"Canterbury Tales: The wife of Bath"

The wife

of Bath

PLOT:

The Wife of Bath is one of the two women storytellers (the other is the Prioress): has traveled the world on pilgrimage (was in Jerusalem, Boulogne, Rome, St. James in Galicia and Cologne), and the pilgrimage to Canterbury then looks like a game than previous trips. She then argues that not only saw many lands, but also brought five different husbands in church (which means that all his previous husbands are dead) and to have had other lovers in his youth. It is therefore a worldly woman in every sense: he made his own experiences with people from all over the world, love or sex that is.


It is a wealthy woman, resourceful and very expert embroiderer, his clothes skim extravagance. His face is red, stockings of a scarlet color (which was very expensive, since the dye was made from a particular red beetle that is found only in some parts of the world) and the skin of his shoes is soft, radiant and new, all to show how much she had become wealthy. He had many of the physical canons of a sensual woman for the time: "gap-toothed was she," or had a space between the front teeth; "Large hips", wide hips; "Bold was her face," had a cheeky face; "Handsome", beautiful (usually "handsome" is used for a male beauty and "beautiful" for a female, this choice of adjective could be traced to his size); "Red in hue", had red cheeks.


Geoffrey Chaucer makes us understand that the "wife of Bath" undertook these pilgrimages more to meet new men for a purely religious order, which outlines a profile of woman life, enterprising and worldly; in addition to this, the author makes known his character conceited and self-centered, describing in detail the clothes she wore extravagant to say the least to get noticed and claim to always be the first, to church, to make an offer (the point be very angry if someone dared overtake walking towards the altar).

TRADUZIONE:

La donna di Bath è una delle due donne cantastorie (l'altra è la Prioressa): ha viaggiato per il mondo in pellegrinaggio (è stata a Gerusalemme, Boulogne, Roma, San Giacomo in Galizia e a Colonia), e il pellegrinaggio a Canterbury dunque appare come un gioco rispetto ai precedenti viaggi. La donna poi sostiene che non solo ha visto molte terre, ma ha anche portato cinque diversi mariti in chiesa (il che significa che tutti i suoi precedenti mariti sono morti) e di aver avuto molti altri amanti in gioventù. Si configura quindi come una donna mondana in tutti i sensi: ha fatto le proprie esperienze con uomini da tutto il mondo, amore o sesso che sia.


È una donna benestante, intraprendente ed espertissima ricamatrice, i suoi vestiti sfiorano la stravaganza. Il suo viso è rosso, le calze di un colore scarlatto (il che era molto costoso, poiché la tintura era ricavata da un particolare maggiolino rosso che si trova solo in alcune parti del mondo) e la pelle delle sue scarpe è morbida, raggiante e nuova, tutto per dimostrare quanto benestante fosse diventata. Aveva molti dei canoni fisici di una donna sensuale per l'epoca: "gap-toothed was she", ovvero aveva uno spazio tra i denti anteriori; "large hips", fianchi larghi; "bold was her face", aveva un viso impertinente; "handsome", bella (di solito "handsome" viene usato per una bellezza maschile e "beautiful" per una femminile, questa scelta di aggettivo potrebbe essere ricondotta alla sua stazza); "red in hue", aveva guance rosse.


Geoffrey Chaucer ci fa intendere che la "wife of Bath" intraprendeva questi pellegrinaggi più per conoscere nuovi uomini che per un fine puramente religioso, il che delinea un profilo di donna vitale, intraprendente e mondana; oltre a questo, l'autore ci rende noto il suo carattere presuntuoso ed egocentrico, descrivendoci dettagliatamente i vestiti a dir poco stravaganti che indossava per farsi notare e la pretesa di essere sempre la prima, in chiesa, a fare un'offerta (al punto da arrabbiarsi molto se qualcuno osava precederla camminando verso l'altare).

"Canterbury Tales: The Knight"

Knight's Story:

PLOT:

Theseus, king of Athens, imprisons Arcita and Palaemon, two knights from Thebes (ancient Greek city). From their prison, the knights go see the sister of Theseus, Emilia, and they fall in love. Thanks to the intervention of a friend, Arcita is freed (liberato), but banished from Athens.


