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How Does Chaucer Use Satire In The Canterbury Tales

719 Words3 Pages

Satiric Project

(A discussion on Chaucer’s use of Satire in The Canterbury Tales)

Geoffrey Chaucer was of one of the greatest poets of the late Middle Ages and has often been called the father of English poetry. He believed that his writing would be huge. Strohm shows Chaucer's intent by explaining, “He was not only ready to follow, if reverently, in the footsteps of Ovid, Petrarch and Dante; he was also ready to lead the way into the new world, just opening, of books being published for potential rather than actual readers..” He was ready to be considered one of the greats, and he did this by using a specific strategy. In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer attacks three sacred ideas using satire which include the church’s hypocrisy, patriarchy, and nobility. …show more content…

Marchette shows that in the stories of The Canterbury Tales, “Most of the other pilgrims exemplify in amusing ways the weaknesses of the groups they represent.” This was done by the geniousness of Chaucer as he was able to point out weaknesses in the church, yet have a shield to cover him as well. He is able to point out that the church is full of hypocrisy through both Horatian and Juvenalian satire. For example, in line 160 Chaucer uses the phrase, “She was indeed by no means undergrown.” This is an example of Horatian satire that Chaucer used. However, when attacking the church in most cases, Chaucer is able to use Juvenalian satire to attack morality like in the general prologue of the priest. He calls preaching a game and explains this through the tales of

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