How Does Chaucer Use Satire

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Chaucer's Use of Satire: (An Analysis of Canterbury Tales) Many people think of William Shakespeare as the greatest English writer of all time, and he may be. But the forefather of English literature is Geoffrey Chaucer. Chaucer wrote many brilliant pieces of literature but Canterbury Tales may be his greatest of them all. Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories that were told by a group of pilgrims on a pilgrimage to Canterbury. There is a hidden message of satire throughout the stories of Canterbury Tales that show Chaucer’s displeased attitude towards the church, patriarchy, and the social order of England. Canterbury Tales contains nasty satire that is directed towards issues in England. To begin, Chaucer first uses satire to …show more content…

For many centuries women were treated with disrespect. Females were thought of as a possession and were often beat by their men. Chaucer realized this was not the proper way for woman to be treated and uses satire to prove his point. “To have me old and ugly till I die, But still a loyal, true and humble wife that never will displease you all her life, or would you rather I were young and pretty And chance your arm what happens in a city.” Chaucer uses satire to portray that women are more intelligent than men. Females are in control of their men by manipulation. The Wife has been married five times and she says marriage is overrated. She thinks she is slick in with her sly moves and intelligence, but us guys are smart enough to let them believe that they are smarter than we are. In reality, girls are pretty deceptive and great at getting what they want when they want it. I guess that’s just the way the world goes around. The satire that Chaucer uses is an indirect yet very probable way of getting his point …show more content…

Chaucer once again realizes something about old England that is not humanly right. He makes the observation that the richest beings are often the poorest in soul. “Poverty is, though wanting in estate, A kind of wealth that none calumniate. Poverty often, when the heart is slowly, brings one to God and teaches what is holy, gives knowledge to oneself.” The poorest people often have the biggest hearts and are ultimately better people. Chaucer attacks the social classes by using satire and showing that they are useless because they do not make out the person you truly are. Is the stories Chaucer tells them how they are just continuously being used and that most of the priests are not in it for the good of the people, but rather for the good of themselves. He does not like how the lower classes are used and his purpose is to inform them that not everyone is what they seem to be and to be more careful with their

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