Preview

Use Of Satire In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
329 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Use Of Satire In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
In Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Chaucer wrote about several different characters using them to discuss things about their Social Class, problems with them, and who they are. Chaucer used Satire to shine a light on the problems of people as if you were to just say it out right depending on where they were in social class you could get into serious trouble. Chaucer used satire to explain that a Nun cared more about how she looks then helping other people.

Chaucer talks about Aristocrats first talking about a Knight and his Squire. The Knight was a prime example of an Aristocrat being an example of a fine man having a distinguished appearance taking his son as a Squire in hopes one day he to will be a knight. His son the Squire is a Ladies Man
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Satire Examples In Huckleberry Finn
    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Satire Examples In Huckleberry Finn

    Example 2: The second example of satire is from chapter 17, when Huck stays with the Grangerfords in this chapter they mention how much they hate the Shepherdson’s; this may be a satire about how much society hates God’s children, because Jesus is our shepherd and Christians are His children therefore making all Christians the Shepherd’s children. Although not all of society hates Christians, it has become politically correct to not be a Christian for some reason and in our public schools they are…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Satire In Chaucer's Tales
    • 686 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Satire In Chaucer's Tales

    What three groups would you add to the journey? Geoffrey Chaucer took three types on his journey to Canterbury. They were the religious group, the upper class, and the middle working class. Chaucer wrote his tales in Middle English around the 1350’s. Chaucer had many people from each group go. He mostly wrote in a satiric tone. Satire is another word for sarcasm or irony. Irony is saying one thing while meaning another. He used both juvenilia and horashian. Juvenilia is harsh sarcasm. An example would be the friar. Horashian is soft or gentle sarcasm. The main nun would be a great example of this. If I were to take a pilgrimage I would take three groups, musicians, athlete, and comedians.…

    • 686 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    How Does Voltaire Use Satire In Animal Farm
    • 1713 Words
    • 7 Pages

    How Does Voltaire Use Satire In Animal Farm

    Satire is defined as a literary work in which human vice or folly is attacked through irony, derision, or wit. Voltaire, George Orwell and Charles Dickens used satire to provide a humorous perspective to the social, political and ideological views of their times. Candide by Voltaire, Animal Farm by George Orwell, and Hard Times by Charles Dickens are very successful in using satire to show the flaws of each era 's current views. Voltaire, Orwell, and Dickens use different forms of satire to make their points. Voltaire and Dickens are very extreme with their depiction of satire, while Orwell uses a fable to soften his view. These three authors do a great job of using themes, characters, and style to satirically show the grey areas of their era.…

    • 1713 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    English Essay Humor “Summer Heights High”
    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages

    English Essay Humor “Summer Heights High”

    An example of satire is when Ja’mie King begs to have a year 11 formal (prom) after it is cut because the school doesn’t have enough money to fund it. She says that if some friends and herself can come up with the…

    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Not So Modest Proposal
    • 1403 Words
    • 4 Pages

    A Not So Modest Proposal

    In our society, satire is among the most prevalent of comedic forms. This was not always true, for before the 18th century, satire was not a fully developed form. Satire, however, rose out of necessity; writers and artists needed a way to ambiguously criticize their governments, their churches, and their aristocrats. By the 18th century, satire was hugely popular. Satire as an art form has its roots in the classics, especially in the Roman Horace's Satires. Satire as it was originally proposed was a form of literature using sarcasm, irony, and wit, to bring about a change in society, but in the eighteenth century Voltaire, Jonathan Swift and William Hogarth expanded satire to include politics, as well as art. The political climate of the time was one of tension. Any criticism of government would bring harsh punishments, sometimes exile or death. In order to voice opinions without fear of punishment, malcontented writers turned to Satire. Voltaire's Candide and Swift's Modest Proposal are two examples of this new genre. By creating a fictional world modeled after the world he hated, Voltaire was able to attack scientists, and theologians with impunity. Jonathan Swift created many fictional worlds in his great work, Gulliver's Travels, when he constantly drew parallels to the English government.…

    • 1403 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hilarious Flaws
    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Hilarious Flaws

    Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales” celebrates and satires humanity, especially the “everyman”, in his story he included to characters in particular, one representing the best of humanity and the other illustrating the worst. Chaucer practically idolizes the Knight, who represents everything us humans aspire to be. “He was of sovereign value in all eyes. And though so much distinguished, he was wise and in his bearing modest as a maid. He never yet a boorish thing had said in all his life to any, come what might; he was a true, perfect gentle-knight.” (Chaucer 69-74) Chaucer says that though the knight had been through so many brave and amazing situations, from Alexandria to Prussia, fought against the Turks, and in Granada, he had never once been over confident; he remained as modest as one could be. The Knight symbolizes everything good in a human, Chaucer does not satire him at all; however, it is the complete opposite with the Pardoner. The Pardoner symbolizes the lowest a man could get, he cheats, he steals,…

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Examples Of Comedy In Canterbury Tales
    • 980 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Examples Of Comedy In Canterbury Tales

    Both the “Miller’s Tale” and the “Nun’s Priest’s Tale” in the Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, can be categorized as comedy. As defined in the Oxford dictionary, comedy is a form of professional entertainment consisting of jokes and sketches, intended to make an audience laugh. However, it may be confusing for some audiences when they find another definition of the word comedy. Also as defined by the Oxford dictionary, comedy is a category of theater characterized by its humorous or satirical tone and its depiction of amusing people or incidents, in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity. The first definition is broad and fails to characterize the complexity of the comedy found in the Canterbury Tales. The second…

    • 980 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    How Does Chaucer Corrupt The Medieval Society
    • 216 Words
    • 1 Page

