Canterbury Tales Revenge Quotes

Of gooth the skyn an hande-brede aboute,
The hoote kultour brende so his toute,
And for the smert he wende for to dye.
As he were wood, for wo he gan to crye,
"Help! Water! Water! Help, for Goddes herte!"

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Miller’s Tale. It’s payback time for Absolon. When Nicholas sticks his rear end out the window and farts at him, Absolon brands Nicholas’s buttocks with a red-hot iron poker that he has brought with him. Nicholas leaps up and cries out for water like he was crazy.

For whan he spak, he was anon bore doun
With hende Nicholas and Alisoun.
They tolden every man that he was wood;
He was agast so of Nowelis flood
Thurgh fantasie that of his vanytee
He hadde yboght hym knedyng tubbes thre,
And hadde hem hanged in the roof above;
And that he preyed hem, for Goddes love,
To sitten in the roof, par compaignye.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Miller’s Tale. There is much deceit in the tale, but the declaration by Nicholas and Alison that John is crazy when he tells everyone about the predicted flood and the tubs has to be one of the most cruel. Thinking the flood was coming, John had cut the rope that held his boat-tub to the ceiling and it crashed to the floor startling the neighbors. They all laugh at his lunacy when they hear of his elaborate preparations for the second deluge!

Thus swyved was this carpenteris wyf,
For al his kepyng and his jalousye,
And Absolon hath kist hir nether ye,
And Nicholas is scalded in the towte.
This tale is doon, and God save al the rowte!

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Miller’s Tale. The concluding lines of the tale nicely resolve the story with a reckoning and a kind of justice for the flawed characters involved. The jealous carpenter John has been cheated on by his wife. His wife Alison has been bedded by another man. The foolish parish clerk Absolon has kissed Alison’s backside. And the cheating student Nicholas has had his behind burned by a red-hot poker in revenge by Absolon.

This dronke Millere hath ytoold us heer
How that bigyled was a carpenter,
Peraventure in scorn, for I am oon.
And, by youre leve, I shal hym quite anoon;
Right in his cherles termes wol I speke.
I pray to God his nekke mote to-breke;
He kan wel in myn eye seen a stalke,
But inhis owene he kan nat seen a balke.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Prologue. At the end of his prologue, the Reeve wishes death on the Miller for his disparaging story about a cuckolded carpenter, which he feels insulted people of the trade. So he decides to repay him by telling a tale about a thieving, dishonest miller.

For, John," seyde he, "als evere moot I thryve,
If that I may, yon wenche wil I swyve.
Som esement has lawe yshapen us,
For, John, ther is a lawe that says thus,
That gif a man in a point be agreved,
That inanother he sal be releved.
Oure corn is stoln, sothly, it is na nay,
And we han had an il fit al this day;
And syn I sal have neen amendement
Agayn my los, I will have esement."

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. Alan tells John of his plan to have redress for the miller’s theft of their grain. He will set the scale of justice right again by having sex with the miller’s daughter. There is a law he says, that if a man in one point is injured, then in another he shall be relieved.

And up he rist, and by the wenche he crepte.
This wenche lay uprighte and faste slepte,
Til he so ny was, er she myghte espie,
That it had been to late for to crie,
And shortly for to seyn, they were aton.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. Alan creeps into bed with the miller’s daughter Molly and has revenge sex with her to hit back at the miller. There is a debate on whether or not this was consentual or coerced. Molly was asleep when Alan got in beside her and it was too late for her to cry out, the story says.

"Allas!" quod he, "this is a wikked jape;
Now may I seyn that I is but an ape.
Yet has my felawe somwhat for his harm;
He has the milleris doghter in his arm.
He auntred hym, and has his nedes sped,
And I lye as a draf-sak in my bed;
And when this jape is tald another day,
I sal been halde a daf, a cokenay!
I wil arise and auntre it, by my fayth!

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. John calls himself a fool and a weakling after seeing Alan pay back the miller for his thievery by having sex with his daughter. His friend took a risk and accomplished his purpose. Encouraged by this John says he will now arise and chance it too, as he hatches a plan to sleep with the miller’s wife.

We shul first feyne us cristendom to take –
Coold water shal nat greve us but a lite! –
And I shal swich a feeste and revel make
That, as I trowe, I shal the Sowdan quite.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. The Sultaness plans a number of deceptions as part of her play to pay back the the Sultan for converting to Christianity. First she and her supporters will present to become Christians, a little cold water in Baptism won’t upset them very much. Then she will arrange a great feast and celebration to honor her son the Sultan’s marriage, and she will take her revenge.

