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Author unknown

The Middle Ages (1400-1500)

“Wise sir, do not grieve. It is always better to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning.” (Lines 1384-1385)

In this text, Beowulf is showing what is better to him and that is in his view, revenge. He was the one killing the monsters and for him it was better to be safe than sorry. This proves the theme of personal desire because this is what HE wanted to do. This came along with the desire to prove himself to society that he IS capable of fighting off monsters to save others.

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By Christopher Marlowe

Middle English(14th and 15th centuries)

"Come live with me and be my love,And we will all the pleasures prove" (Marlowe 1-3).

"The Shepherds’ Swains shall dance and sing

For thy delight each May-morning:If these delights thy mind may move,Then live with me, and be my love"(Marlowe 20-24).

In this text, the passionate Shepherd is trying to lure his love in with persuading her with the promise of the beauty of nature. His desire to live with her and be with her is so strong that he mentions all the beautiful things that'll come with if she agrees. This is the theme of personal desire because he is willing to do anything to be with her, he is doing it for his gain.

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Mary Sidney Herbert

Middle English (14th and 15th centuries)

"Hath robbed you and reft from me my joy:

Both you and me and all the world he quite

Hath robbed of joyance, and left sad annoy"(Herbert 45-48).

"But he them sees and takes exceeding pleasure

Of their divine aspects, appearing plain,

And kindling love in him above all measure,

Sweet love still joyous, never feeling pain"(Herbert 75-78).

In "The Doleful Lay of Clorinda", Clorinda if filled with personal desire and it is the main theme in the poem. Clorinda is faced with having to disguise herself in order to have the love of a knight. Her desire is so strong she goes against societal norms and disguises herself.

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By: Geoffrey Chaucer (Middle Ages The Arthurian legends)

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"When that she saw her time upon a day.

“Thou standest yet,” quoth she, “in such array,

That of thy life yet hast thou no surety;

I grant thee life, if thou canst tell to me

What thing is it that women most desiren"(Chaucer).

In "The Wife of Bath Tales", a knight is set out to find the answer to a question that can prevent him from being executed. The question is "what do women desire the most?" Clearly, the central theme here is desire, coming from women and himself. He is determined to find the answer because if not he will be executed, soon after he runs into an old lady who only gives him the answer to his question but only if he promises to marry her. The old lady also holds the theme of desire because she is in old age and wishes to have love from a young knight. Personal desire comes from both is a common theme in English literature that seems to be running through many texts.

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By: Geoffrey Chaucer

(Middle Ages The Arthurian legends)

"Lordings, right thus, as ye have understand,

Bare I stiffly mine old husbands on hand,

That thus they saiden in their drunkenness;

And all was false, but that I took witness

On Jenkin, and upon my niece also.

O Lord! the pain I did them, and the woe,

‘Full guilteless, by Godde’s sweete pine;

For as a horse I coulde bite and whine;

I coulde plain, an’ I was in the guilt,

Or elles oftentime I had been spilt"(Chaucer).

Separate from the "Wife of Bath Tale" is the "Wife of Bath Prologue". In "The Wife of Bath Prologue", Alisoun is the sharing her thoughts and experiences in her past marriages. She believes in a marriage, she needs to be the one having full authority and money when she wants it or the marriage is unsuccessful. Alisouns desire is to have a husband that will give her what she wants when she wants it and if it means she ends up with so many divorces then so be it. She laughs as she tells her past stories of torturing men until she got what she wanted. The theme of extreme personal desire is very evident in this text as it shows only of what Alisoun wishes. She is inconsiderate of others desires and only wishes to reach her own. This particular theme is so common amongst many texts in english literature, its purpose is to deepen the meanings of the stories and engage readers.

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The 17th Century: The Age of Revolution(1603-1688) Metaphysical poetry

"Here grows the cure of all, this fruit divine. Fair to the eye, inviting to the taste, Of virtue to make wise: what hinders then To reach, and feed at once both body and mind? (IX, 776–769).

