The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
The Merchant's Tale Analysis
The Merchant’s Tale is built on a sense of goodness gone slightly bad – like a ripe pear that has turned just a bit rotten. It begins with the initial description of January as a noble knight, but this description is combined with uncomfortably vivid descriptions of his less pleasant physical characteristics, like his scratchy beard. Likewise, although May is described as young and beautiful, she is also deceitful, and the fact that she escapes without punishment is an unsatisfactory ending for a tale that makes it clear she has done wrong. Unlike January, whose thoughts and actions are laid out as clearly as his physical description, the tale does not peer into May’s thoughts or motivations, and when it does describe her, it focuses only on her physical beauty and youth – another indication that while she may be lovely on the outside, something is rotten in the middle.
Contents
- Home
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Plot Summaries & Analysis
- General Prologue
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Knight's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Miller's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Reeve's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Cook's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Man of Law's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Friar's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Summoner's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Clerk's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Merchant's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Squire's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Franklin's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Physician's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Pardoner's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Shipman's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Prioress's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Tale of Sir Thopas
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Tale of Melibee
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Monk's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Nun's Priest’s Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Second Nun's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Canon's Yeoman’s Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Manciple's Tale
- Summary
- Analysis
- The Parson's Tale and Chaucer’s Retraction
- Summary
- Analysis
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Character Analysis
- The Host
- The Knight, the Squire, and the Knight's Yeoman
- The Prioress, the Second Nun, and the Monk
- The Friar
- The Merchant
- The Clerk of Oxford
- The Man of Law and the Franklin
- The Haberdasher, Carpenter, Weaver, Dyer, and Upholsterer
- The Cook
- The Shipman
- The Physician
- The Wife of Bath
- The Parson and the Ploughman
- The Miller
- The Manciple
- The Reeve
- The Summoner and the Pardoner
- The Canon and the Yeoman
- Themes, Symbols & Motifs
- Writing Style & Structure
- Important Quotes