For as the lomb toward his deeth is broght,
So stant this innocent bifore the kyng.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. Using the simile of a lamb being brought to slaughter, the Man of Laws tells his fellow pilgrims how the innocent Constance is falsely accused before the king of murdering the constable’s wife Hermengild. The knight whose lustful advances inspired by Satan that Constance spurned actually slit Hermengild’s throat. And in his desire for revenge he left the bloody knife by Constance’s bed to implicate her.

A voys was herd in general audience,
And seyde, "Thou hast desclaundred, giltelees,
The doghter of hooly chirche in heigh presence;
Thus hastou doon, and yet holde I my pees!
Of this mervaille agast was al the prees;
As mazed folk they stoden everichone,
For drede of wreche, save Custance allone.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. After the false knight is exposed and Constance exonerated, a voice is heard in the general audience saying that a guiltless daughter of the church has been slandered in the presence of the high God. The bewildered folk are terrified of the vengeance that might be visited upon them – all except for Constance alone.

That in his owene grece I made hym frye
For angre, and for verray jalousye.
By God, in erthe I was his purgatorie,
For which I hope his soule be in glorie.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. Hating the fact that her fourth husband had a mistress, the Wife of Bath made him fry in his own grease, as she puts it. She punished him by making him believe she was unfaithful to him. She claimed that she was his Purgatory on earth, so she hoped that he bypassed it in the afterlife and went straight to heaven.

And whan I saugh he wolde nevere fyne
To reden on this cursed book al nyght,
Al sodeynly thre leves have I plyght
Out of his book, right as he radde, and eke
I with my fest so took hym on the cheke
That in oure fyr he fil bakward adoun.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. The frustrated and angry Wife of Bath finally called time on her husband Jankin’s misogynistic readings from his Book of Wicket Wives and retaliated. She tore three pages from his book and hit him with her fist so hard on the cheek that he fell down backwards into the fire.

"Lordynges," quod he, "but o thyng I desire;
I yow biseke that, of youre curteisye,
Syn ye han herd this false Frere lye,
As suffreth me I may my tale telle.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Summoner’s Prologue. The Summoner is enraged at the Friar’s tale and its mocking portrayal of summoners. He begs the pilgrims that since they have heard this false Friar lie, they should suffer him to tell his tale. This foreshadows that he is going to get back at the Friar with a story that portrays friars in an unfavorable light.

"Now thanne, put in thyn hand doun by my bak,"
Seyde this man, "and grope wel bihynde.
Bynethe my buttok there shaltow fynde
A thyng that I have hyd in pryvetee."

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Summoner’s Tale. Annoyed at the Friar’s hypocrisy and demand for gold at the end of a long sermon against excessive wealth, an exasperated Thomas offers a gift with a sting in the tail. He agrees to give him the gift which he is sitting on, if the Friar promises to divide it equally among the other friars. You can almost sense the money-obsessed Friar’s mouth water, as he follows Thomas’s instructions to reach down beneath his buttocks to find what’s hidden there. When the Friar gropes Thomas he is rewarded with an enormous fart as loud as a horse would let off. Thomas gets his revenge.

Pacience is an heigh vertu, certeyn,
For it venquysseth, as thise clerkes seyn,
Thynges that rigour sholde nevere atteyne.
For every word men may nat chide or pleyne.
Lerneth to suffre, or elles, so moot I goon,
Ye shul it lerne, wher so ye wole or noon.
For in this world, certein, ther no wight is
That he ne dooth or seith somtyme amys.
Ire, siknesse, or constellacioun,
Wyn, wo, or chaungynge of complexioun
Causeth ful ofte to doon amys or speken.
On every wrong a man may nat be wreken.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Franklin’s Tale. This long lyrical passage on the virtue of patience is the Franklin’s guide to living happily ever after for newly married couples like Dorigen and her knight Arveragus. A person should learn forebearance against annoyances and wrongs, that way they can get past any hurts done to them without having to seek revenge, advises the Franklin.

Thus quyte I folk that doon us displesances;
Thus spitte I out my venym under hewe
Of hoolynesse, to semen hooly and trewe.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Pardoner’s Prologue. The Pardoner is the man to cross or do wrong to. He doesn’t believe in turning the other cheek, as the Church teaches its followers to. No he takes revenge on them from the pupil, by using his sermons as a weapon. As Mr. Nasty so graphically puts it: he spits out his venom under hue of holiness at folk who make trouble for pardoners.
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