train in arms and seek honor. Dorigen becomes grief-stricken and melancholy because she loves and misses her husband so much. She loses her appetite and spends each day crying and mourning.
•Dorigen’s friends do whatever they can to ease her sadness, and eventually Dorigen begins to get better. Her friends take her for walks along the sea coast, but the ships only remind her of Arveragus. Even worse, the black rocks along the coastline terrorize her because they’ve been the cause of many deaths. Her friends then choose different spots for their amusement.
•One day in May, the women go to a picnic in a beautiful garden. A squire named Aurelius is there, who has been secretly in love with Dorigen for two years. The Franklin describes Aurelius as “One of best conditioned men alive; Young, strong, right virtuous, and rich, and wise, And well beloved, and one to idealize.” He and Dorigen got to talking, and Aurelius finally declared his love for her.
•Dorigen rejects Aurelius, saying that she will never be an unfaithful wife. Feeling badly, she then promises Aurelius that she will consent to be his love if he can remove all of the black rocks from the coast of Brittany so her husband can return home safely. Aurelius realizes that this is an impossible task, and leaves the picnic broken-hearted.
•Desperate, Aurelius prays to the god Apollo, asking him to entreat his sister Lucina (goddess of the sea) to make a massive tide that would drown all the rocks on the coast of Brittany for two years. He then faints and remains unconscious for a while until his brother arrives and looks after him.
•While Aurelius lays bed-ridden and love-sick for two years, Arveragus returns home and the happy couple are reunited. Aurelius’ brother recalls a book on white magic that he had seen once in Orleans, and he thinks that expert conjurers might be able to produce an illusion making it appear as if all the rocks had disappeared from the coast of Brittany.
• The two brothers leave to meet a clerk in Orleans, who shows them his magical power, invites them to dinner, and agrees to vanish the rocks for a thousand pounds. The three men go back to Brittany where the magician performs his conjuring, making all rocks on the coast disappear.
•Aurelius goes to meet Dorigen and tells her that he has fulfilled her wishes. He restates his love for her and asks that she keep her end of the promise. Dorigen is horrified and goes home completely miserable. She doesn’t know what to do, and she even contemplates suicide because she feels death is the only option at this point.
• The Franklin talks about other women who prefer suicide over being dishonored, Roman and Greek examples.
•When Arveragus returns from being out of town, Dorigen tells him the whole story. Arveragus selflessly responds that no matter how much it will hurt him, Dorigen must keep her promise and go to Aurelius, because “truth is the highest thing that man may keep”. Arveragus says goodbye and sends Dorigen to Aurelius.
• Aurelius is moved by Arveragus’ nobility and Dorigen’s loyalty, and he discharges Dorigen, telling her to go back to her husband. (“I would myself far rather suffer woe than break apart the love between you two.”)
•Dorigen thanks Aurelius with all her heart, and goes back to live a happy life with her loving husband.
•Aurelius then goes to pay the magician for his services, and realizes that he does not have enough money to fulfill his promise. Aurelius tells him that he only has 500 pounds, and he explains the whole story to the magician. After learning what had happened, the magician releases Aurelius free of charge.
•The Franklin ends the tale with this:“ Masters, this question would I ask you now: Which was most generous, do you think, and how?”
Criticism
•The description of the Franklin (daisy white beard and sanguine complexion) serves as an excellent portrait of a hedonist.
•The Franklin’s words when interrupting the Squire reveal both his social climbing tendencies and his naiveté. One of the biggest criticisms of the Franklin’s character is his label as a social climber.
•The Franklin states that his tale is in the form of a Breton lai, and although the tale is similar to the French lays of Marie de France, the tale is actually based on a work by Italian author Boccaccio.
•The tale is thought to be the last of the Marriage Group, a group of tales from the series that discuss different themes and views on marriage. This tale is an amalgam of all the other Marriage Group tales: the Franklin answers the Wife of Bath on the issue of sovereignty, incorporates the Clerk's counsel of patience and humility, takes issue with the Merchant's denial of happiness in marriage, and responds to the Squire's flighty view of love. However, some critics hold that the tale does not form part of the marriage group simply because there is no way of ascertaining that Chaucer held the same view.
•The characters in the Franklin’s tale display the Franklin’s high value of nobility; the extremely moral and noble characters in the tale cause many to question if the tale is realistic.
•There is a debate over whether the Franklin understands the definition of “genteel”, something he yearns to be. Is he guilty of “naïve optimism”? Some view the final solution to the story as a system of bargains and deal-makings, and say that this is what the Franklin thinks is “genteel”.
