The Reeve's Tale (Stephen Gadomski ps my tale is very funny thank you very much theres farting snoring and rape durh)
Slide 1:
Described as a “slender, choleric man” choleric indicates an imbalance in the humor that produces bile which indicates a short fuse and large temper (emphasized in the tale because it is an angry response to the Miller's jovial tale)
Dressed like a friar
The Reeve is an administrative officer on the manor
Effective steward
“He could foretell, by drought and by the rain, the yielding of his seed and of his grain”
Steals from his lord
Apprenticed as a carpenter
“as fine as could be seen”
Notes:
The Reeve appears in the General Prologue as the twenty third pilgrim mentioned. Chuacer describes him as a “slender, choleric” man with a closely shaved beard and hair cut even with his ears. (Constant references to being like a monk/friar indicates a connection b/t these tails/characters). Ironic because this Reeve steals from his lord and makes a lot of money. The Reeve was efficient at managing his lord’s sheep, grain, stores etc… yet stole from his lord.
Slide 2:
Oswald, the reeve, took offense to the Miller’s Tale
Only person that did not like it (was a carpenter)
Took the tale personally (seen in his tale)
Rambles about old age
Describes the “four embers” that belong to the elderly
The “embers” are boasting, lying, anger, and covetousness
Notes:
The Reeve also begins to ramble in his prologue, with the Host interrupting him in the middle of his sermon on old age and how he struggles with falling wits and a persisting desire (the Host tells him to get on with the tale because he is depressing everyone).
Slide 3:
Based on a French fabliau (Jean Bodel's Gombert and the Two Clerks)
Fabliau is a short comic tale about everyday life and ordinary characters
Typically obscene & Plots unrealistic
The Clerks in the Reeve’s Tale are notable for using the Northern dialect of speech
Supposedly harsh for those who spoke Midlands or Southern dialects
Notes:
Fabliaux (plural) typically involve deception to acquire money or goods, to get sexual gratification, or to get revenge. It is written in the normal rhyming couplets that Chacuer uses thorughout most of the tales, and in all of the fabliaux.
Slide 4:
Simpkin, a Miller obsessed with the idea of honor, is introduced
Has a wife, daughter, and a baby child
“For Simpkin would not have a wife, he said,
Save she were educated and a maid”
Simpkin constantly steals from the people who he grinds the grain for
“But now he was a thief outrageously”
Notes:
Can see some similarities between Simpkin and the Miller (both have the “golden thumb” as in steal, as well as the sword at the hip and a round face.)
Slide 5:
One day the Manciple of a nearby college gets sick
Thus Simpkin can steal more than he ever has before
Two students, John and Alain, convince the Manciple that they will watch over the grain
This shall stop Simpkin from stealing (because they are so clever)
Simpkin knows right away that these students think they can outwit him
Decides to play a trick so that he can get his grain and make John and Alain look foolish
Slide 6:
Simpkin unties the clerks’ horse
They have to chase after it
By the time they catch it Simpkin has: Stolen their grain Ordered his wife to make bread from the grain Replaced the grain with barley
When Alain and John catch the horse, it is dark out and they request to stay at the Miller’s house (Simpkin agrees after hesitating)
Only one bed room with three beds for everyone to sleep in
Slide 7:
Alain tells the Simpkin (who he thinks is John) “I have, three times in this short night, no lack, / done that old miller’s daughter on her back”
Simpkin wakes up and begins to beat Alain “And pitiless he handled him amain”
After struggling, they eventually wake up John and the Miller’s Wife (who thinks she is still with the Miller)
The Miller’s Wife sees them struggling and grabs a staff hoping to beat up the clerks
Slide 8:
Instead the Miller’s Wife ends up beating up Simpkin
John and Alain use this time to get their clothes on and escape
They also find the grain Simpkin stole
The Reeve ends with this proverb “An evil end to evil man, forsooth.” Also comments that he has now “…paid this miller with my tale”
Slide 9: Fabliaux as Satire
Typically told about the middle/lower class
Simpkin and his family see themselves as higher than the people around them
The nobility can look at Simpkin’s foolishness and laugh
They understand that Simpkin does not truly comprehend the reality of his situation
Notes:
Fabliaux typically discuss the middle/lower classes. In this case, Chaucer takes a fabliaux about the middle class and uses it to re-enforce the stereotypes of the time. The Miller is a greedy and dishonest, while his wife is actually the illegitimate daughter of the town’s priest, and his daughter is a physical person described in sexual terms. The nobility that heard this tale were able to clearly see Simpkin’s foolishness in thinking that he was of high class. Furthermore they see the barbarity of the lower class and are given a laugh
Slide 10:
Simpkin thinks highly of himself Social climber with “dignified” wife and daughter
In a sense punished for acting as a man higher than he truly is Sees the clerk’s actions as an affront to his honor
Not upset about his daughter’s promiscuity; instead upset because the clerk is of “lower” status than his family
Moment the clerks meet Simpkin there is a dare between them
Oswald the Reeve can be seen in both Simpkin and the Clerks
Notes:
Simpkin clearly thinks highly of himself, he feels that he can only marry a vriign of high status (aka the daughter of the parson). His wife also demands to be treated with respect wherever she goes, the same respect that the Miller feels he deserves. When the clerk’s violate his wife and daughter they are attacking Simpkin’s sense of honor, something that he holds dearly (also similar to the Miller who is on the pilgrimage). Furthermore, Oswald the Reeve is similar to Simpkin (they both steal from their masters), but is more closely related to Alain and John. The students must come back after being made fun of, much in the same way Oswald feels he must repay the Miller for making fun of him in front of the entire company.
