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The Cook's Tale
"The Cook's Tale" is one of the ''Canterbury Tales'' by Geoffrey Chaucer. It breaks off after 58 lines and was presumably never finished, although some scholars argue that Chaucer deliberately left the tale unfinished. Prologue The Cook (Roger) starts by commenting on the Reeve's tale and then, after a reference to Solomon, asks for his listeners to attend while he tells of a trick that was played in his city (Lines 1 – 19). The host then invites the cook to tell his tale (Lines 20 – 40). Plot The story starts telling of an apprentice named Perkyn (a.k.a. Perkin) who is fond of drinking and dancing. Perkyn is released by his master and moves in with a friend who also loves to drink, and whose wife is a ''shopkeeper'' whose real occupation is that of a prostitute. After the tale, The Host later calls upon the Cook for another, but he is too drunk and, after he falls from his horse and is helped back up, the Manciple tells a tale. Analysis The tale continues the general ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chaucer Cook
Geoffrey Chaucer ( ; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He was the first writer to be buried in what has since come to be called Poets' Corner, in Westminster Abbey. Chaucer also gained fame as a philosopher and astronomer, composing the scientific ''A Treatise on the Astrolabe'' for his 10-year-old son, Lewis. He maintained a career in public service as a bureaucrat, courtier, diplomat, and member of parliament, having been elected as shire knight for Kent. Among Chaucer's many other works are ''The Book of the Duchess'', ''The House of Fame'', ''The Legend of Good Women'', ''Troilus and Criseyde'', and ''Parlement of Foules''. He is seen as crucial in legitimising the literary use of Middle English when the dominant literary languages in England were still Anglo-Norman French and Latin. Chauce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Reeve's Prologue And Tale
"The Reeve's Tale" is the third story told in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbury Tales''. The reeve, named Oswald in the text, is the manager of a large estate who reaped incredible profits for his master and himself. He is described in the ''Tales'' as skinny, bad-tempered, and old; his hair is closely cropped reflecting his social status as a serf. His sword is rusty while he rides a fine gray horse called Scot. The Reeve is a skilled carpenter, a profession mocked in the previous " Miller's Tale". Oswald responds with a tale that mocks the Miller's profession. The tale is based on a popular fabliau (also the source of the Sixth Story of the Ninth Day of ''The Decameron'') of the period with many different versions, the "cradle-trick". Chaucer improves on his sources with his detailed characterisation and sly humour linking the act of grinding corn with sex. The northeastern accent of the two clerks is also the earliest surviving attempt in English to record a dialect from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slapstick
Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as saws and ladders. The term arises from a device developed for use in the broad, physical comedy style known as ''commedia dell'arte'' in 16th-century Italy. The "Clapper (musical instrument), slap stick" consists of two thin slats of wood, which makes a "slap" when striking another actor, with little force needed to make a loud—and comical—sound. The physical slap stick remains a key component of the plot in the traditional and popular Punch and Judy puppet show. More contemporary examples of slapstick humor include ''The Three Stooges'', ''The Naked Gun'' and ''Mr. Bean (character), Mr. Bean''. Origins The name "slapstick" originates from the Italian ''batacchio'' or ''bataccio''—called the "Clapper (musical instrument), slap sti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ninetto Davoli
Giovanni "Ninetto" Davoli (born 11 October 1948) is an Italian actor who appeared in several of Pier Paolo Pasolini's films. Biography Davoli was born in San Pietro a Maida, Calabria. He was discovered by poet, novelist and film director Pier Paolo Pasolini, then 41, who had begun a relationship with Davoli, then a 15-year-old boy, in 1963. Pasolini considered him to be "the great love of his life," and he later cast him in his 1966 film '' Uccellacci e uccellini'' (literally ''Bad Birds and Little Birds'' but translated in English as ''The Hawks and the Sparrows''), co-starred with celebrated comic Totò. Pasolini became the youth's mentor and friend. "Even though their sexual relations lasted only a few years, Ninetto continued to live with Pasolini and was his constant companion, as well as appearing in six more of his films." First cast in a non-speaking role in the film '' Il vangelo secondo Matteo'' (''The Gospel According to St. Matthew'', 1964), Davoli played mostly c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Canterbury Tales (film)
''The Canterbury Tales'' () is a 1972 Italian Medieval film, medieval Erotic film, erotic black comedy film directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini based on The Canterbury Tales, the medieval narrative poem by Geoffrey Chaucer. The second film in Pasolini's "Trilogy of Life", preceded by ''The Decameron (1971 film), The Decameron'' and followed by ''Arabian Nights (1974 film), Arabian Nights'', it won the Golden Bear at the 22nd Berlin International Film Festival. With the "Trilogy of Life", Pasolini sought to adapt vibrant, erotic tales from classical literature. With ''The Decameron'', Pasolini adapted an important work from the early era of the Italian language. With ''The Canterbury Tales'' he set his sights to the earthy Middle English tales of Chaucer. The film came after a string of movies of the late 1960s in which Pasolini had a major ideological bent. Though this film is much more light-hearted in nature Pasolini nonetheless considered it among his most "ideological". Overvie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pasolini
Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, film director, writer, actor and playwright. He is considered one of the defining public intellectuals in 20th-century Italian history, influential both as an artist and a political figure. He is known for directing ''The Gospel According to St. Matthew'', the films from Trilogy of Life (''The Decameron'', ''The Canterbury Tales'' and ''Arabian Nights'') and '' Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom''. A controversial personality due to his straightforward style, Pasolini's legacy remains contentious. Openly gay while also a vocal advocate for heritage language revival, cultural conservatism, and Christian values in his youth, Pasolini became an avowed Marxist shortly after the end of World War II. He began voicing extremely harsh criticism of Italian petty bourgeoisie and what he saw as the Americanization, cultural degeneration, and greed-driven consumerism taking over Italian culture. As a filmmaker, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Tale Of Gamelyn
