This naming of the Prioress by Chaucer after a flower symbolizing Mary is ironic, because Mary is the embodiment of love and mercy, two things that the Prioress shows, in her tale, that she does not value overmuch.
How is the Prioress ironic?
Situational Irony
As stated in the prologue, the Prioress has another name, Madam Eglantine. Her name symbolizes a flower, epitomizing Virgin Mary. Ironically, while Virgin Mary represents love and purity, the Prioress represents the exact opposite as her tale portrays her as sinned and dubious.
How is the Prioress ironic in Canterbury Tales?
The ironic implication throughout the portrait of the Prioress is that, in spite of her holy calling, she is more concerned with worldly things than with the spirit. At the same time, Chaucer makes the Prioress quite amiable by emphasizing her essential femininity.
What is the irony in Canterbury Tales?
In her prologue, however, the Wife of Bath admits to using trickery to deceive her husbands. She claims they were happy to obey her, but they were often acting under false pretenses. This is an example of verbal irony: when something is said but the speaker means something different.
What is ironic about the nun in Canterbury Tales?
What two things are ironic about the Nun in Canterbury Tales? The Nun’s clothes and brooch are two ironic things about her. The Nun wears very fine clothing that someone with her vows could afford. Her brooch also says “Love Conquers All,” a secular phrase contrasting with her religious teachings.
What does prioress symbolize?
The Prioress is the head nun for her church, and she went on the pilgrimage to spread the word of God with the nun and 3 priests that she travelled with. Though she is a stereotype that represents the virtues and ideals of a nun, the Prioress represents a coutly lady rather than a superior nun.
What is Chaucer implying about the Prioress?
These elements combine to show a clear picture of the Prioress: shallow, vindictive, unChristian, childish, and immature. She is the antithesis of a truly pious nun of the Middle Ages. Chaucer uses this characterization of her to show his own religious trepidations, and to make a statement about the clergy of his time.
Who was most ironical character in Canterbury Tales?
The two holy men are the most ironic characters described in the first part of the tales. The monk, who hunts and does not believe in the old rules of the saints, is a direct criticism of the Church in Chaucer’s times.
Why does the Prioress try so hard to appear more sophisticated than she is?
The Prioress is trying to act as if she were in a higher social stature than she really is. Her attempts to pretend she is something that she is not is Chaucer’s way to show her shallowness (and his degrading view towards women in general).
How does Chaucer use satire and irony?
He uses satire to mock the estates, or the social classes in medieval times. These three estates were those who prayed, those who fought, and those who labored. Much irony was used in his tales, one most commonly being satire. Satire is exposing someone or something’s stupidity using humor or ridicule.
What is irony by Jane Austen?
“the basic feature of every irony is a contrast between a reality and an appearance.” Irony is Jane Austen’s forte, it is very soul of her novels. It has been pointed out that it never imposes itself, it is never absent from more than a paragraph.
What is the literary term irony?
In simplest terms, irony occurs in literature AND in life whenever a person says something or does something that departs from what they (or we) expect them to say or do.
What kind of character is the Prioress?
She is selfless, amiable, and is described as being so delicate that she almost seems fragile and breakable. However, she is revealed to be quite coy and secretive. She is nearly the opposite of what a nun was expected to be.
What is the Prioress most concerned with?
Although the Prioress should be devoted to Christ, she is more concerned with worldly matters: her clothes are richly bedecked, and her coral rosary that says “Love conquers all” serves as a decorative piece rather than a religious article.
What happens in the Prioress tale?
The Prioress describes how a widow’s devout young son is abducted by Jews, who are supposedly prompted by Satan to murder the child to stop him from singing the hymn “O Alma redemptoris” to the Virgin Mary. One of the Jews slits the boy’s throat and casts his body into an open sewer.
Why was the Prioress called Madame Eglantine?
The General Prologue names the prioress as Madame Eglantine, and describes her impeccable table manners and soft-hearted ways. Her portrait suggests she is likely in religious life as a means of social advancement, given her aristocratic manners and mispronounced French.
What type of story is the Prioress tale?
The Prioress’ Tale is a “miracle of the Virgin,” a popular genre of devotional literature. The stories are short, often like children’s fairy tales, with the figure of the Jew playing the part of the “boogie man,” from whom the Virgin, like a fairy godmother, protects the heroes and heroines.
In The Canterbury Tales, the two female characters are The Prioress and The Wife of Bath, who would have belonged to the First Estate and mercantile classes, respectively. As a Nun, The Prioress would be a virgin, while The Wife of Bath would have been both a wife and a widow, having been married several times.
Why is the Prioress a picture of contradiction?
Physical Characteristics
The host paints the picture of the Prioress, or Madame Eglantine, as one of physical contradictions. Her size and forehead are large, yet her mouth is small and her nose is quite fine. As a prioress, she is supposed to be pious and humble, yet her clothes are well made and expensive.
Who is the most interesting character in The Canterbury Tales?
The Wife of Bath is the most believable and the most vibrant of all the Canterbury Tales characters.
What is difference between irony and satire?
Irony is a figure of speech which depicts the opposite of the truth through the careful play of words and wit. Satire is a literary form or genre widely used in the use or performance of graphic arts.