Chaucer
Chaucer
Chaucer
Introduction:
Real Photography:
for those who are true to their profession and fellow beings. For example
Chaucer is not ironical towards the Parson, the Plowman, the oxford clerk etc.
Different classes:
The war-like classes are represented by the Knight, the Squire and the
Yeoman. The liberal professions are represented by a doctor, a man of law and
the oxford clerk. The agricultural classes are represented by Plowman, the Miller
etc. The secular clergy is represented by the pardoner and the Summoner.
The prologue also tells us a lot about the food, the hobbies and the mode
of dress during his age. His characters are food of rich and delicious food-
roasted swan, partridges, sharp and pungent sauces and strong wine. Keeping
grey hounds, hunting and breeding fish were their favourite pastimes and
hobbies. In dressing they adopted new fashions. Their dresses were very costly
and were made of fine fur and velvet available in their country. Most of their
clothes were embroidered.
Power of Observation:
The extraordinary fidelity of his portraits and Chaucer’s careful and minute
observation is another characteristic of his realism. For example, he gives us the
full length portrait of the Friar in one line “Fat as a whole” and “walked as a
swan”. The description of the Prioress shows the poet’s power of minute and
amused observation:
“At mete was she wel tauht with all;
She lette no morsel from her lippes fall
No wette her fingers in her sauce depe
Wet could she carie a morsel and wel kepe
That no drope ne fell upon her breast.”
Conclusion:
Keeping in view the above analysis we can say that Chaucer had the
innate instinct to catch within his purview the soul of his generation in its varied
aspects. By making use of the Seeing Eye, the retentive memory and wise
judgment. He has given us a truthful and vivid picture of his society not in
fragments but completely.
________________________________________
knowledge also. He takes the care of his personality but does not forget how to
treat the others honourably.
Lovely nature:
The squire is a young person. That is why his nature is lovely. He always
dries do get the attention of his lady. For this purpose, he wears attractive dress,
adopts charming personality and seems as fresh as the month of May. Chaucer
gives the interpretation of may to show the vigour of his life because may is
called a vigorous month because of spring and hotness. He seems like a
nightingale because all the day be sings beautiful songs and even at night he
sleeps with an open eye. It shows that he used to sing at night also.
Part in wars:
The squire is the son to knight and because of his brought, we find the
spirit of chivalry in him. He has the power to defeat his enemy. He has
participated many wars. He has joined the campaign in Flanders, Artois and
Picardy and his participation won fame for him.
Chaucer’s art lies in his striking the delicate balance between the
individual and the
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in youthe, - But therof nedeth not to speke as nowthe.). This is also true of the
Monk and the Pardoner). The device of caricature has also been resorted to
by Chaucer, in the sketching of the characters of the Miller, the wife of Bath
and the Prioress (Miller 559-562). There are a lot many details that make the
Summoner a very obviously caricatured character. He does not always seem to
be giving us a catalogue of visual descriptions. He rather mingles details of
appearance and dress with those of occupation, habits and past engagements.
In the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, the characters, beautifully sketched with
brilliant individual traits, are yet, clearly recognizable type with all their vices and
virtues commonly attributed to the persons of their class.
beautifully welded with the typical. This we see in the characters of the Man of
the Law, the Merchant, Cook and Shipman. Thus Chaucer manages to variegate
his picture by giving us general accounts of some of the characters in the
ophrastian_________ manner and also switching over to the realistic at one time
and the ideal _________ the other. Satire and humour are no ___ griping
whenever he wields them ____ the manner of a skilful painter. He makes
dexterous use of his brush and artistically applies various pigments.
The dishonest merchants and shipmen can still be encountered in the persons of
modern day bus conductors. There is a profusion of Wives of Bath around us.
Squire – like soldiers interested in pursuing women rather than the enemy are
present today _____ than ever before. These characters give us the true picture
of the contemporary life and are master-pieces of truth and reality. They are
modern, realistic and universal.
Use of contrast.
CHAUCER’S REALISM
He did write in the formal and conventional mould in early stages but was
later on able to disentangle poetry from the clutches of conventionalism and
formalism, wherein the emphasis was not on what existed but rather on what was
proper according to convention.
