Chaucer’s Wife of Bath’s Tale: Write a Letter to the Queen
Instructional Objectives:
 Analyze rhetorical devices used by the knight and the old lady to defend their
position.
 Appreciate Chaucer’s use of language and characterization techniques.
 Imitate Chaucer’s writing style with use of rhymed couplets.
 Construct arguments from two points of view (the knight and the old lady) using
descriptive language and rhetorical devices.
CA Standards:
3.0 Literary Responses and Analysis:
3.8 Political assumptions in a literary work (ex: role of women in Middle Ages)
1.0 Listening and Speaking: Organization and Delivery
1.2 Use logical, ethical, and emotional appeals to enhance tone and purpose.
2.1 Writing application: effectively use descriptions, images, perspectives, and sensory
details.
Procedures:
Read the Wife of Bath’s Tale.
Discuss Chaucer’s characterization of the Wife of Bath.
Discuss the role of women in the Middle Ages.
Discuss the Code of Chivalry and analyze how the knight violates the Code.
Analyze the Old Lady’s arguments concerning the knight’s arguments against marrying
her (age, poverty, social status).
Compare the knight’s attitude about women to current times.
Group students in teams and ask them to write down lists of “preconceptions” or
“stereotypes” about the opposite sex.
Assessment: Write 2 letters to Queen from a character’s perspective: the Knight
vs. the Old Lady.
Should the Queen allow the Knight to break his word and refuse to marry the Old
Lady despite his “word of honor”?
Should the Queen support the Old Lady and mandate that the knight marry the Old
Lady?
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Imitate Chaucer’s writing style and write 2 letters to the queen.
Present your letters in class.
Consider the arguments on both sides and use details that will persuade the
queen to grant the character’s wish.