4 The Merchant s Tale Tale BEFORE READING 10 1 The story so far. Listen to the recording and choose the right option. When the Clerk from Oxford had concluded / started his tale, the Merchant said that every married man suffers great pain. Then he said his young wife was a bad woman who should / could destroy Satan if she were married to him. The Clerk s story, about a(n) impatient / patient wife named Grisilde, made him think about the huge / little difference between Grisilde and his own wife. He had been married for only two months / years but nobody could tell a story as sad / bad as the one about his own marriage and about how awful his wife was. The Host then invited him to tell them his story. The Merchant replied that he would gladly / sadly tell his tale, which wasn t about his troubles. 2 Prediction. You have met different wives so far, e.g. Alison (the carpenter s wife), the Wife of Bath and the Merchant s wife.What will the wife in The Merchant s Tale be like? Choose from the following adjectives, then read and see if you were right. old / young, faithful / unfaithful, obedient / disobedient, clever / silly, pretty / ugly 3 You will find these words in The Merchant s Tale. Choose one of them to complete each sentence. bachelor blind bush gesture purse wealthy a. b. c. d. e. f. The rich merchant kept his gold in a silk .................................. . He was old and still unmarried, he was a .................................. . With a .................................. of his head he agreed. Poor old man! He s .................................. . He can t see anything. The .................................. old knight married a poor young girl. The man was hiding behind a .................................. . Merchants watching cargoes arrive (14th c.) 62