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He seems resolved to give us a true picture – nothing but the truth – even
at the expense of self-effacement had to adopt a technique that see _____ to
herald elements that were to _______ found later on in the 16 th century ______
and also in novel after that it is his realistic approach to life that made him
delineate life objectively and give us characters and situations that even great
play-wrights like Shakespeare seem to have benefited from. It is also because of
his realistic approach that some would call him a dramatist before drama was
born. He conceived a plan wherein he managed to bring together characters
from various walks of life and the goal was to give us an authentic image of the
life of his day. Keeping himself in the background, he makes his characters
speak and act in a way as would reveal their reality.
The tales give us a true picture and also exhibit their oddities and
mannerism. Almost all the classes including the ecclesiastical, the feudal, the
professional, the industrial and the commercial have been adequately
represented. Chaucer seems realistic in his account when we find him
performing the role of a social historian though, perhaps, doing so inadvertently
we can easily discern_____ initiation of new trends ad also seeds of religious
unrest and protest against corruption. The corruption rempan____ in the religious
class is to be found in the degeneration and immorality of people associated with
the church. We also discern the waning of the religious zeal and sprouting out of
skepticism. And all this has been done in a dramatic manner by giving us the
individual, generic and universal traits of various characters. Life has got to be
viewed as a whole and this is what Chaucer seems to have done since
Canterbury Tales display an organic artistic unity. He seems to believe that a
comprehensive picture with realism and verisimilitude (realism) will help him
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incorporate unity in his Prologue and Tales. The picture turns out to be aq
harmonious whole, the characters being full of life and the picture vital and
pulsating.
Contemporary life has been sketched with all its dynamic aspects, the
picture keeps changing and the pilgrims keep moving towards their destination.
As they move, so does our knowledge of the various pilgrims who speak of
almost every thing that has befallen them till date, they even discuss their
financial positions, love affairs and private feuds.
Life seems to be full of action and we even get a peep at their inner
psyche, at their loyalties and intrigues. The 14 th century British life, as delineated
by Chaucer, does not seem to have been affected much by national conquests
and set backs. To sum up, it could quite safely be said that Chaucer’s picture of
his age is extremely realistic i.e. the characters created may not be the ones he
shook hands with in actual life, but they certainly resemble people that he had
met and observed in real life. Every effort in the prologue seems to have been
directed towards this end, that is, showing us a mirror where we could have a
glimpse of the contemporary life. All his techniques like those used by he latter
play-wright the novelists, have been employed to_______ his contemporaries
see their faces in mirror. By so doing he also provided the coming generations an
opportunity to know what their ancestors were like in the 14 th century or generally
speaking what human beings were like in a part of the world that is Britain. All
credit goes to Chaucer for having accomplished his goal remarkably well. Almost
all the readers feel entertained and the discerning ones also find food for thought
in the prologue and also in the tales. They also find instruction in them.
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Chaucer can very conveniently be deemed modern poet, with his feet
firmly grounded in the medieval-age. He is a modern poet because he has
recorded the changing socio-political trends of his age most aptly. His was a
period of transition. The moral and religious issues of his day were being looked
upon in a manner markedly different from the way they had been regarded up to
his day. The medieval society seems crumbling with the emergence of a new
class of traders and merchants. The reader can not help noticing the fact that
Chaucer has skillfully amalgamated the concept of pilgrimage with the concept of
democracy and equality. Her is modern in the way that he regards all the pilgrims
– though sinners – equal as human beings. The contemporary, medieval concept
was that all sinners need redemption. For the first time in Chaucer’s narration of
a sacred rite i.e. proceeding on a pilgrimage of the holy places, we notice a shift
from a ________ ecclesiastical rendering of the pilgrimage to a happy excursion.
The pilgrimage ______ a social get-together wherein we __________ the spirit of
transition.
