Paper
The General Prologue of the Canterbury Tales satirizes almost every character that Chaucer introduced. Each person fits into one of four character descriptions; three of which are satires. But what are these descriptions and what characters fit into which?
One of the character descriptions is the Perfect character. These were people that excelled at what they did with little faults. They had an established reputation and were looked up to by others. The Knight is one such example. He is the epitome of Christian chivalry and a perfect nobleman, but still remains a humble person. In a period of relatively fixed social classes, he could wear plain clothing and associate with whomever he wants and would still remain noble. There was no satire whatsoever in his description as well with the Squire and the Yeoman whom he traveled with. These were Ideal characters.
People that were much like the Knight and the Squire, but had minor faults were portrayed with a gentle satire. A good example of this was the prioress who was very polite and kind, but didn t do her job as she should have. She shows much compassion for living things and especially animals. Setting her eyes upon a dead mouse she begins to shriek; a gross over-reaction to a small tragedy. Also, the money that she possesses is supposed to go to help the poor, but she uses it instead to feed her dogs quality meats. The nun is a good person with a large heart, but loses sight of what she should be doing and therefore, fails to be perfect.
Chaucer s other satirical use (the third was comical) is much more of a serious satire than with the previous pilgrims. Generally, these were religious people with power (over souls) and a few of them abused it. Instead of using their wealth and status to help the poor, they used it to enrich their own lives and gain respect from the rich. Hubert, the Friar (one of the few individuals names that Chaucer revealed) was a crooked man, indeed. He didn t waste his time helping the poor, but preferred associating with the rich. During confessions he would only pay attention to those with money and would arrange marriages for young women after impregnating them. The Monk is very similar to the Friar, but his sins are much less obvious. A monk is supposed to have a fairly confined life of study, labor, and chastity, but he would have none of it. The monk is wealthy, eats in abundance and has sex (which is signified by a gold pin with a love knot), all of which go directly against what a monk is supposed to be. While Chaucer the pilgrim admires the monk for everything he does, Chaucer the poet sees them as flaws.
Chaucer the pilgrim is fairly gullible and represents much of the common man in that period, making Chaucer the poet seem all the more insightful. It is the difference between the perceptions and opinions of these two Chaucers that creates much of the ironic tone in The Canterbury Tales.
Другие работы по теме:
Myth Dis Essay Research Paper The Wife
Myth Dis Essay, Research Paper The Wife of Bath, Dame Alice is quite a spiteful woman even though she desires only a few simple things in life; power and control. Through her prologue and tale, she makes mirror images of herself , which reflects the person who she really is.
Chaucer 2
Chaucer – The Canterbury Tales Essay, Research Paper By far Chaucer’s most popular work, although he might have preferred to have been remembered by Troilus and Criseyde, the Canterbury Tales was unfinished at his death. No less than fifty-six surviving manuscripts contain, or once contained, the full text.
The Caterbury Tales Essay Research Paper When
The Caterbury Tales Essay, Research Paper When thinking of the figures in the church, they are thought to be loyal, respectful, giving, and dedicated. Sadly to say this, but not all figures follow that description. In
Job Vs JB Essay Research Paper JB
Job Vs. J.B. Essay, Research Paper J.B. and Job There are many similarities but also many differences between the story of Job in The Bible and Archibald MacLeish’s J.B. These similarities and differences falls along the categories of style, story line, and characterization.
Chivalry In Chaucer
’s Canterbury Tales Essay, Research Paper In his Canterbury Tales, Chaucer fully explicates the cultural standard known as curteisye through satire. In the fourteenth century curteisye embodied sophistication and an education in French international culture. The legends of chilvalric knights, conversing in the language of courtly love, matured during this later medieval period.
Huck Finn Essay Research Paper Two people
Huck Finn Essay, Research Paper Two people taking a trip down a river, is rarely thought of as anything more than just an adventure. Mark Twain, however, uses his novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, to explore and makes fun of many problems facing American society. Huck, the main character, is considered a boy who is under pressure to conform to the aspects of society.
Satire Essay Research Paper With all of
Satire Essay, Research Paper With all of the problems in today s society, it is great to know that we have one great thing going for us. That would be the talented men and women of our government. The powerful president, senators, congressmen, governors, mayors, and other politicians work together to keep this country it s very best.
Johnathan Swift Essay Research Paper A Modest
Johnathan Swift Essay, Research Paper A Modest Proposal In Swift s A Modest Proposal he discusses how he wanted to prevent the poor children to no longer remain a burden to their parents or to the country, but instead to make them more beneficial to the public. Swift also wanted to expose the economic restrictions that the British had imposed upon them.