He decides to return, however, disguise and becomes a page at the court of Emilia: Palaemon meanwhile manages to escape and meets Arcita in a forest; when an argument between the two for the lovely Emilia. Theseus, who was passing near the forest, including the love of the two for Emilia and index a tournament between the two knights in a year would have to recruit 100 riders each, and then use them in a clash between the two. The ultimate prize would be the hand of Emilia. After a year, the two and their armies gather in Athens, ready to fight, each bringing a different banner: Arcita choose the banner of the god Mars, god of war, while Palemone chooses the goddess Venus, goddess of love. Arcita wins, but the goddess Venus, furious of defeat, causing an earthquake that does scare and boosted the horse Arcita, causing him to fall. Arcita, knowing that they must die, called Emilia and Palaemon beside him and asks them to get married and live happily; then dies staring eyes of his beloved. After great ceremonies to honor the death of the young, Palaemon and Emilia marry according to the will of Arcita.

TRADUZIONE:

Teseo, re di Atene, imprigiona Arcita e Palemone, due cavalieri provenienti da Tebe (città dell'antica Grecia). Dalla loro prigione, i cavalieri vedono passare la cognata di Teseo, Emilia, e se ne innamorano. Grazie all'intervento di un amico, Arcita viene liberato, ma bandito da Atene.


Decide però di ritornare, sotto mentite spoglie e diviene paggio presso la corte di Emilia: Palemone intanto riesce a scappare e incontra Arcita in un bosco; tra i due scoppia una lite per la bella Emilia. Teseo, che stava passando nelle vicinanze di quel bosco, comprende l'amore dei due per Emilia e indice un torneo tra i due cavalieri: in un anno avrebbero dovuto arruolare 100 cavalieri ognuno, per poi utilizzarli in uno scontro tra i due. Il premio finale sarebbe stata la mano di Emilia. Dopo un anno, i due con i loro eserciti si ritrovano presso Atene, pronti a combattere, portando ognuno un vessillo diverso: Arcita sceglie il vessillo del dio Marte, dio della guerra, mentre Palemone sceglie quello della dea Venere, dea dell'amore. Arcita vince, ma la dea Venere, furiosa della sconfitta, provoca un terremoto che fa spaventare e impennare il cavallo di Arcita, facendolo cadere. Arcita, sapendo di dover morire, chiama accanto a sé Emilia e Palemone e chiede loro di sposarsi e di vivere felici; dopodiché muore fissando gli occhi dell'amata. Dopo grandi cerimonie per onorare la morte del giovane, Palemone ed Emilia si sposano secondo le volontà di Arcita.

"Canterbury Tales"

"The Canterbury

Tales":

The Canterbury Tales is a collection of over 20 stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. The Canterbury Tales is an unfinished narrative poem used the structure of the three orders of society. The tales are presented as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Tales The prize for this contest is a free meal at the Tabard Inn at Southwark on their return.

PLOT:

In April,withe the beginning of spring,people of varying social classes come from all over England to gather (riunirsi) at the Tabrd Inn in preparation for a pilgrimage to Canterbury to receive the blessings of St. Thomas à Becket,the English martyr. Chaucer himself is one of the pilgrims. That evening, the Host of the Tabard Inn suggests that each member of the group tell tales on the way to and from Canterbury in order to make the time pass more pleasantly (piacevolmente). The person who tells the best story will be awarded ( premiata) an elegant dinner at the end of the trip. The Host decides to accompany the party on its pilgrimage and appoints himself as the judge of the best tale.



Shortly after their departure the day, the pilgrims draw straws ( sorteggiando bastoncini). The Knight, who draws the shortest straw,agrees (accetta) to tell the first story, a noble story about knights,honor and love. When the Knight finishes his story, the Host calls upon the Monk. The drunken Miller, however,insists that it is his turn, and he proceeds to tell a story about a stupid carpenter. At the end of his story, everyone roars with laughter, except the Reeve, who had one been a carpenter. To get back at the Miller, the Reeve tells a lowbrow (grossolana) story about a cheating( imbroglione) miller. At the end of the Reeve's Tale, the Cook, Roger, promises to tell a true story, but he doesn't complete his tale.


By now, the first day is rapidly passing, and the Host hurries the pilgrims to get on with their tales. Using the best legalese that he knows, he calls upon the Man of Law for the next tale. The Man of Law proceeds to tell the tale of Constancy. The Host is very pleased with the tale and asks theParson to relate another one just as good. The Parson declines,however,and rebukes the Host for swearing and ridiculing him ( The Parson), The Shipman braks in and tells a lively story to make up for so much moralizing.