The Importance Of May In The Canterbury Tales

Geoffrey Chaucer has greatly influenced English literature with many of his works. He comprised more than twenty tales in his most famous collections The Canterbury Tales. There are several of his many tales that expresses love, marriage, and romanticism to display an important message. The Merchants Tale in particular refers marriage and love between the characters. First, the story introduces the narrator Chaucer, whom tells the story of a knight. Second, the knight January is presented and is out looking for marriage, and gets it. Third, his wife May is introduced and unsuccessfully settles down with January. The main characters in The Merchants Tale each have their own attributions that are an important part of the tale expressing the

There are several reasons why May is characterized as the woman who does wrong within her marriage. First, May is characterized as being a young beautiful girl who is very youthful and isn’t’ a woman of high status. For example lines 1624-1626 describes her as (“which that of beautee hadde greet renoun, Al were it so she were of small degree; Suffiseth hym hir yowthe and hir beautee). Second, there is irony in her name because her name is May. May symbolizes something pure that has youthful nature although she is the complete opposite of this as she betrays her husband. For example lines 1748-1749 defines her as (That she was lyk the brighte morwe of May, Fulfiled of alle beautee and plesaunce). Third, there is also foreshadowing of her character because she does cross the lines of unity and love. For example lines 1782 state (Til fresshe May wol rewen on his peyne). In other words meaning that the story will take a turn for destruction, as so happened when May and Damien became intimate in the garden. Her character describes a woman who is beautiful and loveable but later deceives her husband and goes against the religious orders of