Use Of Satire In Huck Finn Essay
, Research Paper The journey taken by two people down a river, is rarely thought of as anything more than just an adventure. However, Mark Twain uses his novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, to explore and poke fun of many problems facing American society. Huck, the main character, is considered an uneducated boy who is constantly under pressure to conform to the “civilized” aspects of society.
Use Of Satire In Chaucer
’s The Canterbury Tales Essay, Research Paper “The Canterbury Tales” was a novel written by Geoffery Chaucer in 1386. In the prologue to Chaucer’s work, he describes certain characters using the literary device known as satire. His descriptions of the characters do a few different things. First, they give the reader an accurate vision of the time period that the novel takes place, fourteenth-century England, through the context of the character descriptions such as their dress.
The Canterbury Tales Essay Research Paper Knight
The Canterbury Tales Essay, Research Paper Knight -vs- Squire: The Comparison of Time Periods in The Canterbury Tales One of the most important pieces of English literature is Geoffrey Chaucer?s, The Canterbury Tales. This piece is highly regarded, because it gives insight into the simplicity of life in England, through it?s extensive cast of characters.
Chaucer And Religion Essay Research Paper Chaucer
Chaucer And Religion Essay, Research Paper Chaucer and Religion It is very rare that a book is written without the opinions of the author being clearly expressed somewhere within that book. Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales is one such book. In the General Prologue alone, by viewing Chaucer’s description of the Knight, the Prioress, and the Friar, the reader is able to pick up on Chaucer’s satirical humor toward the church of the 14th century.
The Satire And Criticism Of Voltaire And
Swift Essay, Research Paper 1999-09-10 Complicated censorship during the Enlightenment forced many philosophes to use satire as a tool to express their criticism towards European society. Through great works of literature, the philosophes were able to effectively use ridicule and satire to criticize many aspects of European society.
Untitled Essay Research Paper Words 657
Untitled Essay, Research Paper Words = 657 A Satire of the Industrial Workers A satire is a literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn. Satiric works can be seen in Aesop s animal fables and in Greek drama such as Aristophanies. It wasn t formally introduced as an aspect of writing until Roman poetry, though.
The Resemblances In The Wife Of Bath
’s Prologue And Tale, From The Canterbury Tales Essay, Research Paper In The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, The Wife of Bath seems to be one of the more vivacious characters on the pilgrimage. Dame Alice has radical views about women and marriage in a time when women were expected to be passive toward men.
Three Excerts From Jonathan Swift
’s A Modest Proposal Essay, Research Paper Through Jonathan Swift’s mastery of satire, his pen continually stings the wealthy class of Ireland and England. The idea of the wealthier oppressing the poor is shown by the following passage from “A Modest Proposal.” “I grant this food will be somewhat dear, and therefore very proper for landlords, who, as they have already devoured most of the parents, seem to have the best title to the children.” In this passage, Swift satirically implies that the children should be quite useful since the landlords have already “devoured”, or used up the parents.
Oedipus Rex Essay Research Paper 1 Oedipus
Oedipus Rex Essay, Research Paper 1) Oedipus Rex proves to be a tragic hero by displaying the qualities of goodness, appropriateness, and remaining consistent and realistic throughout the entire play. In the prologue of Oedipus Rex, Oedipus illustrates that he is morally good during his speech to the Priest and the suffering people of Thebes. “I know you are deathly sick; and yet, /Sick as you are, not one is as sick as I. /Each of you suffers in himself alone/His anguish, not another’s; but my spirit/Groans for the city, for myself, for you” (Prologue. 63-66).
Satire On Sir Walter Scott And Chaucer
Essay, Research Paper Satire is a keen literary tool, one that Geoffrey Chaucer used liberally when he wrote his Canterbury Tales as well as Sir Walter Scott s Ivanhoe. Webster s New World Dictionary says that satire is “the use of ridicule, sarcasm, etc. to attack vices, follies, etc.” These two pieces of literature could be considered the greatest pieces of British Literature during the Middle Ages.
The Great Gatsby As A Satire Essay
, Research Paper The Great Gatsby as a Satire Satire is an implement used by authors to point out a flaw of society or group of people in general. There are different levels of satire that the author can use. For example, the author may employ a type a formal satire known as Juvenalian satire. Here, the writer points out a subject with anger and contempt for it in a bitter fashion.