''The Tale of Gamelyn'' is a romance written in c. 1350 in a dialect of Middle English, considered part of the Matter of England.Cartlidge, Neil and DS Brewer. ''Boundaries in medieval romance'', 2008, , 9781843841555. pp. 29–42. It is presented in a style of rhymed couplets and described by Skeat as "the older and longer kind of ballad" and by Ramsey as a "rough and ready romance."Knight, Stephen, and Thomas H. Ohlgren. “The Tale of Gamelyn: Introduction.” ''Robin Hood and Other Outlaw Tales'' (1997). Print. This 900-line romance is set during the reign of King Edward I and tells the story of Gamelyn, and the various obstacles he must overcome in order to retrieve his rightful inheritance from his older brother. The tale confronts the corruption of the law, illuminating a lack of moral and political consistency. There is no indication as to where exactly this story takes place, given that the text itself has no place names, and Gamelyn's family name of Boundys most likely ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Library, Harley MS 7334
Harley MS 7334, sometimes known as the Harley Manuscript, is a mediaeval manuscript of Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales'' held in the Harleian Collection of the British Library. It was formerly used as a base text for modern editions of the ''Tales'', following the examples of Thomas Wright, who used it as the basis for his 1847 edition, and W. W. Skeat, who felt it gave authoritative variant readings. Description The Harley MS was likely produced in a London workshop within a decade of Chaucer's death, and is therefore one of the earliest extant Chaucer manuscripts. It has some decoration in red, blue, pink and green, with gold leaf used on borders and initials, and like the Ellesmere Manuscript represents a commission for a wealthy patron (the style of the decoration is very similar to that seen in Ellesmere, perhaps indicating that the same limner worked on both).Thaisen, J. "The Trinity Gower D Scribe's Two ''Canterbury Tales'' Manuscripts Revisited", in Mooney & Connolly, ''Desi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Miller's Prologue And Tale
"The Miller's Tale" () is the second of Geoffrey Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales'' (1380s–1390s), told by the drunken miller Robin toquite (a Middle English term meaning requite or pay back, in both good and negative ways) "The Knight's Tale". The Miller's Prologue is the first "quite" that occurs in the tales. Prologue The general prologue to ''The Canterbury Tales'' describes the Miller, Robin, as a stout and evil churl fond of wrestling. In the Miller's Prologue, the pilgrims have just heard and enjoyed "The Knight's Tale", a classical story of courtly love, and the Host asks the Monk to "quite" with a tale of his own. Before the Monk can respond, however, the drunken Miller insists on going next. The Host tries to persuade the Miller to let some "bettre" man tell the next tale, but acquiesces when the Miller threatens to leave the company. The Miller claims that his tale is "noble", but reminds the other pilgrims that he is quite drunk and cannot be held accountable for what ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Canterbury Tales
''The Canterbury Tales'' () is a collection of 24 stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. The book presents the tales, which are mostly written in verse, as part of a fictional storytelling contest held by a group of pilgrims travelling together from London to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. The ''Tales'' are widely regarded as Chaucer's '' magnum opus''. They had a major effect upon English literature and may have been responsible for the popularisation of the English vernacular in mainstream literature, as opposed to French or Latin. English had, however, been used as a literary language centuries before Chaucer's time, and several of Chaucer's contemporaries— John Gower, William Langland, the Gawain Poet, and Julian of Norwich—also wrote major literary works in English. It is unclear to what extent Chaucer was seminal in this evolution of literary preference. ''The Canterbury Tale ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Knight's Tale
"The Knight's Tale" () is the first tale from Geoffrey Chaucer's '' The Canterbury Tales''. The Knight is described by Chaucer in the " General Prologue" as the person of highest social standing amongst the pilgrims, though his manners and clothes are unpretentious. We are told that he has taken part in some fifteen crusades in many countries and also fought for one pagan leader against another. Though the list of campaigns is real, his characterization is idealized. Most readers have taken Chaucer's description of him as "a verray, parfit gentil knyght" to be sincere but Terry Jones suggested that this description was ironic, and that Chaucer's readers would have deduced that the Knight was a mercenary. He is accompanied on his pilgrimage by the Squire, his 20-year-old son. The story introduces themes and arguments typically encountered in the literature of knighthood, including courtly love and ethical dilemmas. Sources and composition The epic poem '' Teseida'' (full ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Manciple's Prologue And Tale
"The Manciple's Tale" is part of Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbury Tales''. It tends to appear near the end of most manuscripts of the poem, and the prologue to the final tale, "The Parson's Tale", makes it clear that it was intended to be the penultimate story in the collection. The Manciple, a purchasing agent for a law court, tells a fable about Phoebus Apollo and his pet crow, which is both an origin myth explaining the crow's black feathers and a moralistic injunction against gossip. Prologue In the tale's prologue, the Host tries to rouse the Cook to tell a tale, but he is too drunk. The Manciple insults the Cook, who falls semi-conscious from his horse, but they are reconciled by the Host and the Manciple offers the Cook another drink to make up. Plot In the main plot of the tale, Phoebus has a crow which is all white and can speak. Phoebus also has a wife, whom he treasures but keeps shut up in his house. He is very jealous of his wife: The Manciple digresses to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