• Appearance vs. reality: some argue that since Chaucer and his audience would have recognized the magician's activities in Franklin's Tale as mere "stage magic," the Franklin and the characters in his tale are ironically unable to separate appearance and reality. The Franklin may be too literal-minded when it comes to this issue because the rocks (or rockiness of marriage) can’t disappear that easily.
•The general idea of the Franklin’s tale is controversial. Some critics believe that the tale is a great, noble story about love and teaches that good overcomes evil through noble deeds. But the majority views the tale as an unrealistic, irrational story with faulty characters, and as another of “Chaucer’s satiric masterpieces”; in the context of the hierarchical social relations of the time, the tale reflects illusion, absurdity, and false gentility.
• The Franklin’s question at the end of the tale (who was most generous?) reveals his aspiration to move up in society and be thought ‘genteel’. A good case can be made for any character in the tale, and there is no definite conclusion to the question.
Just ask me if you have any questions, good luck guys!
The Franklin’s Tale
General Prologue
•The Franklin accompanies the Man of Law
•Beard is as white as a daisy
•“Of sanguine temperament”: outgoing and optimistic because of predominance of blood in his system
•Loves to eat his bread dipped in wine in the morning
•Labeled as Epicurus’ son, who taught that utmost pleasure was the greatest good in life; therefore implies that the Franklin lives a hedonistic life in pursuit of pleasure and is a true Epicurean
•Great landowner
•Compared to St. Julian, patron saint of hospitality
•Always has the finest quality of bread and ale; cellars are always fully stocked with wine
•It seems to “snow food and drink” in his house
•His menus and diet change with the seasons of the year
•His coop is filled with fat birds and his fishpond is populated with breams and pikes.
•His table is always ready and set to eat
•Presides as lord at county sessions, and is a Member of Parliament for his country
•Has served as the King’s administrative officer and auditor for his country
•A dagger and a silk pouch hangs from his milky-white belt
•“Worthy gentleman”
Tale’s Prologue
•The Franklin politely interrupts the Squire when his tale seems never-ending, pretending he thinks it’s over
•He then obsequiously praises the Squire, and says that he wishes his own son were as learned and virtuous
•The host urges the Franklin to tell his own tale
•The Franklin states that he will try to relate and old Breton Lay as best he can
• a “lay” is a form of medieval French and English romance literature; they are short, rhymed tales of love and chivalry, often involving supernatural and fairy-world motifs.
•He then asks the pilgrims to excuse his homely style and speech, because he is a simple, blunt man
•“At my beginning must I first beseechYou will excuse me for my vulgar speech;I never studied rhetoric, that’s certain;That which I say, it must be bear and plain.”
The Franklin’s Tale
•In Brittany, a knight named Arveragus falls in love with a lady named Dorigen, who is of a noble lineage and thus out of his reach. However, Dorigen agrees to marry Arveragus, who is thrilled and promises her that he will obey all of her wishes. The two get married and are very happy together.
•The Franklin talks about marriage and relationships, saying that obedience, absence of mastery, and patience are all high virtues in love.
•About a year later, Arveragus leaves for Britain (now England), where he lives for two years, to train in arms and seek honor. Dorigen becomes grief-stricken and melancholy because she loves and misses her husband so much. She loses her appetite and spends each day crying and mourning.
•Dorigen’s friends do whatever they can to ease her sadness, and eventually Dorigen begins to get better. Her friends take her for walks along the sea coast, but the ships only remind her of Arveragus. Even worse, the black rocks along the coastline terrorize her because they’ve been the cause of many deaths. Her friends then choose different spots for their amusement.
•One day in May, the women go to a picnic in a beautiful garden. A squire named Aurelius is there, who has been secretly in love with Dorigen for two years. The Franklin describes Aurelius as “One of best conditioned men alive; Young, strong, right virtuous, and rich, and wise, And well beloved, and one to idealize.” He and Dorigen got to talking, and Aurelius finally declared his love for her.
•Dorigen rejects Aurelius, saying that she will never be an unfaithful wife. Feeling badly, she then promises Aurelius that she will consent to be his love if he can remove all of the black rocks from the coast of Brittany so her husband can return home safely. Aurelius realizes that this is an impossible task, and leaves the picnic broken-hearted.
•Desperate, Aurelius prays to the god Apollo, asking him to entreat his sister Lucina (goddess of the sea) to make a massive tide that would drown all the rocks on the coast of Brittany for two years. He then faints and remains unconscious for a while until his brother arrives and looks after him.
