Garden

Garden

1. Perfect setting for love and romance- Which January seems keen to keep.

   • 'wol no wight suffren bere'
     • would let no-one else carry- protects and guards his posessions
   • 'world joy may not alwey dure' 'scorpion.. flaterest with thyn heed whan thou wolt stinge'
     • Wont last- scorpion is symbol of treachery- Idea tongue flattery is the sting.
   • 'O monster, that so subtilly kanst pente 'yiftes under hewe of stidefastness'
     • Craftilly can disguise. Underlying note of deception in this garden. Metaphor of gifts as constancy
   • ''thou hast biraft him bothe his yen.. he desireth to die'
     • You have stolen both his eyes- idea Eyes have been taken from him- blame it on 'Fortune unstable#' Idea womas fault
   • Garden is a parody of adam and eve- A + E becMe sexually concious after being expeeled from garden of eden- they are using it to add variety to their sex life

2. January is continued to be presnted as a fool but Chaucer makes us sympathise with him more before May does the deed.

   • 'my wyf, my love, my lady free/ The turtle-vois is herd, my doyve sweete.. columbin'
     • Repetition of 'my'- personal pronoun- possessive- controlling. Links to dove = heavily ironic because of fidelity symbollism
     • Merchant calls this poetic praise 'lewewd' as he dirties their meaning by using them to tempt her to 'disport' in the garden
   • no wight mighte it se neither yheere'
     • No one will see or nere- double negative- undertones of the sin they shall commit
   • 'That art the creatue that I best love... hadde to dien on a knyf,/ Than thee offende'
     • Hyperbollic imagery of being stabbed to death than just to displease is firstly unture as it is clear may is sexually displeased- but may portray a more deep side to janury portraying May's actions as cruel.
   • 'noght for no coveitisse.. oonly for for the love I had to thee'
     • lies to May- know its not true because he says thank gos she is all mine. However he says 'Be trewe to me' moments before she does this cat.
   • 'al myn heritage..chartres.. in convenant ye me kisse'
     • Kiss me to seal the bargain- - contracts and deeds- bribing her? suggests that is wta she is interested in? His desire to give may all he posesses comes just before this showing she doesnt care about January.
   • 'Forbere to been out of youre compaignye'
     • Says not to b offended by his jealousy as he always wants to e with her- maybe romantic- or perhaps very uncharacteristic that it is laughable as he sis not choose her for her company.
   • 'winter is goon'
     • Ironically anticipationg his own dismissal
   • 'And to his palays hoom he hath hire lad'
     • Most foolish moment- doesn't even trust his own eyes- but takes her with him- he is essentially still blind
   • 'Though I be oold and may nat see'
     • acknowledges he is notquite perfect- he appreaciates her more- suggests genuine love devloping.

3. PLUTO AND PROSPERINA

   • 'Bright was the Day.. Phebus hath of gold.. gladen every flour'
     • Chaucer raises dramatic tension by introducing a digression- to leave audience specualting and build a clear image. technique of handling multiple scenes of actions is entralancement.
     • Phebus- the sun has sent down his gold rays.
     • -Given astrology- shows it is clear January is in danger -summertime is Mays season and outdoor world is a sphere if her influence
   • 'Pluto.. ther may no wight seye nay.. The tresons whiche wommen doon to man'
     • No one can deny the deciet women can 'ten hondred thousand [tales] tellen i kan.. brotilnesse' 'amongat a thousand men yet I found oon,/ But of wommen alle foond i noon' One virtupus man in a thousand but not one in women. 'corrupt pestilence' idea of terrible infectious diseases.
     • I shall yeven hire suffisant answere'
       • posperina- in defence of her own sex promises to give May a suitable reply. She then goes on to say 'alle woman' when found in 'gilt ytake', the will never die be cuase of a 'lack of answere'. 'we wommen visage it hardily' - Women will face it boldly- links to WOB pro feminist. So that men shall be as 'lewed as geese'. Though she stands up for hersex she continues to paint them as decieving. Idea men will be just as metaphorically blind to their wives as physically.
   • 'se ye nat this honourable knight.. blind and old.. cokewold'
     • Pluto takes pity on january- and sees him as again honourba;e' suggesting a blindness himself.
   • 'he ne foond no good womman,/Yet hath ther founde many another man/ Wommen ful trewe, ful goode and vertuous'
     • Though Solomon found no good woman- other men did- Prosperina feels he places too much importance on Solomons opinions-. The marital debate between the gods suggests the battle of the sexes is unic=versal and not confined to mere mortals.
   • 'He was a lecher and an idolastre'
     • He was a lecher and a worshipper of false gods- ironic and humorous as she is a mythical godess. Solomons behaviour during his life makes his views worthless.
   • 'i shal; nat spare, for no curteisye'
     • Prosperina has a strong dislike for solomon and wholds a strongly feminist view- contrasting with the patriarchal nature of the rest of the tale. She uses a symbol of her feminity-hair- when talking of the fact she will never stop criticising him.

4. THE ACT

   • 'singeth ful murier than the papejay'
     • Jan is foolishly singin merrier than a parrot. Association of arots with tame or pet lovers derives from the erotic poetry of ovid- well known to middle ages whose lady Corinna has a pet parrot.
   • 'Damyan shoulde climbe upon a tre,/ That charged ws with fruit'
     • Fruit imagery is frequently associated with sex- particularly the pear- tree- which features in lewd popular lyric verses of the period- as well as one in #the dec#ameron- by giovanni boccacio- Alos links to garden of eden parody-- devil tempting eve to eat the fruit of knowledge and learn nature of good and evil- Damien is tempter- although arguablky May has been setting the pace. She already knows differece between good and evil but chooses to ignore the information in her quest for sexual gratification.
   • 'Mighte I yow helpen with myn herte blood' / he stoupeth down and on his bak she stood'
     • Idea she is lifting herself with januaries desire to help her regardless of his other intentions- again cold and infeeling representation. Literally walking all over him.
   • 'Gan pullen up the smok, and in he throng'
     • Very mechanical and vulgar description- underlines lack of romance. 'gan' 'pullen' and 'throng' in quick succession, actions which have been preapredor ny May's elaborate metaphorical foreplay- began with May's signs.
   • 'yaf and a roring cry,/ #As dooth the mooder whan the child shal die'
     • idea something has died- lost his marriage and perhaps his foolish innocence. Humour derives in Januaries womanish wailing
   • 'fresshe'
     • Chaucer parodies the conventions of courtly love. By this poin in the tale 'freshhe' connotes sexual readiness rther than innocence and May's longing for pears, with all their sxual symbolism, conceals an evident longing for Damyan.