The aim of any true satirical work is to poke fun at a certain aspect of society‚ while also inspiring reform to that very same aspect in one way or another. In Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales‚ Chaucer satirizes the Medieval Church and those associated with the church. Medieval society was centered largely around the Church. Ideally‚ the people were expected to understand that earthly possessions were meaningless when compared to the prospect of closeness with God. Man was expected to work until he died
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Literature to 1800 May 9‚ 2013 The Costumes of the Characters in The Canterbury Tales I. What I know from the reading. In The Canterbury Tales‚ the pilgrims are from different social classes. These characters represent people in different social classes. When I was reading “General Prologue‚” I found that these characters’ appearances are vividly described‚ especially for their costumes. It provoked my interest on medieval costumes. It starts form the Knight who has “Good horses but…wasn ’t richly
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Context The Canterbury Tales is the most famous and critically acclaimed work of Geoffrey Chaucer‚ a late-fourteenth-century English poet. Little is known about Chaucer’s personal life‚ and even less about his education‚ but a number of existing records document his professional life. Chaucer was born in London in the early 1340s‚ the only son in his family. Chaucer’s father‚ originally a property-owning wine merchant‚ became tremendously wealthy when he inherited the property of relatives who had
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The Canterbury Tales Thomas Becket – Thomas Becket was the archbishop and Canterbury in the 1100s. It was his duty and right to coronate the new King of England. When three other bishops tried to coronate a new king of England‚ Becket refused to sign the appropriate paperwork and the other three coroneted the new king‚ Henry‚ without him. When the King found out that Becket had done this‚ he said something that could be loosely interpreted as “Oh‚ that’s annoying” so the King’s guards‚ hearing
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Woman Geoffrey Chaucer’s short story "The Wife of Bath"‚ within The Canterbury Tales‚ describes the unidealistic life and the role of women in the Late Middle Ages. With each containing similarities and differences of the other‚ the prologue and tale describe the lives of two women‚ an old hag and the Wife of Bath. Chaucer tells the story of these to women in order to relate them to the times and ideals of their Medieval society. Within these two short stories‚ Chaucer’s use of satire allows for
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In the Canterbury Tales Prologue‚ Chaucer felt that the Church’s chaos experienced during the medieval era contributed to the declining trust of the clergy and left people spiritually demolished. The repeated outbreaks that the church experienced weakened the church by emphasizing the clergy’s inability to face obstacles. The clergy’s inability to provide help for people during a period of suffering caused people to question the values of the church. People looked for ways to gain control over their
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behavior. In Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales‚ one is used to complement the other. He often uses certain physical characteristics to dictate exactly how the person is going to act*. This is most evident in the Summoner’s Tale. The Summoner is ugly‚ with a scary face‚ but also turns out to have a very ugly personality‚ between his job‚ attitudes‚ and values‚ which come out through his physical descriptions.**.Chaucer’s use of physical characteristics is most obvious in the Summoner’s Tale. The Summoner is
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The Summoner in The Canterbury Tales In The Canterbury Tales written by Chaucer‚ the Summoner is a character that has an important role in the story. He is a character that is seen throughout society for having a significant job because it is a job working for the Church‚ though he did not perform his job to the best of his ability because he was easily lured away from his job with the use of red wine. The Summoner is employed by the Church as a means of summoning people to be tried for
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speak of accepting the conduct of chivalry once dubbed‚ but also to carry out what they were taught through their actions (Kaeuper 1). A prime example of literature broadcasting chivalry is in Geoffrey Chaucer’s‚ The Canterbury Tales; specifically the Knight’s Tale. The Knight’s Tale fits someone with his career because the genre is a chivalric romance. The story includes beliefs looked for in a knight including
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The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales A satire is the use of humor‚ irony‚ exaggeration‚ or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices‚ particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. Satires are used in the piece of writing named “The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales.” In the story‚ Chaucer‚ the narrator uses satirical speech to describe a few characters. These characters are: The Prioress (the nun)‚ The Monk‚ The Summoner‚ The Pardoner
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