"As I bent down to look, just opposite A shape within the wat’ry gleam appear’d, Bending to look on me: I started back; It started back: but pleas’d I soon return’d; Pleas’d it return’d as soon; with answering looks Of sympathy and love: there I had fixt Mine eyes till now, and pin’d with vain desire[.] (IV, 460–466)

In "Paradise Lost", Adam and Eve face a serious fall and deal with consequences after disobeying the rule of not eating the forbidden fruit. Eve gives in with her desire to eat the fruit and Adam can't help but follow along after he sees his love doing the same. Knowing the fault that comes with it, they still do so because their desire won over fear. Adam even warned Eve saying not to do pick the fruit, but even he gave in with the desire to share a moment with his love. The theme of personal desire runs along the novel as both Adam and Eve gave in to what they wanted, knowing it wasn't right. This is similar to other texts as they also typically think of themselves and not others.

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The 17th Century: The Age of Revolution (1603-1688) Metaphysical poetry

"Now let us sport us while we may,
And now, like amorous birds of prey,
Rather at once our time devour
Than languish in his slow-chapped power"(Marvell 37-40).

"And tear our pleasures with rough strife
Thorough the iron gates of life" (Marvell 42-43).

In "To His Coy Mistress", Marvells central theme here is personal desire. The speaker in the poem has an eagerness to sleep with his mistress and he tries all types of persuasion to get her in the same bed. His worries are they will run out of time with love and if they don't sleep together soon things will go wrong. His sexual desire for his mistress is so strong that he uses offensive, seductive, and uses a very vivid tone towards her. Although it is not what she wants, he is willing to go through great lengths to get what he wants, praising each part of her body and speaking so highly of her if she gives in. The theme of desire here is different than the other texts which goes to show there are many different forms of desire.

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This website included significant quotes, summary of the text,themes/symbols, character descriptions and full analysis of the poem. It also included quotes surrounding the theme of personal desire. This website aided in finding the quotes from "The Wife of Bath Prologue" and "The Wife of Bath Tale". The site did an amazing job explaining the significance of each quote and the authors motives as well.

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Ye herde I nevere tellen in myn age Upon this nombre diffinicioun. Men may devyne and glosen, up and doun, But wel I woot, expres, withoute lye, God bad us for to wexe and multiplye; That gentil text kan I wel understonde. Eek wel I woot, he seyde myn housbonde Sholde lete fader and mooder, and take to me. But of no nombre mencion made he, Of bigamy, or of octogamye; Why shold men thane speke of it vileynye?

The Wife of Bath is Chaucer's most developed female character. Often, her voice stands in for the voice of all women of the time. As in many eras, Medieval women were judged not by their character but by their relationship-or relationships-to men. In this quote, the Wife of Bath directly addresses the double standard applied to men and women in relationships. The five men who married her all were permitted by god to ask her hand in marriage. So why should she be condemned for marrying each of them?

Yblessed be God that I have wedded fyve! Welcome the sixte, whan that evere he shall. For sothe I wol nat kepe me chaast in al. Whan myn housbonde is fro the world ygon, Som cristen man shal wedde me anon[.]

The Wife of Bath, like many of Chaucer's characters, can be shameless. In this part of her Prologue, she gleefully thanks God that she has had five husbands and declares that she will happily marry the sixth after the fifth dies. In these lines as in others, she praises marriage for its sexual pleasure, barely mentioning the Medieval value of courtly love or even affection or partnership.

Lordynges, right thus, as ye have understonde. Baar I stifly myne olde housbondes on honde That thus they seyden in hir dronkenesse. And al was fals; but that I took witnesse On Janekyn and on my nece also. O lord, the peyne I dide hem and the wo - Ful giltelees, by Goddes sweete pyne! - I For as an hors I koude byte and whyne. I koude pleyne, thogh I were in the gilt, Or elles often tyme hadde I been spilt.

