英國詩人喬叟重要著作《坎特伯利故事集》中的〈巴斯夫人故事〉一直廣受學術界以及普羅大眾喜愛和賞析。學者專家斷言欲讀懂故事，必須理解說故書的人物角色，亦即是理解那位口上擇言、滿腦婚姻生活與馭夫術的巴斯夫人。孰上知描述巴斯夫人的前言和她所說的亞瑟王宮廷傳奇故事，諸多衝突抵觸。例如粗鄙的巴斯夫人無法想像她能化身為故事中睿智聰慧、辯才無礙的老婦人。尤其作者喬叟似乎有意做文類混搭，將傳承中世紀反女性思想背景的前言，去引述充滿女性主義意識的宮廷傳奇故事。 本論文有意闡釋喬叟〈巴斯夫人故事〉的文類意涵。藉由探究文類批評論述發展演變，發現當代現行文類概念，已上僅是描述分類文學作品種類標籤，而是透露思想背景的文化符碼。本文解讀〈巴斯夫人故事〉的文類意涵，即是嚐試理解喬叟中世紀的文化心理。

Geoffrey Chaucer’s Wife of Bath’s Tale as well as its teller receives unremitting attention from the reading public. When critics assert that the tale can only be understood in reference to the outspoken marriage-minded woman from Bath, they fail to explain away disturbing incongruity between the tale and the prologue, between the hag and the wife of Bath.Moreover, it is contended that Chaucer implies “inexpressible messages” by coupling antifeminist tradition in the Wife of Bath’s Prologue and profeminist courtly romance in her Tale (Knapp45; Crane 20). More importantly, the tale seems designated as thus so as to analyze a belief that informs both antifeminist satire and romance (crane 21). Hence, the tale in terms of “generic makeup” (Susan Crane’s words) connotes significance more profound than”an extension of the wife’s argument” or “a projection of the wife’s desire” (Benson 873). The present essay intends to elucidate Chaucer’s venture in generic norms found in The Wife of Bath’s Tale, and induce a fresh reading of the tale. This paper starts with an effort of justification to validate the present generic analysis of Chaucer’s medieval text. Traditionally genre criticism concerned itself with either the classification and description of literary texts or the evolution or development of literary forms. But more valuable is modern genre criticism which consider genres not as systems of classification but as codes of communication. Accordingly, generic norms become channels of communication among the text, the author, and the reader. However, this paper carries no ambition to produce a theory in order to interpret The Wife of Bath’s Tale because of the limit of time and length. Instead, it aims to describe and disclose insinuations and interaction of/between (sub)generic elements under a more general makeup called romance in the study of Chaucer’s Wife of Bath’s Tale. In truth, in designation and attitude toward the subject mater, Chaucer’s treatment of the tale seems to venture away from our expectation of a courtly romance. It seems feasible that Chaucer intends to write an imperfect romance. The heterogeneous non-romantic elements introduced in this romanticized tale make believe that the oscillation of generic norms signals the mobility of culture mentality which develops the generic forms. Genre is a mediator between the text and life. Chaucer’s departure or transform of the set generic norms indicates the freedom and cultivation of his active mind. In Chaucer’s time when there were not many rhetorical terms to describe conceptions, maybe Chaucer would imply his messages in the amenable generic norms.