Chaucer's Use Of Satire In The Canterbury Tales

Geoffrey Chaucer was a on a mission when he wrote The Canterbury Tales. That mission was to create a satire that attacked three major institutions. Raphel displays, “Medieval society was divided into three estates: the Church (those who prayed), the Nobility (those who fought), and the Patriarchy. The General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales is an estates satire.” Chaucer wanted to shed light on the institutions that were taking advantage of the everyday man. Chaucer does this by making up tales about certain people that she light to the undercover world of the institutions. In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer uses satire to attack the Church, the Patriarchy, and the Nobility.

The Church is the first institution that Chaucer attacks using satire in The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer wants to attack the church’s hypocrisy. Chaucer decides to create the character of the pardoner to prove his point. Cawthorne conveys, “His Canterbury Tales collects together 24 narratives with a General Prologue and an epilogue or Retraction.” Chaucer describes the character before telling their tale. The Pardoner is a man who steals from the poor. Chaucer says on page 127 line 77, “For though I am a wholly vicious man don’t think I can’t tell moral tales.” The pardoner knows what he does is wrong, but he continues to do it anyway.

The second institution that Chaucer attacks by using satire in The Canterbury Tales is the Patriarchy.

Morgan implies, “Geoffrey Chaucer is a major influential figure in the history of English literature.” Chaucer battled problem that we face today. Chaucer fights the idea of the patriarchy by creating the character The Wife of Bath. The Wife of Bath challenges the idea that men are better than women. Chaucer claims on page 145 line 212, “Less than your wife, nay, than your very love.” The Wife of Bath wouldn’t listen to any man over her. She was an independent woman that only listened to

herself.

In The Canterbury Tales the third institution that Chaucer attacks by using satire is the Nobility. Lane announces, “Through his father’s connections, Geoffrey held several positions early in his life, serving as a noblewoman’s page, a courtier, a diplomat, and a civil servant.” Chaucer was battling the fact that Nobility equaled wealth which equalled power which in turn equalled value. Chaucer knew that the common people deserved a say and deserved a chance at a better life. Chaucer report on page 139 line 36, “So petitioning of the king for her, that he condemned the knight to lose his head.” The knight did something that was against the rules, yet he still got off the hook.

Geoffrey Chaucer used satire to complete his mission in The Canterbury Tales. Hewie declares, “English poet Geoffrey Chaucer wrote the unfinished work, The Canterbury Tales. It is considered one of the greatest poetic works in English.” Chaucer used his work to attack the major institutions. The first institution was the Church. Chaucer wanted to shed light on the hypocrisy of the church. The second institution was the Patriarchy. Chaucer didn’t agree that men were more valuable than women. The Nobility was the final institution. Chaucer didn’t agree that only the wealthy were important.