Plot Summary Of Ralph Ellison
’s _Invisible Man_ Essay, Research Paper Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man opens with a prologue describing the main character in time after the begining of the body of the book. In the prologue, Ellison tells of the main
Satire In Dorothy Parker Essay Research Paper
Dorothy Parker was born in 1893 and died in 1967. She is known for using a mixture of humor, satire, and sarcasm in her poems. Satire is a literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule of scorn. Three poems in which she uses humor, satire, and sarcasm are “R?sum?”, “Comment”, and “One Perfect Rose”.
Satire In Brave New World Essay Research
Paper Brave New World, written by Aldous Huxley is a utopian novel that uses satire to a great extent. Brave New World takes place in the future, where people are no longer born, and are artificially created. People are
Love In The Canterbury Tales Essay Research
Paper Henry Louis Mencken stated, “Love: The delusion that one woman differs from another.” This motto rings true for the travellers that Geoffrey Chaucer accompanied on the pilgrimage in The
Canterbury Tales Prologue Essay Research Paper
In Geoffrey Chaucer s prologue to The Canterbury Tales, he introduces a character that he describes with very high esteem. Through direct and indirect characterization we learn Chaucer s feelings and facts that help us get to know his character, the knight.
Thw Wife Of Bath Chaucer
’s Feminist Character Sketch Essay, Research Paper In the medieval period when women were viewed as property, held to sexual double standards and considered to be little more than heir-makers, Chaucer wrote a rather biting piece that draws attention to the inequalities in standards for men and women that were supported by society.
Guilliver
’s Travels Essay, Research Paper Satire in Lilliput In Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, Swift uses satire to tell a tale of Lemuel Gulliver going on voyages in strange lands and meeting a variety of different characters. Jonathan Swift’s was one of the greatest satirists of his and our time. In the first book of Gulliver’s Travels millions of young schoolchildren have grown to love this famous story and never recognize the satire hidden in the story.
Character Sketch Of Chaucer
’s Knight Essay, Research Paper Character Sketch of Chaucer’s Knight Geoffrey Chaucer s Canterbury Tales, written in approximately 1385, is a collection of twenty-four stories ostensibly told by various people who are going on a religious pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral from London, England. Prior to the actual tales, however, Chaucer offers the reader a glimpse of fourteenth century life by way of what he refers to as a General Prologue.
What Is Irony Essay Research Paper Irony
What Is Irony? Essay, Research Paper Irony is a method of assertion used by authors in literature and poetry. Although many writers have employed this literary technique for centuries, the meaning of the word can be difficult to understand. This essay will help to describe the correct meaning of this diverse word and illustrate how it is used.
THE CANTERBURY TALES Essay Research Paper The
THE CANTERBURY TALES Essay, Research Paper The Canterbury Tales Chaucer uses satire in the Canterbury Tales to expose his attitude towards the Catholic Church of the Middle Ages. The first way in which he does this is by satirizing a common nun of the Middle Ages. Chaucer, in The Canterbury Tales, tells of a nun who is supposed to be married to the church.
General Manager Essay Research Paper GENERAL MANAGERThe
General Manager Essay, Research Paper GENERAL MANAGER The career of my dreams is to be a general manager. The general manager is the person who sets polices and directs the operations of business and corporations. They only
Wife Of Bath Essay Research Paper From
Wife Of Bath Essay, Research Paper From the beginning of The Wife of Bath s Prologue until the last stroke of ink in The Wife of Bath s tale, the character of Dame Alison can be easily figured. The madam is quite obviously a bitter woman, however, her ultimate desires limit themselves to simple scenarios involving power and control throughout the prologue and tale, Dame Alison reveals her inner-self through character traits and experiences that allow the reader to make an accurate analysis of her being.
Comedy And The Power Of The Human
Spirit Essay, Research Paper Paving the way, comedy traditionally deals with the efforts of individuals to survive and create a new and better world ? or at least one that is better than the reality the character find themselves in if only for a short period of time. In this way this genre seems to be a means of dealing with both human suffering and failure.
Brideshead Revisited Essay Research Paper Brideshead RevisitedEvelyn
Brideshead Revisited Essay, Research Paper Brideshead Revisited Evelyn Waugh’s novel, Brideshead Revisited is a mysterious book, in the fact that the prologue gives insight into what is seemingly the thoughts of a man without a wanted purpose, living only for his work. The first chapter then begins with our main character’s entry into his college years, and the unusual experiences that occur.