Canterbury Tales By Chaucer And Medieval Essay, Research Paper

In the Prologue to the Caterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer is almost always polite

and respectful when he points out the foibles and weaknesses of people. He is

able to do this by using genial satire, which is basically having a pleasant or

friendly disposition while ridiculing human vices and follies. Chaucer also

finds characteristics in the pilgrims that he admires. This is evident in the

peaceful way he describes their attributes. The Nun is one of the pilgrims in

which Chaucer uses genial satire to describe. He defines her as a woman who is,

?Pleasant and friendly in her ways, and straining/ To counterfeit a courtly

kind of grace? ( l.l. 136-137). Instead of bluntly saying she is of the lower

class and trying unsuccessfully to impersonate a member of the upper class

Chaucer suggests it gentle, therefore the reader must be attentive to pick up on

it. He also pokes fun at the Nun?s impersonated French accent when he says

that she spoke: with a fine Intoning through her nose, as was most seemly, And

she spoke daintily in French, extremely, After the school of Stratford-atte-Bowe;

French in the Paris style she did not know. (l.l. 120-124) Chaucer finds the

Nun?s speech amusing but he carefully chooses his words so as not to be

disrespectful. Chaucer also uses genial satire when illustrating the Nun?s

size; ?She was indeed by no means undergrown? (l. 154). He puts the fact

that she is fat in a polite way because he finds the Nun ?very entertaining?

(l. 135) and thus doesn?t speak ill of her even though there is much ill to be

said. Instead he uses genial satire to describe the Nun so that he may remain

courteous and respectful. Chaucer finds the Monk less amusing and more repulsive

than the Nun but none the less he describes him in a polite manner so that the

reader must pay attention in order to fully realize the Monks faults. The main

problem that Chaucer has with the Monk is that he shows very little religious

devotion. The Monk frequently engages in activities opposite in nature to that

which is expected from a man of his position: He did not rate that text at a

plucked hen Which says that hunter are not holy men And that a monk uncloistered

is a mere Fish out of water, flapping on the pier, That is to say a monk out of

his cloister. That was a text he held not worth an oyster; And I agreed and said

his views were sound; Was he to study till his head went round Poring over books

in cloisters? (l.l. 175-183) A monk is expected to show his religious devotion

by following the text of the bible as best he can, stay in his cloister and

study constantly. This monk however does not follow the text as he hunts, is out

of his cloister and has never been seen studying. Chaucer could be have been

very straight forward and critical of the Monks poor choices but instead he uses

genial satire to show the Monks faults without disgracing himself. Chaucer even

jokes at the end of the above quote when he agrees with the Monk and says,

?Was he to study till his head went round?, of course he was he is a monk

(l. 182). Chaucer uses genial satire in a slightly different way when describing

the Oxford Cleric. Instead of forming a clear impression in the readers mind as

too whether or not the Oxford Cleric is a good man he simply tells it as it is

thus leaving the reader to determine it for themselves based on their own

values. Chaucer describes the Oxford Cleric as a man who?s: horse was thinner

than a rake, And he was not too fat, I undertake, But had a hollow look, a sober

stare; The thread upon his overcoat was bare. (l.l. 291-294). This is a polite

way of saying that the Oxford Cleric not only neglected his own health and

personal appearance but also the health of his horse as they were both extremely

skinny and his clothes consisted of bare threads. He neglected his and his

horse?s heath because he spent all his money and some of his friends money on

books, which Chaucer also pokes fun at using genial satire: By his bed He

preferred having twenty books in red And black, of Aristotle?s philosophy, To

having fine clothes, fiddle or psaltery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . He had not found the stone for making gold. What

ever money from his friends he took He spent on learning or another book And

prayed for them most earnestly, returning Thanks to them thus for pay for his

learning. (l.l. 297-306) Like a lot of modern day students the Oxford Cleric is

broke, for he spends all his money on learning and books. When he receives money

from his friends he has no intention of paying them back, instead he prays for

them in return. Some may find these particular qualities to be bad ones. That is

why Chaucer is very genial when describing the Oxford Cleric, he wants the

reader to form their own impression of him. Chaucer finds the Knight?s

characteristics admirable. He describes his as a ?most distinguished man?

