The Sentencing of Virginia in the Physician's Tale

Abstract

When the Host is elected juge and reportour at the end the General Prologue, he assumes responsibility for determining which pieces are of best sentence and moost solaas (A 814; 798).* In one sense, course, this responsibility is shared by every member the audience. The Knight is not exercising any unique privilege when he interrupts the Monk's tale because it is lacking in solas, nor is the Wife Bath specially empow ered when she shreds Jankyn's book, for it is the prerogative all read ers to judge text (B2 3964). Such informal modes reading are, however, somewhat at odds with the Host's appointment, which is suggestive instead a restricted critical approach that maintains the authority certain readers to better determine the sententia text.2 The tension

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