The Merchant's Prologue and Tale (OCR A Level English Literature): Flashcards
Exam code: H472
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Fill in the gap: "And ＿＿＿＿＿ laugheth upon every wight"
The Merchant, line 1723
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Cards in this collection (10)
Fill in the gap: "And ＿＿＿＿＿ laugheth upon every wight"
The Merchant, line 1723
Answer: "And Venus laugheth upon every wight"
Fill in the gap: "She is a ＿＿＿＿＿ at al"
The Merchant, Prologue line 1222
Answer: "She is a shrewe at al"
Fill in the gap: "Lyk to the ＿＿＿＿＿ in bosom sly untrewe"
The Merchant, line 1786
Answer: "Lyk to the naddre in bosom sly untrewe"
Fill in the gap: "I wolde nevere eft comen in the ＿＿＿＿＿"
The Merchant, Prologue lines 1226-27
Answer: "I wolde nevere eft comen in the snare"
Key quote: "For wedlok is so esy and so clene, / That in this world it is a paradis"
The Merchant, lines 1264-65
Analysis
The Merchant praises marriage as a paradise, but everything that follows contradicts him. The gap between the claim and the tale creates heavy irony.
Key quote: "Paraunter she may be youre purgatorie! / She may be Goddes meene and Goddes whippe"
Justinus, lines 1670-71
Analysis
Justinus turns the picture of marriage as paradise into one of purgatory. Calling a wife God's whip makes marriage a punishment sent to correct a sinful man.
Key quote: "Woman is for mannes helpe ywroght"
The Merchant, line 1324
Analysis
Woman is defined entirely by her usefulness to man. The line presents that hierarchy as part of creation rather than as a human decision about gender.
Key quote: "I wol no womman thritty yeer of age / It is but bene-straw and greet forage"
The Merchant, line 1421
Analysis
January compares older women to animal feed to justify choosing a young wife. The metaphor reduces women to property valued only by their age.
Key quote: "Al that hire housbonde lust, hire liketh weel; / She seith nat ones 'nay,' whan he seith 'ye.'"
The Merchant, Prologue
Analysis
The ideal wife described here has no wishes of her own. Her obedience is presented as love, which shows what marriage was expected to give a husband.
Key quote: "And whan that Pluto saugh this grete wrong, / To Januarie he gaf again his sighte"
The Merchant, line 2355
Analysis
The gods step in and return January's sight at the worst possible moment. Their interference makes the ending feel governed by fate rather than by the characters' own choices.
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