who ?follow[s] chivalry? (l.l. 43, 45). Which was looked upon highly in

Chaucer?s day. Chaucer portrays the Knight as a man of ?truth, honor,

generos[ity] and courtesy/ [who] had done nobly in his sovereign?s war/ And

ridden into battle, no man more?(l.l. 46-58). A man with these qualities is

ideal and to be good in battle is even better. The reader knows the Knight is

good in battle because every numerous time that he has ridden in, he has also

had to have ridden out, which displays his battle talents. When speaking about

the Knight Chaucer is very blunt, he says the Knight ?was sovereign in all

eyes? and ?a true [and] perfect gentle-knight?(l.l. 63, 68). To be able to

make the generalization that ?all? people find the Knight to be sovereign

and that he is ?perfect? signifies that Chaucer can find nothing disgraceful

to say about the Knight. The Knight displays qualities that Chaucer considers to

be very close to perfect and therefore all Chaucer?s words portraying the

Knight show respect and admiration. The Parson is also a man that Chaucer

admires. This is due to the fact that the Parson is everything a good priest

should be. Chaucer describes the Parson?s exceptional religious devotion in

the following quote: He much disliked extorting tithe or fee, Nay rather he

preferred beyond a doubt Giving to poor parishioners round about From his own

goods and Easter offerings. He found sufficiency in little things. Wide was his

parish, with houses far asunder, Yet he neglected not in rain or thunder, In

sickness or in grief, to pay a call On the remotest, whether great or small,

Upon his feet, and in his hand a stave. This noble example to his sheep he gave,

First following the word before he taught it. (l.l. 484-495) Chaucer points out

that the Parson does not like extorting the church tax (tithe) and that he would

rather give to poor parishioners, even if from his own pocket, to illustrate

that he is a good man who is not a member of the church for personal profit.

Instead the Parson is a member of the church to bring men to God despite the

weather, his health, or the great distance separating them. When the Parson

speaks of his sheep he is referring to the people who have yet to establish a

stable relationship with God and by saying that he ?first follow[ed] the word

before he taught it?, it shows his sincerity (l. 495). Chaucer bluntly

portrays the Parson as what an ideal priest should be: Holy and virtuous he was,

but then Never contemptuous of sinful men, Never disdainful, never too proud or

fine, But was discreet in teaching and benign. (l.l. 511-514) It is significant

that the Parson has these qualities because it shows that unlike the Monk he

demonstrates religious devotion. The Parson demonstrates his religious devotion

by following the text of the bible and in being true and genuine to God?s word

by not passing judgment on others, all of which Chaucer finds admirable. Chaucer

gives the Plowman characteristics that he finds admirable. This comes as no

surprise to the reader as he is the brother of the Parson, who Chaucer holds in

great respect. Chaucer does not take any time in getting straight to the point

when describing the Plowman. He bluntly says that the Plowman is ?an honest

worker, good and true,/ Living in peace and perfect charity? (l.l. 528-529).

By describing the Plowman this way it demonstrate that Chaucer looks highly upon

those who work hard and are charitable. The fact that Chaucer chooses to use the

word ?perfect? signifies that the Plowman is charitable beyond what is

expected. The Plowman also portrays religious devotion, which Chaucer admires:

as the gospel bade him, so did he, Loving God best with all his heart and mind

And then his neighbor as himself, repined At no misfortune, slacked for no

content, For steadily about his work his went . . . and he would help the poor

For love of Christ and never take a penny If he could help it. (l.l. 530-538) By

following the gospel, loving God, loving his neighbor, working hard, and helping

other?s without pay it proves that he is a wonderfully religious and pleasant

man. The reader can tell that Chaucer finds these qualities admirable because

while describing the Plowman he is very straight forward so as to leave no doubt

that he Plowman is an incredible person. Chaucer uses genial satire in order to

describe the characters to their full extent without being disrespectful or

rude. He pokes fun of the Nun, the Monk and the Oxford Cleric simply because

they contain qualities that deserve to be pointed out to the reader. The fact

that he points them out using genial satire illustrates his self restraint and

lets only the attentive reader pick up on the somewhat hidden characteristics.

When Chaucer finds likable qualities in his characters he points them out

bluntly so that even the un-retentive reader wakes up and notices them. Chaucer

portrays the characters in the Canterbury Tales in a fashion that gives the

reader insight into the Medieval time period in which the character lived and

also insight into what kind of person Chaucer was.