TheShipman

[edit] The Shipman's Tale

Note there is no prologue and no link to frame.

Whose voice do we seem to hear in the opening about the expense of keeping a wife?

What relation do the monk and merchant enjoy?

What relation do the merchant and his wife not enjoy?

What relation does the monk adjure so that he can have a relation with the merchant’s wife?

What does the wife need?

How does the monk get it for her and at what price?

How is the debt repaid?

What puns on tale/tail and tally are there which don’t really survive so well in translation?

Expense of wives

Money

Commerce

Usury

Double entendres abound

Merchant not painted as evil in spite of his great profit

Wife and monk conform to fabliau stereotypes