Satire

A detailed Summary of Satire

Satire is a keen literary tool, one that Geoffrey Chaucer used liberally when he wrote his Canterbury Tales as well as Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe. Webster's New World Dictionary says that satire is "the use of ridicule, sarcasm, etc. to attack vices, follies, etc." These two pieces of literature could be considered the greatest pieces of British Literature during the Middle Ages. They both exercise Satire, Ideals, Prejudices, and Stereotypes, which are used in today's writings and used commonly in the world today. Everyday people criticize and ridicule others for their faults and problems which is one topic that Chaucer and Scott wrote about. I will most of all be concentrating on Satire because it is one that that I see the most used whether it be in school, public, or in my own home. The Knight's Tale in the Canterbury Tales satirizes the knight slightly. Chaucer satirizes knights and chivalry in two different ways: in the prologue and in the Knight's Tale. The first way in the prologue is with the pilgrim Knight's character. Chaucer wanted to present a realistic knight, but he also wanted to give the Knight some very real, and obvious flaws, as a sort of social commentary on the way that knight's were perceived in the 14th cent

ury. To that end, he gave the Knight some qualities that could be termed as the antithesis of the qualities that a good and honorable knight should have. The second way I see Chaucer as satirizing chivalry is through the Knight's Tale. The Knight's Tale presents the "ideal" knights. They follow the codes of chivalry. They follow the graces of courtly love. They have duels, battle honorably, and they also make fools of themselves on more than one occasion. Palamon and Arcite are so perfect that they become parodies of the perfect knights. And, in the end of the tale, everyone ends up somewhat unhappy, and there is no clear winner. By writing this parody, Chaucer is trying to convey the idea that a lot of the ideals of chivalry are a bit silly. And, as all of the different tales reflect back on the characters of the pilgrims who tell them, the ideas in the Knight's Tale can be reflected back on the Knight. Most critiques say that Chaucer intended his Knight to be the one true to life portrait of a knight of the 14th century, an every knight of sorts. "Chaucer wanted to go against the normal chivalric ideal of a knight by presenting a knight as he really might have been a basically good person, but with imperfections" (Spearing 67). I disagree with this theory about Chaucer's intentions when characterizing the knight. I think that the reason I disagree has to do with the area of our examination. The critiques were mostly examining the Knight's clothing, with only references to the rest of the Knight's description in the

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Approximate Word count = 1028
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English