Chaucer is a medieval poet in the sense that his patriotism does not
degenerate into materialism. Though very much an English, living in the 14 th
century, his writings contain mention of anger or spite against France. This gives
us the clue that war in those days was fought less for the love of the land and
more for personal glory, in a spirit of adventure France being a Christian country
was regarded by Chaucer a part of Christendom. Little wonder he regards
France a part of Christian dogma and that accounts for the absence of any
comments against France. From the social point of view too, Chaucer is a
modern. The structure of society in his days was feudalistic. Society was divided
into three classes, the upper most, or the nobility being the most privileged. But
the forces _____ evolution were not to be curbed and _____ disappearance of
the labouring class as a result of black death gave birth to the strong class of the
farmers, who wanted to enjoy the privileges available to the nobles. The mass
migration of the people from the rural areas to urban areas in search of better
wages gave a big jolt to the social fabric. People now became conscious of the
fact that they were equal not as sinners but as human beings. The slogan
vehemently raised by Jack Tyler that:
caught the attention of the people and shook the very foundations of feudalism.
That is probably why, in Chaucer we find the emergence of a new world out of
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the middle ages. The delineation of changing trends and attitudes is the work of a
writer who can rightly be labeled a modern.
It is not the ecclesiastical class alone that grips the most of his attention.
Instead his essential humanity asserts itself and Chaucer seems to accept the
world as it is, and the signs of transition can easily be discerned in the portraits of
the Knight and the Squire. The Knight’s portrait has a halo of romance and
Christian values around it whereas that of his son, the Squire, is indicative
____________ coming up of a new kind of ____________________ Chaucer’s
predecessors and even _______________________________ contemporaries
deliberately _________________________ and the rascal, as
_______________________________ a part and parcel
___________________________ _____________________________.
The holy pilgrimage provides the participants with an occasion for light-
hearted gossip. The tales and the prologue are not written merely for moral
glorification. Like a modern writer he means to entertain the reader and makes
his characters interesting through the use of his sense of humour. Chaucer does
not __________ between the earth and the sky but he keeps his feet on the
earth and _____ embraces the bitter realities of this _________. Unlike others
who came before him, Chaucer creates living creatures. He is modern because
he seems to relish character delineation. He creates character for the sake of
characters and, thus, unknowingly lays the foundation of modern fiction. His Wife
of Bath is a superb example of Chaucer’s humour and his ability to wield
imaginative faculties for the sake of entertainment. Some of the traits of this
character, her voice her facial expressions, habits and the manner of dressing
up, force us to regard her as a modern living creature. Chaucer enjoys dwelling
on the idiosyncrasies of individual characters but he gives us a variety of them.
He finds life interesting as a whole.
Chaucer views things from the point of view of a comic writer. This spirit is
the hallmark of his poetry which is marked by the humourous rather than high
seriousness. In the light of the above mentioned traits of Chaucer’s poetry. It
shouldn’t be difficult for a modern reader to discern the rudiments of modernity in
Chaucer’s work particularly his Canterbury Tales.
things like wars, revolts and epidemics. As for his being tight-lipped about the
court and the courtiers, diplomacy demanded that he should have been shrewd
enough not to comment on the controversial issues like the peasant’s revolt. Had
he done so, he might have offended those in the court and thus possibly
deprived himself of many a privilege. Moreover his purpose was to entertain
rather than to offend and as an artist he may have regarded the horrors of war
and social jolts that came in its wake, as ugly and unworthy of the sublime art of
poetry. Some say that he avoided commenting on the social and political vents of
the day for fear of inviting the exercise of the safely act’. He did enjoy some
freedom of expression_______. He did not like to lose that by __________ in
controversial issues. Chaucer’s ___________ is beautiful and his sense of
humour _________ it all the more lively. Satire and irony, though frequently
resorted to, do not subtract anything from the beauty of his picture. They rather
lend a touch of realism and life to what he narrates.
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_________CHAUCER
Humour, Irony and Satire in Chaucer.
By nature Chaucer was pleasing and jovial and he retained this gaity to
the very end. However, he felt inclined to entertain and overcome the serious and
the grave if and when need arose. Endowed with the faculty of keen observation,
no abnormality or absurdity in life could escape his eye. Things that _______
appeared normal to undiscerning eye _____ seemed strange and ridiculous to
___________ The ability to identify or hold up ____ the absurd to ridicule, made
his _____ writings humorous and interesting.