Slide 11
Much of the Reeve’s Tale matches the Miller’s in different ways
Similar description between Simpkin’s daughter and Alison
The mocking of courtly love is continued
John’s laments over Alan’s success with Simpkin’s daughter and sees it as Alan taking an adventure while he stays in bed “He ventured, and his pains are now all fed”
As Alan leaves Simpkin’s daughter in the morning they mock the “aubade” (a dawn song)
“Farewell now…The day is come, I may no longer bide”
Notes:
Ironic that Alan and Simpkin’s daughter have a courtly love when in fact Alan essentially raped her, and then slept the rest of the night with her.
Slide 12:
The rape of Simpkin’s wife and daughter equals the harshest revenge that could be enacted on him
These men use the woman as their pawns of their dares/games
Similar to the Knight’s Tale as well as the Miller’s Tale Women are subjected to do what men want them to do
Thats the direct information from the slides, as well as the notes that i used when presenting. I may have left some stuff out so I here is a list of websites that I foudn with usefull criticism on the Reeve's Tale:
http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/canttales/rvt/
http://faculty.goucher.edu/eng330/chaucerreeves_tale.htm
http://repositories.cdlib.org/cmrs/comitatus/vol19/iss1/art5/
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2455/is_n1_v32/ai_17156387
http://www.geocities.com/growonder/chaucerreeve.html
Questions / Comments? Feel free to comment. I'll respond to any questions people ahve on the blog
- Steve Gadomski
Described as a “slender, choleric man” choleric indicates an imbalance in the humor that produces bile which indicates a short fuse and large temper (emphasized in the tale because it is an angry response to the Miller's jovial tale)
Dressed like a friar
The Reeve is an administrative officer on the manor
Effective steward
“He could foretell, by drought and by the rain, the yielding of his seed and of his grain”
Steals from his lord
Apprenticed as a carpenter
“as fine as could be seen”
Notes:
The Reeve appears in the General Prologue as the twenty third pilgrim mentioned. Chuacer describes him as a “slender, choleric” man with a closely shaved beard and hair cut even with his ears. (Constant references to being like a monk/friar indicates a connection b/t these tails/characters). Ironic because this Reeve steals from his lord and makes a lot of money. The Reeve was efficient at managing his lord’s sheep, grain, stores etc… yet stole from his lord.
Slide 2:
Oswald, the reeve, took offense to the Miller’s Tale
Only person that did not like it (was a carpenter)
Took the tale personally (seen in his tale)
Rambles about old age
Describes the “four embers” that belong to the elderly
The “embers” are boasting, lying, anger, and covetousness
Notes:
The Reeve also begins to ramble in his prologue, with the Host interrupting him in the middle of his sermon on old age and how he struggles with falling wits and a persisting desire (the Host tells him to get on with the tale because he is depressing everyone).
Slide 3:
Based on a French fabliau (Jean Bodel's Gombert and the Two Clerks)
Fabliau is a short comic tale about everyday life and ordinary characters
Typically obscene & Plots unrealistic
The Clerks in the Reeve’s Tale are notable for using the Northern dialect of speech
Supposedly harsh for those who spoke Midlands or Southern dialects
Notes:
Fabliaux (plural) typically involve deception to acquire money or goods, to get sexual gratification, or to get revenge. It is written in the normal rhyming couplets that Chacuer uses thorughout most of the tales, and in all of the fabliaux.
Slide 4:
Simpkin, a Miller obsessed with the idea of honor, is introduced
Has a wife, daughter, and a baby child
“For Simpkin would not have a wife, he said,
Save she were educated and a maid”
Simpkin constantly steals from the people who he grinds the grain for
“But now he was a thief outrageously”
Notes:
Can see some similarities between Simpkin and the Miller (both have the “golden thumb” as in steal, as well as the sword at the hip and a round face.)
