Chaucer's Boece and Rhetorical Process in the Wife of Bath's Bedside Questio

Abstract

Chaucer's Wife of Bath's Tale has been well-mined for feminist and psychological issues but less criticism has analyzed the rhetorical techniques informing the wyf's bedside harangue to the knight. These are shown to echo that of Lady Philosophy to Boethius in Chaucer's Boece; close reading of the lecture reveals a patterning on Boece, particularly evinced in the similarities between Lady Philosophy and the foul wife, in the matches in argumentation and rhetorical devices, and in the harangue's emphasis on power and obedience. Whether meant seriously or to humorously imitate scholastic debate, the foul wife's questio suggests new questions about Chaucer's intentions and purposes in the tale. 6633 words.