Posted on Feb 5, 2023
A Wife of Bath 'biography' brings a modern woman out of the Middle Ages
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https://www.npr.org/2023/02/04/ [login to see] /wife-of-bath-canterbury-tales-chaucer
The Wife of Bath was dreamed up by Geoffrey Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales more than 600 years ago. She has captured countless imaginations since.
The character known for her lusty appetites, gossipy asides and fondness for wine has influenced authors, artists and musicians over the century ranging from William Shakespeare to the Brazilian Tropicália composer Tom Zé's catchy song, "A Mulher de Bath."
"She's extreme, and she laughs at herself," explains Marion Turner, an English professor at Oxford University. "She's aware of when she's saying things that are outrageous."
The Wife of Bath was dreamed up by Geoffrey Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales more than 600 years ago. She has captured countless imaginations since.
The character known for her lusty appetites, gossipy asides and fondness for wine has influenced authors, artists and musicians over the century ranging from William Shakespeare to the Brazilian Tropicália composer Tom Zé's catchy song, "A Mulher de Bath."
"She's extreme, and she laughs at herself," explains Marion Turner, an English professor at Oxford University. "She's aware of when she's saying things that are outrageous."
A Wife of Bath 'biography' brings a modern woman out of the Middle Ages
Posted from npr.org
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Posted >1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."More recently, the character has been celebrated and re-interpreted by several prominent postcolonial writers. Novelist Zadie Smith wrote her first play based on the character. Upon its premiere in 2021, The Guardian called The Wife of Willesden, "a bawdy treat," and "a celebration of community and local legends, of telling a good story and living a life worth telling. Not bad for an original text that's 600 years old."
And it's impossible not to be moved by the late, pioneering dub poet Jean "Binta" Breeze's take on the character. She performed "The Wife of Bath in Brixton Market" on location in 2009."...
..."More recently, the character has been celebrated and re-interpreted by several prominent postcolonial writers. Novelist Zadie Smith wrote her first play based on the character. Upon its premiere in 2021, The Guardian called The Wife of Willesden, "a bawdy treat," and "a celebration of community and local legends, of telling a good story and living a life worth telling. Not bad for an original text that's 600 years old."
And it's impossible not to be moved by the late, pioneering dub poet Jean "Binta" Breeze's take on the character. She performed "The Wife of Bath in Brixton Market" on location in 2009."...
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