The Use Of Satire In The Canterbury Tales

Perks of Sarcasm

(Chaucer 's Use of Satire to Reach Intended Audience)

Geoffrey Chaucer, also known as, “The Father of English Literature,” uses satire in his stories to influence his intended audience. Satire is the use of humor or irony to reveal a person 's stupidity. Considering Chaucer 's stories are legendary, he never fails to through some satire into his writing. With that being said, using it while writing a story is one of the most effective ways of writing. He uses the characters in his stories to help him achieve his goal while writing. Geoffrey Chaucer uses satire to reveal corruption, critique patriarchy, and appraise class and nobility.

Chaucer 's use of satire aided him on revealing the corruption of the church. In his story, “The Canterbury Tales,” he shows that many members of the church use their positions for their own personal gain. During the pilgrimage, the reader starts to realize that, out of all of the pilgrims involved in the church, the Parson is the only one who is honorable. “A holy-minded man of good renown,”

In the story, “The Wife of Bath,” Chaucer handles satire to critique class and nobility. Alike today, class and nobility still haunt us. Being that, we still see it in high school, it obviously hasn 't gone away. Chaucer brings forth the issue by sending the Knight on a journey of a lifetime. When he arrives back, he still doesn 't have the answer that he was sent to find. When he comes across a decrepit lady who makes him a deal, it saves his life. Subsequently, she forces the Knight to marry her. He’s compelled to corporate, and marries the old and hideous lady. During the story, Chaucer says, “He who accepts his poverty unhurt I’d say is rich although he lacked a shirt. But truly poor are they who whine and fret and covet what they cannot hope to get. Later, the reader begins to truly understand what this quotes is portraying. In the end, the old lady turns alluring and gives the knight everything he