The aim of any true satirical work is to poke fun at a certain aspect of society‚ while also inspiring reform to that very same aspect in one way or another. In Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales‚ Chaucer satirizes the Medieval Church and those associated with the church. Medieval society was centered largely around the Church. Ideally‚ the people were expected to understand that earthly possessions were meaningless when compared to the prospect of closeness with God. Man was expected to work until he died
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Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales introduces readers to a doctor who might be viewed as greedy. According to the textbook‚ the Doctor enjoys money. Medieval Life and Times website says what a typical doctor during Chaucer’s era was like. George A. Renn‚ III argues that the Doctor is not actually as greedy as he seems. The “Doctor’s Tale” revolves around how selfishness can hurt others. The Doctor in the general prologue allows Chaucer to portray greed. Chaucer’s Doctor is shown to be good at
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lands‚ but even more choose to travel to Canterbury to visit the relics of Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral‚ where they thank the martyr for having helped them when they were in need. The narrator tells us that as he prepared to go on such a pilgrimage‚ staying at a tavern in Southwark called the Tabard Inn‚ a great company of twenty-nine travelers entered. The travelers were a diverse group who‚ like the narrator‚ were on their way to Canterbury. They happily agreed to let him join them
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Geoffrey Chaucer had separate attitudes towards Church and Christians. Chaucer seems to have respected Christians. In the General Prologue of the Canterbury Tales‚ Chaucer introduces many characters that are devoted Christians in high and attractive terms. Some of these characters are the Knight‚ the Parson‚ the Clerk and even a little about the Plowman‚ “The Lord his God with whole heart he loved best” (Line 533). Chaucer describes all these devoted Christians at first‚ yet he describes some pilgrims
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A foil is a character that contrasts with another character in order to highlight particular qualities of the other character. Chaucer uses a foil for numerous characters in The Canterbury Tales. Although a foil is mainly used to show important qualities in the protagonist of the story‚ Chaucer employs it to both bring his characters together and set them apart. Two characters that Chaucer compares and contrasts using this technique are the Knight and the Sea Captain‚ or Skipper. He depicts them
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Chaucer’s prologue in his book‚ The Canterbury Tales‚ is one of the most prominent pieces of literature today. The first twenty six pages of the novel describes thirty different characters‚ who have different backgrounds‚ cultures‚ and behaviors. Many of the portraits in Chaucer’s prologue act poorly‚ and do not behave the way they are supposed to; while few respectively follow the seven virtues of the society. One of these characters is the holy and virtuous Parson. Chaucer describes the priest
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Rebecca Xie 00121144 Professor Hus English Literature to 1800 May 9‚ 2013 The Costumes of the Characters in The Canterbury Tales I. What I know from the reading. In The Canterbury Tales‚ the pilgrims are from different social classes. These characters represent people in different social classes. When I was reading “General Prologue‚” I found that these characters’ appearances are vividly described‚ especially for their costumes. It provoked my interest on medieval costumes. It starts form
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a tale that is romantic with a twist of magic within the story. His tale may be what he hopes to one day gain in his future instead of carrying the reputation he has now throughout the rest of his life; or so that is what it seems like. In the Canterbury Tales‚ written by Geoffrey Chaucer‚ we are introduced to a character that seems to know a lot about love and romance. Also the son of a high ranking Knight “a fine young Squire‚ / a lover and cadet‚ a lad of fire.” (General Prologue‚ 81-83). He
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fit and unfit for society. While the two categories may have very different definitions to different perspectives‚ there isn’t a doubt that this has helped society in many ways. One work on literature‚ which contains both categories‚ is the The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. The novel describes women who may be shunned by society because of their boldness‚ while others show women who can get away with anything just because of their status. While the female gender is a difficult subject to
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Chaucer’s Use of Irony in The Canterbury Tales In The Canterbury Tales‚ Geoffrey Chaucer compiles a mixture of stories on a pilgrimage into a figurative depiction of the medieval society in which he lived. Chaucer’s stories have a punch and pizzazz‚ which‚ to an average reader‚ seem uncommon to the typical medieval writer‚ making his story more delightful. Certain things account for this pizzazz‚ especially the author’s use of irony. Many of Chaucer’s characters are ironic in the sense that they
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