Satire In The Canterbury Tales

Satire has been used for ages by people trying to criticize others. The use of satire involves using literary devices such as irony, humor, and exaggeration to expose other people’s absurdity and ignorance. Kent Drury, of Northern Kentucky University, states that there are two types of satire, Horatian and Juvenalian. Drury articulates, “Horatian satire is atire in which the voice is indulgent, tolerant, amused, and witty.” Horatian satire is soft and usually results in laughter and no one is truly offended. Drury goes on to state that Juvenalian satire is “Formal satire in which the speaker attacks vice and error with contempt and indignation.” Juvenalian satire is more harsh in which one or more people will take offense. One mastermind of

Chaucer knows that the church is corrupt and one way he makes it apparent in this text is by describing the Friar. Chaucer describes the Friar in this text as being corrupt and more interested in his personal earnings than the church. The Friar goes against church laws and principles to gain money and power. He even began charging for indulgences. Chaucer states, “He was an easy man in penance-giving where he could hope to make a decent living.” The Friar would charge to forgive other people’s sins. Chaucer’s intentions in mentioning this was to point out to other people in the real world that the Friar was in fact corrupt. This is an example of Juvenalian satire. Robert Albertsen states, “ Juvenalian satire thus is more contemptuous and abrasive, and uses strong irony and sarcasm.” Chaucer was very contemptuous when using satire to describe the Friar. The Friar would have most likely taken much offense to the corruption pointed out by Chaucer in this text. Clearly, Chaucer used Juvenalian satire to describe the

Chaucer was a very important man in his time. He opened people’s eyes to the corruption within the church. He also is considered by many to be the father of the English language. Jyoti Dhani states, “Chaucer was the first great national poet. He expressed the new hopes and aspiration of the people of his times. The foundation of Chaucer’s art lies in English life and character.” Many people looked up to him for his boldness and handle on the English language. Chaucer was a very important man because of his ability to expose the church, and his creation of modern