Canterbury Tales January Quotes

Ther nys no werkman, whatsoevere he be,
That may bothe werke wel and hastily;
This wol be doon at leyser parfitly.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Merchant’s Tale. The old knight January comically likens himself to a craftsman at work on consummating his marriage on his wedding night. He deceives himself into thinking he is doing a great job. No workman can work both well and hastily, he tells young bride May, this will be done at leisure and perfectly! But his labor of love turns out far from perfect as far as May is concerned.

She feyned hire as that she moste gon
Ther as ye woot that every wight moot neede;
And whan she of this bille hath taken heede,
She rente it al to cloutes atte laste,
And in the pryvee softely it caste.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Merchant’s Tale. May excuses herself from January and pretends to go to the toilet. There she reads Damian’s love letter expressing his strong lustful desire for her. After taking it in she tears it into pieces and throws it into the toilet, so as not to be discovered. January moves another step closer to being cuckolded by his new young wife.

Swich deyntee hath in it to walke and pleye,
That he wol no wight suffren bere the keye
Save he hymself; for of the smale wyket
He baar alwey of silver a clyket,
With which, whan that hym leste, he it unshette.
And whan he wolde paye his wyf hir dette
In somer seson, thider wolde he go.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Merchant’s Tale. In summer whenever he desires it January has sex with his beautiful young wife in his walled garden. The garden gate is kept locked and only January has the key which he has always on his person. He likes to keep beauty in a prison.

Allas, this noble Januarie free,
Amydde his lust and his prosperitee,
Is woxen blynd, and that al sodeynly.
He wepeth and he wayleth pitously;
And therwithal the fyr of jalousie,
Lest that his wyf sholde falle in som folye,
So brente his herte that he wolde fayn
That som man bothe hire and hym had slayn.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Merchant’s Tale. January, amid all his pleasure and prosperity, is suddenly struck blind. This physical blindness reflects the metaphorical blindness of his self-delusion and self-deception. He grows increasingly jealous and possessive of his wife and lest she fall into some folly he wishes that some man would kill them both. The description of the fire of jealousy burning his heart is a good example of metaphor.

Ne in noon oother place, neverthemo,
He nolde suffre hire for to ryde or go,
But if that he had hond on hire alway;
For which ful ofte wepeth fresshe May,
That loveth Damyan so benyngnely
That she moot outher dyen sodeynly
Or elles she moot han hym as hir leste.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Merchant’s Tale. The blind January’s jealousy grows and he restricts May’s movements inside and outside the house. He refuses to let her ride or walk unless he has a hand always on her, his new method of controlling her. Meanwhile she grows more lovesick for Damian, whom she must have or die. She has already commited adultery on her husband in her heart, only the act of consummating it remains.

Upon that oother syde Damyan
Bicomen is the sorwefulleste man
That evere was, for neither nyght ne day
Ne myghte he speke a word to fresshe May,
As to his purpos, of no swich mateere,
But if that Januarie moste it heere,
That hadde an hand upon hire everemo.
But nathelees, by writyng to and fro
And privee signes wiste he what she mente,
And she knew eek the fyn of his entente.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Merchant’s Tale. Damian is very sad because he cannot spend time with May anymore, because physically blind January insists that she must be at arm’s reach of him. But they maintain secret communication by writing romantic letters to each other and using their own secret signs. So he knows of her plan to be with him.

This fresshe May, that I spak of so yoore,
In warm wex hath emprented the clyket
That Januarie bar of the smale wyket,
By which into his gardyn ofte he wente;
And Damyan, that knew al hire entente,
The cliket countrefeted pryvely.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Merchant’s Tale. The scene is all set for May’s infidelity with her husband’s younthful squire. She imprints January’s key to his secret garden in warm wax and squire Damien who is in on her plan makes a secret copy of the key.

Rys up, my wyf, my love, my lady free!
The turtles voys is herd, my dowve sweete;
The wynter is goon with alle his reynes weete.
Com forth now, with thyne eyen columbyn!
How fairer been thy brestes than is wyn!

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Merchant’s Tale. January is inappropriately paraphrasing the Song of Solomon. However, there is nothing spiritual or religious about his misuse of the famous spiritual passages from the Bible. Filled with desire, he is admiring his wife’s breasts and asking her to accompany him to his secret garden so that he can satisfy his lust and have sex with her.

"I have," quod she, "a soule for to kepe
As wel as ye, and also myn honour,
And of my wyfhod thilke tendre flour,
Which that I have assured in youre hond.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Merchant’s Tale. May is being deceptive to her husband January, when she lies about preserving her soul and honor and her wifehood, which metaphorically she describes as a tender flower which she has entrusted to January. Behind her husband’s back she is planning to be unfaithful to him with his squire Damian.

And with hir fynger signes made she
That Damyan sholde clymbe upon a tree
That charged was with fruyt, and up he wente.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Merchant’s Tale. This passage, in which January’s wife May makes a sign with her finger that Damian should climb a tree loaded with fruit, is sexually suggestive. And it is foreshadowing that this tree is the very place they will end up having sex a short while later. The finger signing also shows the premeditated nature of May and Damian’s deceit.

Ne se ye nat this honurable knyght,
By cause, allas, that he is blynd and old,
His owene man shal make hym cokewold.
Lo, where he sit, the lechour, in the tree!
Now wol I graunten, of my magestee,
Unto this olde, blynde, worthy knyght
That he shal have ayen his eyen syght,
Whan that his wyf wold doon hym vileynye.
Thanne shal he knowen al hire harlotrye,
Bothe in repreve of hire and othere mo.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Merchant’s Tale. Roman god Pluto discusses with his wife Proserpina the love triangle involving January, May and Damian. Proserpina wants May to have sex with Damian. Pluto wants to restore January’s sight to prevent it. Pluto says the honorable blind knight January will be made a cuckold by his squire and lecher Damian, who sits in the pear tree. He wants to give him his sight so that he will know his wife’s harlotry.

Up peril of my soule, I shal nat lyen,
As me was taught, to heele with youre eyen,
Was no thyng bet, to make yow to see,
Than strugle with a man upon a tree.
God woot, I dide it in ful good entente.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Merchant’s Tale. I shall not lie, May assures a distraught and roaring January after he sees her copulating with Damien in a fruit tree. She then lies through her teeth, claiming that she was told the only cure for her husband’s blindness was to struggle with a man up a tree. God knows, I did it in full good intent, she adds for good measure.

This Januarie, who is glad but he?
He kisseth hire and clippeth hire ful ofte,
And on hire wombe he stroketh hire ful softe,
And to his palays hoom he hath hire lad.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Merchant’s Tale. May persuades January that his sight is faulty and he did not see Damian having sex with her up the fruit tree. Going along with her deception and deciding to fool himself and keep his illusion, January kisses the adulterous May and takes her home to his palace. When he strokes her softly on her womb, this suggests that May is pregnant. This passage is hugely ironic, because January is completely unaware of the way that he has been tricked and is ignorantly blissful.
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