The merchant canterbury tales sparknotes

1. What does the merchant do in The Canterbury Tales?
2. How does Chaucer present the merchant?
3. What kind of person is the merchant in The Canterbury Tales?
4. Why did the old merchant and the lady feel an urge to make David as their son?
5. What does the merchant reveal about his own marriage in his prologue?
6. What is the moral of the Merchant's Tale?
7. What did a merchant do?
8. Is the merchant satire?
9. What is the theme of the Merchant's Tale give examples?
10. What is ironic about the merchant in the Canterbury Tales?
11. What is the meaning behind the names of the main characters in the merchant's tale?
12. What is a merchant dealer?
13. What does the merchant say when he sees David sleeping?
14. What are The Canterbury Tales summary?
15. How does January go blind in the merchant's tale?

What does the merchant do in The Canterbury Tales?

The Merchant is a wealth fur and clothing trader. He is a wealthy man and is at the top of the society ladder unlike many others. His business has treated him well and given him a good and easy life where he wants for very little.

How does Chaucer present the merchant?

Chaucer also illustrates the Merchant as an incredibly materialistic character. In the 'General Prologue' the reader gains the impression that image is very important to the Merchant. He is well dressed with fashionable motley coloured clothes, stylish Flemish beaver hat and expensive boots.

What kind of person is the merchant in The Canterbury Tales?

The merchant from Chaucer's 'The Canterbury Tales' is a shrewd and opinionated individual. He takes great care in his appearance with the intent of having others think him successful, but in this lesson we'll explore whether it's truth or deception.

Why did the old merchant and the lady feel an urge to make David as their son?

His reasons are clear enough: He wants to fulfill God's wish that man and woman marry, and he wants a son to inherit his estates.

What does the merchant reveal about his own marriage in his prologue?

What does the Merchant reveal about his own marriage in his prologue? He is very unhappily married.

What is the moral of the Merchant's Tale?

Yes, the merchant's tale does have a moral. The entire tale is full of instances where January misinterprets the Bible and his religious teachings. The tale could be demonstrating to the audience why they should not think as January does, because they could have equally bad things happen to them.

What did a merchant do?

A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as industry, commerce, and trade have existed.

Is the merchant satire?

In that view, Chaucer's Merchant, with his shifty beard and apparent boasting of his success, falls into the genre known as “estates satire,” a form that drew attention to the disparity between the ideal and actual qualities of those occupying the various medieval social groups. ...

What is the theme of the Merchant's Tale give examples?

The difficulty of marriage is a theme that appears often throughout The Canterbury Tales. The Merchant seems the perfect traveler to tell this tale of deceit and corruption in marriage, as his own opinion of the institution is quite soured by his recent experience.

What is ironic about the merchant in the Canterbury Tales?

In medieval England, to be in debt was a sign of weak morals. So when Chaucer tells us that the Merchant was a "worthy man withal," we can probably take that a bit ironically. In the Merchant's Prologue, we learn that he is unhappily married to a shrewish woman who could win a fight against the devil.

What is the meaning behind the names of the main characters in the merchant's tale?

The naming of the characters in this Tale is riddled with satirical nomenclature: Januarie, the main character, is named in conjunction with his equally seasonal wife May, representing their individual characters: Januarie is "hoor and oolde", sharing the bare and unfruitful characteristics of his title month, whereas ...

What is a merchant dealer?

As nouns the difference between merchant and dealer

is that merchant is a person who traffics in commodities for profit while dealer is one who deals things, especially automobiles; a middleman.

What does the merchant say when he sees David sleeping?

"How soundly he sleeps!" whispered the old gentleman. "From what a depth he draws that easy breath! Such sleep as that, brought on without an opiate, would be worth more to me than half my income; for it would suppose health and an untroubled mind."

What are The Canterbury Tales summary?

In The Canterbury Tales, a group of pilgrims traveling to Canterbury Cathedral compete in a storytelling contest. This overarching plot, or frame, provides a reason for the pilgrims to tell their stories, which reflect the concerns sparked by the social upheavals of late medieval England.

How does January go blind in the merchant's tale?

The wax impression of a key May gives her lover, Damyan, allows him into her garden unbeknownst to January. He is physically blind to Damyan's entrance and mentally blind to her adultery. By way of the wax key, May controls who sees her and when.