THE PRIORESS BY GEOFFREY CHAUCER

The Prioress by Geoffrey Chaucer

Anna Sofia Springolo - Marta Spolaore - Vittoria Gottardi Classe 3AC a.s. 2021 - 2022

Index

General prologue

Translation

Glossary

Text analysis

Character analysis

In - depth analysis

Prioress Tale video

01

General prologue - translation

here also was a Nun, a Prioress,Her way of smiling very simple and coy.Her greatest oath was only “By St Loy!”And she was known as Madam Eglantyne.And well she sang a service, with a fineIntoning through her nose, as was most seemly,And she spoke daintily in French, extremely,After the school of Stratford-atte-Bowe;French in the Paris style she did not know.At meat her manners were well taught withal;No morsel from her lips did she let fall,Nor dipped her fingers in the sauce too deep;But she could carry a morsel up and keepThe smallest drop from falling on her breast.

C’era inoltre una suora, una priora,il suo modo di sorridere era molto semplice e timido.La sua piü grande imprecazione era solo "per Sant'EIigio"!E lei era conosciuta come Madam Eglantyne.E lei cantava bene il servizio religioso con una delicatavoce nasale ( tramite il naso), ed era la più elegante,e lei parlava in modo estremamente raffinato in francese dopo la scuola di Stratford-atte-Bowe;lei non conosceva il francese nello stile di Parigi.A tavola i suoi modi erano educati in tutto;lei non faceva cadere nessun boccone dalle sue labbra,né intingeva le sue dita nella salsa troppo in profondità; ma lei poteva portare (alla bocca) un pezzetto e tenere la più piccola traccia lontana dal cadere sul suo petto.

Social position

Figure of speech: irony

Figure of speech: exaggeration

First - narrator

For courtliness she had a special zest,And she would wipe her upper lip so cleanThat not a trace of grease was to be seenUpon the cup when she had drunk; to eat,She reached a band sedately for the meat.She certainly was very entertaining,Pleasant and friendly in her ways, and strainingTo counterfeit a courtly kind of grace,A stately bearing fitting to her place,And to seem dignified in all her dealings.As for her sympathies and tender feelings,She was so charitably solicitousShe used to weep if she but saw a mouseCaught in a trap, if it were dead or bleeding.And she had little dogs she would be feedingWith roasted flesh, or milk, or fine white bread.

Per cortesia lei aveva un piacere/gusto speciale,e lei si pulirebbe il suo labbro superiore così pulito in modo che non si poteva vedere alcuna traccia di grasso sopra la sua coppa quando aveva bevuto;per mangiare lei allungava compostamente una mano per il cibo.Lei certamente era molto divertente, piacevole e amichevole a suo modo, e si sforzava di simulare una specie di grazia cortese, un portamento maestoso adatto alla sua posizione, e per sembrare dignitosa in tutti i suoi modi.Come per le sue simpatie e i suoi dolci sentimenti,era generosamente sollecitaLei era solita piangere se vedeva un topo preso in una trappola, se era morto e sanguinante.E lei aveva piccoli cani che nutrivacon carne arrostita, o latte, o raffinato pane bianco.

Social position

Figure of speech: irony

Figure of speech: exaggeration

First - narrator

Piangeva amaramente se uno era mortoo qualcuno prendeva un bastone e lo faceva soffrire;era tutta piena di sentimenti e di cuore tenero.Il suo velo era riunito in un modo distinto,il suo naso era elegante, i suoi occhi trasparenti;la sua bocca era molto piccola, ma soffice e rossa,la sua fronte era certamente ben spaziosa,quasi come una spanna sulle ciglia, lo riconosco;lei non era per niente bassa di statura.Il suo mantello, notai, aveva un fascino aggraziato.Lei indossava un braccialetto di corallo sul suo braccio,un rosario, i grani più grossi colorati di verde,da cui pendeva una spilla di grandissimo splendoresulla quale per prima era incisa una "A" coronata,e più sotto, Amor vincit omnia.

And bitterly she wept if one were dead Or someone took a stick and made it smart,She -was all sentiment and tender heart.Her veil was gathered in a seemly way,Her nose was elegant, her eyes glass-grey;Her mouth was very small, but soft and red,Her forehead, certainly, was fair of spread,Almost a span across the brows, I own;She was indeed by no means undergrown.Her cloak, I noticed, had a graceful charm.She wore a coral trinket on her arm,A set of beads, the gaudies tricked in green,Whence hung a golden brooch of brightest sheenOn which there first was graven a crowned A,And lower, Amor vincit omnia.

Social position

Figure of speech: irony

Figure of speech: exaggeration

First - narrator

Glossary

Coy: Timida Oath: Imprecazione By St Loy!: Per Sant'Eligio (patrono degli orefici) Seemly: Conveniente, decoroso,elegante Daintily: Raffinatamente Stratford-atte-Bowe: Stratford Bow, sobborgo di Londra Morsel: Boccone Dipped: Intingeva Zest: Gusto, piacere Sedately: Compostamente Dealings: Modi Bitterly she wept: Piangeva amaramente Coral trinket: Braccialetto di corallo A set of beads: Un rosario The gaudies tricked in green: I grani più grossi colorati di verde Brooch: Spilla Graven: Incisa

02

Text analysis

The figure of speech

Irony

• figure of speech used to say something to mean exactly the opposite

Exaggeration

• Figure of speech used to emphasize Prioress' personality and manners

Chaucer uses these figures of speech to criticize and attack the high clergy through the Prioress

03

Character analysis

The Prioress

Personality

Her smile is simple and shy. She only swears by "ST Loy". She sings the divine service very well but she is used to sing throught the nose. She speaks French elegantly. She is very mannerly and she knows all good habits of eating. She is friendly and very kind, merciful and charitable and she would weep for a mouse if it was caught in trap. She has pets andShe feeds her dogs with meat, milk or white bread

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The Prioress

Physical appearance

Tools

She wears a veil and a cloak in an elegant manner. She has a red-coral rosary and an gold brooch on which is written letter A under which is written "AMOR VINCIT OMNIA"

She has a fine nose, grey eyes as glass, small mouth soft and red, a huge broad forehead and she is not short

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04

In - depth analysis

Analogies between the Monaca di Monza and the Prioress

The Prioress By Geoffrey Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales

The Monaca di Monza by Alessandro Manzoni in Promessi Sposi

The description of the Prioress and of the Monaca di Monza are similar although they were written in two different times

• Both hold a high position in the hierarchy of the clergy
• Both characters are described through their physical appearance, behavior, clothing
• Both characters seem not to care of the rules of the church
• Both characters are used by the authors to criticize all the clergy

The Prioress Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer: summary, themes and main characters

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