This quote wraps up a long section of the Wife of Bath's Prologue in which the Wife of Bath details all the abuse she heaps on her husbands. She openly admits to using deception to get what she wants. She even claims that all women are natural liars. It remains unclear if Chaucer is portraying the Wife of Bath, or women as a whole, as deceptive or if the Wife merely plays the role of an entertaining scoundrel. The answer remains ambiguous, though given her contrast with the other female characters, the Wife of Bath seems to stand for no one but herself.

'Thou standest yet' quod she, 'in swich array That of thy lyf yet hastow no suretee. I grante thee lyf if thou kanst tellen me What thyng is it that wommen moost desiren. Be war, and keepe thy nekke boon from iren. And if thou kanst nat tellen it anon[.]

The Wife of Bath's tale concerns a knight convicted of rape who is sentenced by the queen to learn what all women want or face execution. This question represents the central mystery of the Wife's tale. She herself has declared she wants sex, money, land, independence, and fun. Her story claims to say what all women want but in reality may only reveal what the Wife of Bath herself wants.

'My lige lady, generally,' quod he, 'Wommen desiren to have sovereynetee As wel over hir housbond as hir love, And for to been in maistrie hym above. This is youre mooste desir, thogh ye me kille; Dooth as yow list, I am heer at youre wille In al the court ne was ther wyf, ne mayde, Ne wydwe, that contraried that he sayde, But seyden he was worthy han his lyf.

The Wife of Bath presents the final answer to the queen's riddle: Women want to rule over the men in their lives. All the women present at the sentencing agree. This certainly falls in line with the Wife of Bath's character. She illustrated in her long prologue the awful lengths she would go to manipulate her husbands. Her admission stands as a direct contradiction of the power structure between men and women in Chaucer's time.

My lady and my love, and wyf so deere, I put me in youre wise governance. Cheseth youreself which may be moost plesance And moost honour to yow and me also. I do no fors the wheither of the two; For as yow liketh it suffiseth me.

In the conclusion of the Wife's tale, the knight follows his own advice. He sincerely allows the old woman to decide whether to remain old and faithful or young and unfaithful. Once he blesses her with her own choice, though, the woman chooses to be young and faithful. The moral of the tale seems to be that women will happily be loyal as long as it is their choice. However, the Wife of Bath herself offers no specific commentary on the story and its redeeming depiction of women.

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the canterbury tales free online study guide

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The Canterbury Tales: Wife of Bath Quotes | SparkNotes

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Important quotes by Wife of Bath in The Canterbury Tales.

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In this website, there is many ways one can explore a text and break it down in themes, analysis, quotes and summaries. For this assignment, this website assisted in finding significant quotes surrounding the theme of personal desire. In "To His Coy Mistress", the narrator had claimed many statements that were so deep in meaning, very persuasive and full of desire. Shmoop gave an analysis of each quote and helped break down meaning.

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Sex

If time is the super-villain of Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress," then having sex is the super-power he needs to gain control over his enemy. But, sex isn't so easy to come by. Possibly because only a very special someone would understand the speaker's ideas about it. With wit and daring, the speaker discusses sex in frank, beautiful, and disturbing language. Sex is another one of those great mysteries that poets never tire of exploring. Marvell's contribution perhaps paves the way for more open discussions of sex and sexuality.

Questions About Sex

1. The speaker obviously wants to have sex with the mistress. Does he also love her? If so, how does he express his love? If he doesn't, how do you feel about the idea of sex without love?

2. Why does the speaker think it's a "crime" for the mistress not to have sex with him? Does his argument have any merit? Why, or why not?

3. How does it make you feel when the speaker talks about sex and death together?

Chew on This

The violence in the speaker's description of his sexual fantasy in the third stanza is directed at time, not at the mistress.

The speaker's argument that sex will help him control time is meant ironically, and ultimately comments on the fleeting nature of sexual pleasure.

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Learn about the theme of Sex in Shmoop's free To His Coy Mistress study guide. We'll have you laughing and learning at the same time!