(As a satirist Chaucer is different from other renowned English satirists like
Swift and Huxley. If Satire is devoid of humour, it borders on invective. So any
satirist worth the name has got to Sugar-coat his comments with irony and
humour. Humour conceals the sting and the bitterness of satire. But Chaucer’s
Satire is mild and sympathetic rather than corrosive or hateful. The moralist in
him is sermonizing by holding the absurd and the abnormal up to ridicule. He
does not seem to be an active moralist in spite of the fact that he is a satirist. His
method of driving home his message with the help of humour and irony, appeals
more to the reader than the dull sermon of a preacher. He does succeed in
teaching as well as delighting – Entertainment seemed to be the need of his time.
People had their difficulties – political, social and economic – that were the result
of unforeseen natural calamities like epidemics and tragedies caused by man like
war and social injustice. So from their men of letters they expected no direct
mention of things that were causing them persistent worry. They rather wanted
the writers to distract ____ delight them. This is why the Monk was ___evented
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from narrating the tragic falls of illustrious men and the Nun’s Priest was asked to
narrate a humorous and entertaining tale which he aptly did. So the general
inclination of the people was towards the comic. Chaucer borrowed his plan for
the Canterbury Tales from Bocaccio’s Decameron – a collection of humorous
tales. But Chaucer’s humour is different from Bocaccio, in its all-pervasive,
persistent nature. Bocaccio’s humour is fit-full and momentary, not constant. It
flashes only occasionally. But Chaucer’s humour colours almost every character
and every situation. Chaucer manages to make cock’s abduction at the hands of
the fox seem humorous. Again chanticleer and Pertelote, a pair of pheasants
addressed as Sir and Madam. Then there is the discussions of dreams, flattery,
womanhood and transitory joys of life etc. Coming from the mouths of a cock and
a hen, these things invoke humour. Almost all the characters in the Prologue
even that of the knight to a certain extent, have been invested with humour.
Chaucer makes us laugh even at his own expense when he says “my wit is short,
you may well understand”.
The Wife of Bath is called worthy through vain and deaf. She wanted to be
the first at Church altar and would dress up most fashionably, her wimple on
Sundays, we are told, weighed about ten pounds.
“She was a worthy woman all her life, husbandies at church door she had
a five, withouten company in youthe” amounts to ribaldry. But Chaucer’s
essentially compassionate nature seems to interfere even here when he says
that we could laugh not only at her but also with her. Even the clerk’s description
is indicative of Chaucer’s slight humour. He is a book-work, divorced from the
reality of the world. The description of his person and that of his lean horse is
laughter-provoking. Chaucer does not seem to approve of his ascetic ways.
_____ between the lines, Chaucer implies that one should be practical as well as
theoretical. The Miller’s description is full of irony and pure humour. He is
described as a broad and thickly-built man with a red beard and broad shoulders.
Even the doctor’s portrait is full of ironic humour. He has his links with druggists
and chemists and is full of commercial greed. He made a lot of money during the
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days of Black Death. In case of the Miller we again come across a fine blend of
pure and ironical humour. The physical appearance of the Miller is amusing. He
has a wart on his nose with a tuft of hair. He has big and long nostrils and big
furnace like mouth. Irony is evident from Chaucer’s expression.
It should not certainly be concluded that all was well with the medieval
world. It could (might) have been comparatively happier and simpler than our
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own age, but it was certainly not trouble free. The Black Death (i.e. the plague)
and the peasant’s revolt in 1381 gave big jolts to the contemporary British society
and almost shook the very foundations of the social fabric. But Chaucer does not
make direct references to such important historical events, through his
characters, through their appearance, habits, manners, aspirations and
frustrations reflect on the currents and the under-currents moving in the 14 th
century British society. Even the haberdasher, the carpenter and the dyer tell us
something about the ambitions of the lowly regarding their wish to climb higher.
They are all, collectively, members of a guild, organized to get their problems
solved.