•While Aurelius lays bed-ridden and love-sick for two years, Arveragus returns home and the happy couple are reunited. Aurelius’ brother recalls a book on white magic that he had seen once in Orleans, and he thinks that expert conjurers might be able to produce an illusion making it appear as if all the rocks had disappeared from the coast of Brittany.
• The two brothers leave to meet a clerk in Orleans, who shows them his magical power, invites them to dinner, and agrees to vanish the rocks for a thousand pounds. The three men go back to Brittany where the magician performs his conjuring, making all rocks on the coast disappear.
•Aurelius goes to meet Dorigen and tells her that he has fulfilled her wishes. He restates his love for her and asks that she keep her end of the promise. Dorigen is horrified and goes home completely miserable. She doesn’t know what to do, and she even contemplates suicide because she feels death is the only option at this point.
• The Franklin talks about other women who prefer suicide over being dishonored, Roman and Greek examples.
•When Arveragus returns from being out of town, Dorigen tells him the whole story. Arveragus selflessly responds that no matter how much it will hurt him, Dorigen must keep her promise and go to Aurelius, because “truth is the highest thing that man may keep”. Arveragus says goodbye and sends Dorigen to Aurelius.
• Aurelius is moved by Arveragus’ nobility and Dorigen’s loyalty, and he discharges Dorigen, telling her to go back to her husband. (“I would myself far rather suffer woe than break apart the love between you two.”)
•Dorigen thanks Aurelius with all her heart, and goes back to live a happy life with her loving husband.
•Aurelius then goes to pay the magician for his services, and realizes that he does not have enough money to fulfill his promise. Aurelius tells him that he only has 500 pounds, and he explains the whole story to the magician. After learning what had happened, the magician releases Aurelius free of charge.
•The Franklin ends the tale with this:“ Masters, this question would I ask you now: Which was most generous, do you think, and how?”
Criticism
•The description of the Franklin (daisy white beard and sanguine complexion) serves as an excellent portrait of a hedonist.
•The Franklin’s words when interrupting the Squire reveal both his social climbing tendencies and his naiveté. One of the biggest criticisms of the Franklin’s character is his label as a social climber.
•The Franklin states that his tale is in the form of a Breton lai, and although the tale is similar to the French lays of Marie de France, the tale is actually based on a work by Italian author Boccaccio.
•The tale is thought to be the last of the Marriage Group, a group of tales from the series that discuss different themes and views on marriage. This tale is an amalgam of all the other Marriage Group tales: the Franklin answers the Wife of Bath on the issue of sovereignty, incorporates the Clerk's counsel of patience and humility, takes issue with the Merchant's denial of happiness in marriage, and responds to the Squire's flighty view of love. However, some critics hold that the tale does not form part of the marriage group simply because there is no way of ascertaining that Chaucer held the same view.
•The characters in the Franklin’s tale display the Franklin’s high value of nobility; the extremely moral and noble characters in the tale cause many to question if the tale is realistic.
•There is a debate over whether the Franklin understands the definition of “genteel”, something he yearns to be. Is he guilty of “naïve optimism”? Some view the final solution to the story as a system of bargains and deal-makings, and say that this is what the Franklin thinks is “genteel”.
• Appearance vs. reality: some argue that since Chaucer and his audience would have recognized the magician's activities in Franklin's Tale as mere "stage magic," the Franklin and the characters in his tale are ironically unable to separate appearance and reality. The Franklin may be too literal-minded when it comes to this issue because the rocks (or rockiness of marriage) can’t disappear that easily.
•The general idea of the Franklin’s tale is controversial. Some critics believe that the tale is a great, noble story about love and teaches that good overcomes evil through noble deeds. But the majority views the tale as an unrealistic, irrational story with faulty characters, and as another of “Chaucer’s satiric masterpieces”; in the context of the hierarchical social relations of the time, the tale reflects illusion, absurdity, and false gentility.
• The Franklin’s question at the end of the tale (who was most generous?) reveals his aspiration to move up in society and be thought ‘genteel’. A good case can be made for any character in the tale, and there is no definite conclusion to the question.
Just ask me if you have any questions, good luck guys!
posted by L Lazarow | 9:50 AM
2 Comments:
carly,
is there really a moral to your story, or just the moral that they were true to their word, to the point of it being unbelievable??
what is a hedonist?
Post a Comment
<< Home