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Nathan Antunez

Figueroa

Senior English

12/17/18

The Tale of Bath

How do you define love and do you show enough love in tour everyday life? Chaucer is the

author of these stories and they were told the medieval times. This tale is about a knight who miss treated

a woman and was going to be put to death. The queen decided to give him one year and one day to find

out what women desire the most in their life. All year he asked every woman he saw. On the last day an

old lady gave him his answer and in return the knight must marry the crone. Chaucer defines love by

looking past physical features and look beneath the looks and what is inside.

Chaucer describes love in his tale when the knight allows the crone to change his mind set on

nobility. The crone opens the knight’s eyes on what it means to actually be noble. “Then the bride told

him that folk might indeed hand down their wealth to their children, but not their goodness; That a man is

not noble because he is the son of a duke or an earl, but because he himself does noble deeds”(Chaucer 3).

This supports Chaucer’s definition of love because it take love for your people to be noble and care for

them. The next reason that shows love is when the knight accepted the crone for her and not appearance

and saw the real beauty in her. “On my word I will be to you as true as ever lived since the world was

made,” declared his bride. “Now kiss me once and then draw up the curtains” The knight obeyed; and

when he had drawn up the curtains and turned his eyes upon her in the full sunlight, behold, she was

young, and fair and charming. He caught her in his arms and kissed her, not once, but a thousands and

thousands and unto the last days of their lives they lived in peace and happiness” (Chaucer 4). This

explains how when we see past the appearance and you are able to see the true beauty in a person. In
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conclusion Chaucer explained that when you are actually noble and look for true beauty you will know

what real love is.

In the tales Chaucer shows his thoughts about love by looking past physical appearance and look

for what is inside. The importance of reading this is that it shows us that true love only comes from

within. Also when the love comes from within they will care for their people and be noble. Chaucer

believed that when you are really showing love then you are able to see the true beauty in people. Beauty

lies within the human, not just physical attribute.