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'Merchant's Tale - Marriage'
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- 1689
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- Sat Sep 12 2009
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... To what extent do you agree that The Merchant's Prologue and Tale is merely a cynical attack on marriage? Geoffrey Chaucer's presentation of marriage throughout The Canterbury Tales is, indeed, varied, abstract and supplemented by dispute over the sincerity of specific works. This literary inconsistency is strongly evident in The Merchant's Tale, making it essential to address the disparity of its message on the topic of marriage. It could initially be assumed that the poem is not solely a cynical attack on marriage; Chaucer offers a somewhat objective overview of the issue, purveyed by the obvious difference in opinion of its characters, for example; the merchant in the prologue - 'we wedded men live in sorwe and care'1 - and Januarie's opinion - 'in this world it [marriage] is a paradis'2 - or the differing judgements of both Justinus - 'it is no childes pley'3 - and Placebo - 'Dooth now