Slide 5:
One day the Manciple of a nearby college gets sick
Thus Simpkin can steal more than he ever has before
Two students, John and Alain, convince the Manciple that they will watch over the grain
This shall stop Simpkin from stealing (because they are so clever)
Simpkin knows right away that these students think they can outwit him
Decides to play a trick so that he can get his grain and make John and Alain look foolish
Slide 6:
Simpkin unties the clerks’ horse
They have to chase after it
By the time they catch it Simpkin has: Stolen their grain Ordered his wife to make bread from the grain Replaced the grain with barley
When Alain and John catch the horse, it is dark out and they request to stay at the Miller’s house (Simpkin agrees after hesitating)
Only one bed room with three beds for everyone to sleep in
Slide 7:
Alain tells the Simpkin (who he thinks is John) “I have, three times in this short night, no lack, / done that old miller’s daughter on her back”
Simpkin wakes up and begins to beat Alain “And pitiless he handled him amain”
After struggling, they eventually wake up John and the Miller’s Wife (who thinks she is still with the Miller)
The Miller’s Wife sees them struggling and grabs a staff hoping to beat up the clerks
Slide 8:
Instead the Miller’s Wife ends up beating up Simpkin
John and Alain use this time to get their clothes on and escape
They also find the grain Simpkin stole
The Reeve ends with this proverb “An evil end to evil man, forsooth.” Also comments that he has now “…paid this miller with my tale”
Slide 9: Fabliaux as Satire
Typically told about the middle/lower class
Simpkin and his family see themselves as higher than the people around them
The nobility can look at Simpkin’s foolishness and laugh
They understand that Simpkin does not truly comprehend the reality of his situation
Notes:
Fabliaux typically discuss the middle/lower classes. In this case, Chaucer takes a fabliaux about the middle class and uses it to re-enforce the stereotypes of the time. The Miller is a greedy and dishonest, while his wife is actually the illegitimate daughter of the town’s priest, and his daughter is a physical person described in sexual terms. The nobility that heard this tale were able to clearly see Simpkin’s foolishness in thinking that he was of high class. Furthermore they see the barbarity of the lower class and are given a laugh
Slide 10:
Simpkin thinks highly of himself Social climber with “dignified” wife and daughter
In a sense punished for acting as a man higher than he truly is Sees the clerk’s actions as an affront to his honor
Not upset about his daughter’s promiscuity; instead upset because the clerk is of “lower” status than his family
Moment the clerks meet Simpkin there is a dare between them
Oswald the Reeve can be seen in both Simpkin and the Clerks
Notes:
Simpkin clearly thinks highly of himself, he feels that he can only marry a vriign of high status (aka the daughter of the parson). His wife also demands to be treated with respect wherever she goes, the same respect that the Miller feels he deserves. When the clerk’s violate his wife and daughter they are attacking Simpkin’s sense of honor, something that he holds dearly (also similar to the Miller who is on the pilgrimage). Furthermore, Oswald the Reeve is similar to Simpkin (they both steal from their masters), but is more closely related to Alain and John. The students must come back after being made fun of, much in the same way Oswald feels he must repay the Miller for making fun of him in front of the entire company.
Slide 11
Much of the Reeve’s Tale matches the Miller’s in different ways
Similar description between Simpkin’s daughter and Alison
The mocking of courtly love is continued
John’s laments over Alan’s success with Simpkin’s daughter and sees it as Alan taking an adventure while he stays in bed “He ventured, and his pains are now all fed”
As Alan leaves Simpkin’s daughter in the morning they mock the “aubade” (a dawn song)
“Farewell now…The day is come, I may no longer bide”
Notes:
Ironic that Alan and Simpkin’s daughter have a courtly love when in fact Alan essentially raped her, and then slept the rest of the night with her.
Slide 12:
The rape of Simpkin’s wife and daughter equals the harshest revenge that could be enacted on him
These men use the woman as their pawns of their dares/games
Similar to the Knight’s Tale as well as the Miller’s Tale Women are subjected to do what men want them to do
Thats the direct information from the slides, as well as the notes that i used when presenting. I may have left some stuff out so I here is a list of websites that I foudn with usefull criticism on the Reeve's Tale:
http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/canttales/rvt/
http://faculty.goucher.edu/eng330/chaucerreeves_tale.htm
http://repositories.cdlib.org/cmrs/comitatus/vol19/iss1/art5/
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2455/is_n1_v32/ai_17156387
http://www.geocities.com/growonder/chaucerreeve.html
Questions / Comments? Feel free to comment. I'll respond to any questions people ahve on the blog
- Steve Gadomski
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