    How Does Chaucer Corrupt The Medieval Society

    The first character Chaucer writes about is the Knight who has won fifteen mortal battles and is very honorable and everyone trusts him . He carries himself modestly and does what's expected of him and for that he is considered to be in the upper class of the medieval society. The next character Chaucer wrote about was the Squire and he is the knight's…

    • 216 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Materialism in Gulliver's Travels and Candide
    • 1517 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Materialism in Gulliver's Travels and Candide

    Writers can make suggestions or to try to change something about a society or simply to poke fun or satirize a part of a culture. Often these writings are aimed at a specific group of people. In the case of Jonathan Swift in Gulliver’s Travels and Voltaire in Candide, their writing is aimed at European society and its preoccupation with materialism. Swift and Voltaire satirize the behaviors of the wealthy upper class by citing two different extremes. In Gulliver’s Travels the yahoos are not even human but they behave the same way towards colored stones that the Europeans do. In contrast, the people of El Dorado do not care at all about the gold and jewels that align their streets. The writers are hoping that perhaps the reader will see parts of himself in the writing and change his ways. Both Swift and Voltaire use absurdity to show the European fixation with material goods.…

    • 1517 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Chivalry In Canterbury Tales
    • 1237 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Examples Of Chivalry In Canterbury Tales

    Chaucer's book shows the life of a knight including courtly love and also ethical dilemmas that a knight could have and may have faced. There is a deciding point for the knight in the story to where he wants to choose a wife. He had to make the choice of an older wife that would treat him good or a young wife that is an experienced and would treat him poorly. He have had made wrong choices in the past too and he decided to marry the older women because it was morally right. Chaucer did very well at providing chivalric values in that knight in this…

    • 1237 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Canterbury Tales Satire
    • 1106 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Canterbury Tales Satire

    Satire is defined as the use of humor, exaggeration, or irony to describe someone. In “The Canterbury Tales” written by Geoffrey Chaucer, satire is used often. CHaucer uses satire to describe a Prioress (nun), a Cook, and a Friar. Compared to these people today, the features Chaucer gives them do not match up.…

    • 1106 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    As The Pardoner's Tale Analysis
    • 1252 Words
    • 6 Pages

    As The Pardoner's Tale Analysis

    Chaucer’s Critique of Medieval Society As The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer progresses, the tales often critique one's sexual past while judging how they act through the tales, along with their gender. As karma and greed also have an extremely strong presence in the “Reeve’s and Pardoner’s tales” they both value money over the people that are important in their lives. The Wife of Bath critiques every aspect of male superiority as she is an extremely enthusiastic "feminist", that defends her side through finding the numerous amount of flaws in others arguments. This not only creates bad opposing arguments, but also helps her build a stronger argument. Her argument consists of why females should not be valued based on how many guys…

    • 1252 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Parody In The Canterbury Tales
    • 231 Words
    • 1 Page

    Parody In The Canterbury Tales

    Satire is the utilization of funniness to uncover somebody or something's indecencies or defects. In The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer utilizes parody to uncover the shortcomings of foundations, and regular generalizations of his time. Parody is broken into six components, all of which are pervasive in the stories. Indeed, even in the General Prologue, the peruser is presented to Chaucer's satiric tone. This is particularly genuine when he acquaints with us the characters. For instance, The Knight's portrayal is modest representation of the truth. He is intended to jab fun at the Knights' of Chaucer's opportunity that no longer took after the Code of Chivalry. As a rule, the more Chaucer aversions a character the more pervasive parody…

    • 231 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Canterbury Tales Character Analysis
    • 1909 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Canterbury Tales Character Analysis

    In The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, many characters go on a religious pilgrimage to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket. On the way to Canterbury, each person on the journey tells a tale. Whoever tells the best story, gets rewarded a lavish free meal. The pilgrimage includes people from the nobility, clergy, and commoner class. For each class, Chaucer develops many different character types that were representative of the society of the time. With a broad spectrum of people and action, The Canterbury tales consists of many different ideas such as social satire, courtly love/ chivalry,morality, and corruption and deceit. One of the most important ideas of the story is that Chaucer puts forward a criteria that…

    • 1909 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Definition of Satire
    • 286 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Definition of Satire

    SATIRE: An attack on or criticism of any stupidity or vice in the form of scathing humor, or a critique of what the author sees as dangerous religious, political, moral, or social standards. Satire became an especially popular technique used during the Enlightenment, in which it was believed that an artist could correct folly by using art as a mirror to reflect society. When people viewed the satire and saw their faults magnified in a distorted reflection, they could see how ridiculous their behavior was and then correct that tendency in themselves. The tradition of satire continues today. Popular cartoons such as The Simpsons and televised comedies like The Daily Show make use of it in modern media. Conventionally, formal satire involves a direct, first-person-address, either to the audience or to a listener mentioned within the work. An example of formal satire is Alexander Pope's Moral Essays. Indirect satire conventionally employs the form of a fictional narrative--such as Byron's Don Juan or Swift's Gulliver's Travels. Ridicule, irony, exaggeration, and similar tools are almost always used in satire. Horatian satire tends to focus lightly on laughter and ridicule, but it maintains a playful tone. Generally, the tone is sympathetic and good humored, somewhat tolerant of imperfection and folly even while expressing amusement at it. The name comes from the Roman poet Horace (65 BCE-8 CE), who preferred to ridicule human folly in general rather than condemn specific persons. In contrast, Juvenalian satire also uses withering invective, insults, and a slashing attack. The name comes from the Roman poet Juvenal (60-140 CE), who frequently employed the device, but the label is applied to British writers such as Swift and Pope as…

    • 286 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More

Related Topics