The Wife of Bath's Tale
Poetry
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Geoffrey Chaucer
The Wife of Bath's Tale Main Text and Translation
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The Wife of Bath's Prologue
The Prologe of the Wyves Tale of Bathe
1 "Experience, though noon auctoritee
"Experience, though no written authority
2 Were in this world, is right ynogh for me
Were in this world, is good enough for me
3 To speke of wo that is in mariage...
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The Wife of Bath's Tale Key Facts
The Wife of Bath's Tale Key Facts
The Wife of Bath's Tale is a tale told by the Wife of Bath in Geoffrey Chaucher's The Canterbury Tales. It can be found in Fragment 3, lines 857–1264.
Poet: Geoffrey Chaucer (1343 - 1400)
Title of the Poet: Father of English Literature, Father of English Poetry, Father of English Language, Grandfather of the English Novel
Written Date: Between 1387 and 1400...
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The Wife of Bath's Tale Themes
Power and Sovereignty in Relationships
A central theme of the tale is the struggle for power within relationships. The Wife of Bath, in both her prologue and tale, argues that women desire sovereignty over their husbands and lovers. This idea is embodied in the tale’s resolution, where the knight learns that true harmony in a relationship comes from granting his wife autonomy. The old crone tra...
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The Wife of Bath's Tale Summary
The Wife of Bath
Before sharing her story, the Wife of Bath talks about her personal life. She has been married five times and defends her choices by saying God wanted humans to multiply and even King Solomon had many wives. She rejects the idea that virginity is superior. She argues that if no women had children, there would be no virgins. She believes God gave her gifts, like her sexuality, to u...
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