The Element of Satire with Respect to Chaucers...

THESIS: THE ELEMENT OF SATIRE WITH RESPECT TO CHAUCERS CANTERBURY TALES It is human nature to laugh when an event goes wrong or to make a mockery of an all too serious person. But what if authors had the power to use this instinct within humans to drive a point across? In fact they do and they call this literary toolÂ…satire. Many authors have used this tool as a backbone in their writings; others have only managed to throw in elements of satire here and there. However, there was one author who had mastered this literary tool, and who could use it to the extremes. He had the ability to use it as playfully and lightheartedly as if to just tease. But, in an instant, he could use it to denigrate a person and ruin all that was†¦show more content†¦Other reasons for a satirist include, their personal feeling of inferiority or the desire to better society (Highet 240-241). Chaucer was as straightforward as a man can get (Wagenknecht 72). He saw the world as a down to earth fellow who was regarded as sweet (Wagenknecht 141). Being the son of a vintner (victuallers were the peace party), he did not approve of war except that with a religious cause (Wagenknecht 56). It is said that Chaucer would naturally take and present the most unfavorable view of the clerical body, and a correspondingly favorable one of the military (Wagenknecht 56). This is why he is so critical of the Pardoner and Summoner who represent the church. This also explains why he holds the Knight with such high regard. Even though Chaucer wrote with much vulgarity towards the church it is important to note that Chaucer was indeed religious and a Christian at that (Wagenknecht 130). This becomes more evident when looking at how he satirizes the Wife of Bath in the following lines: From the Wife of Baths general prologue In the whole parish there was not a woman Who dared precede her at the almsgiving, And if there did, so furious was she, That she was put out of all charity. (Wright 27) These lines illustrate how the Wife of Bath seems to be the first at the altar, and if she is not she becomes jealous of the other women. The Wife of Bath tends to represent herself as a woman who uses sex as a means of taking in husbands thenShow MoreRelated Powerful Satire in Chaucers Canterbury Tales Essay3466 Words   |  14 PagesPowerful Satire in The Canterbury Tales If one theme can be considered overriding or defining throughout Medieval European society, it would most likely be the concept of social class structure. During this early historical period in Europe, most of society was divided into three classes or estates: the workers, the nobles, and the clerics. 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