The Wife of Bath in Afterlife

Seemingly written with ease, The Wife of Bath in Afterlife: Ballads to Blake introduces, defines, elucidates, compares, summarizes, contrasts, explores, and examines one of the most enthralling literary characters—the Wife of Bath—of the celebrated medieval writer Geoffrey Chaucer. For all who have a yearning for and an eagerness to learn insightful details about the Wife of Bath via motivational methodologies perfect for in-depth instruction, close study, vibrant discussion, and self-betterment, this book engages scholarship beyond the norms of standard medievalism.The Wife of Bath is a vital female character whose “afterlife” will likely reverberate throughout the twenty-first century and beyond. What makes this particular work stand out among other Wife of Bath tomes is that it adds frequently overlooked, undervalued, overrated, and discarded considerations of the long eighteenth century (namely, 1660–1810) that promote clearer understandings, fascinating revelations, and marvelous approaches to grasping the extensive essence of Chaucer's indelible character.The book's 14 chapters treat the immensity of the Wife of Bath through ballads, commentary, modernizations, plays, translations, illustrations, paintings, “audiovisual oneness,” and much more (p. 275). Each chapter is informative, detailed, stimulating, and perhaps even eye-opening for many readers. The chapters are heavy with specific in-text sources and citations, pictorial ballads, and drawings, as well as proverbs and explanatory notes.The book explores both the verbal art of language and the visual art of illustrations from Chaucer's time to the present day. One notable example of verbal art comes from the poet and bookseller Andrew Jackson (1695–1778), who “modernized . . . the Wife of Bath [through] proverbs, phallic imagery, and much verve and zest to address the audience of women” (p. 83). Although Bowden admits that “nothing is known about Jackson's private life,” she finds that “his public-sphere participation is comparatively well documented” and that Jackson “was well regarded among ‘dealers in old books, and black letter’” (p. 79).One of the better examples of visual art comes from the English poet, painter, and printmaker William Blake (1757–1827), who was frequently overlooked or certainly underestimated by his peers of the British Romantic era. The copperplate engraving (ca. 1820–1823) of his painting Canterbury Pilgrims shows the Wife of Bath riding “not only spraddle-legged but also—in conspicuous contrast to the Prioress—sidesaddle to the off (right-hand) side” (p. 276). According to Bowden, Blake “knew enough about horseback riding and more than enough about mirror-image reversal” to correct the errors of an engraving that “did not take into account mirror-image reversal” (p. 285).The Wife of Bath in Afterlife is a must-read not only for all serious-minded Chaucerian scholars but also for avid readers who earnestly endeavor to enhance their knowledge about the Wife of Bath and to broaden their capacity for learning. This book is ideal for college/university programs in the liberal arts, public libraries nationwide, academic libraries, and personal-home libraries that aim to contain well-written, thought-provoking books of scholarship

Afterlife · Art · Ballad · Literature · Poetry · Theology · Wife · History · Moravian Church and William Blake · Philosophy · Reformation and Early Modern Christianity