Through the characters of all the classes, Chaucer portrays the vast range of contemporary society by making each character tell their own story. In this way, Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales” is not only the best social commentary of the age but also an authentic picture of fourteenth-century England.
Social commentary is an element of a narrative that levels a comment — usually a critique — on societal issues or general society as a whole. Any issue relating to or ingrained aspect of a society can be a target.
How does the society represented in The Canterbury Tales?
Throughout “Canterbury Tales,” each of the characters fits into a certain type or class of person; the Knight being a noble upperclassman, the Miller is a peasant/tradesman, the Wife of Bath representing the women/middle class, and the Pardoner portraying the Clergyman.
The Canterbury Tales as a Satire
The Canterbury Tales is a satire, which is a genre of literature that uses humor—sometimes gentle, sometimes vicious—to ridicule foolish or corrupt people or parts of society.
What was Chaucer trying to say about society in the Middle Ages?
In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer tells us not only about social change and religious diversity in his society, but also about everyday life. Reading the tales helps us learn a lot about eating, drinking, and traveling in late medieval England.
Through the characters of all the classes, Chaucer portrays the vast range of contemporary society by making each character tell their own story. In this way, Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales” is not only the best social commentary of the age but also an authentic picture of fourteenth-century England.
Plato’s The Republic, Aristophanes’ plays, The Hunger Games, and Jonathan Swift’s A Modern Proposal are all examples of social commentary.
- Nobility/Ruling Class – Knight and Squire.
- Clergy – Monk, Friar, Prioress, Parson, Summoner, Pardoner.
- Middle Class – Merchant, Doctor, Student, Wife of Bath.
- Peasants – Miller, Plowman, Skipper.
- Physical Characteristics, Clothing, and Accessories.
- Words, Experiences, and Personality Traits.
What are the three levels of society shown in The Canterbury Tales?
In conclusion, all the characters in The Canterbury Tales fall in one of the three social classes: nobility, clergy, and peasants, implying that England was structured during the feudal and medieval periods. The peasants belonged to the lowest class and lived under poor conditions.
What kind of society was described in The Canterbury Tales?
The characters in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer fall into one of the three estates, or social classes, used to categorize people in feudal and medieval England. These included members of the First Estate, or Church hierarchy, like The Prioress, Monk, Friar, Parson, and Pardoner.
The corruption of the Catholic Church was a serious problem during Chaucer’s time and a major theme in The Canterbury Tales. Through the use of satire, he reveals this problem to an audience. The author sometimes deliberately exaggerates the shortcomings of religious leaders.
How does Chaucer use satire to support change within society?
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.
What are 3 reasons The Canterbury Tales are important?
The Canterbury Tales is considered Chaucer’s masterpiece and is among the most important works of medieval literature for many reasons besides its poetic power and entertainment value, notably its depiction of the different social classes of the 14th century CE as well as clothing worn, pastimes enjoyed, and language/
How does Chaucer use satire to criticize medieval society?
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 the main theme of Chaucer’s?
Social Class. One present theme throughout The Canterbury Tales is the importance of social status during Chaucer’s time. For example, the Prioress and the Parson are opposite characters in their regard for social status. The Parson is more concerned with his religious devotion than his class.
What part of English society did Chaucer portray?
Chaucer gave a portrait of English society, including representatives of feudal society, members of the clergy and the middle classes.
What is the overall message of The Canterbury Tales?
One of the main lessons throughout all of the tales and main story is that honor and honesty is valued. In stories like the Physician’s Tale, we see that the lying Appius who lusts after a young girl, is eventually caught for his lies and thrown in jail where he kills himself.
What is the purpose and message of The Canterbury Tales?
The tales could be described both as social realism and as estates satire. At the same time that Chaucer takes care to honestly show the perspective of each of his characters, he also aims to critique the hypocrisy of the church and the social problems posed by Medieval politics and social custom.
What does Chaucer satirize in The Canterbury Tales?
In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer uses satire to attack the Church, the Patriarchy, and the Nobility. The Church is the first institution that Chaucer attacks using satire in The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer wants to attack the church’s hypocrisy. Chaucer decides to create the character of the pardoner to prove his point.
Social commentary is the act of using rhetorical means to provide commentary on social, cultural, political, or economic issues in a society. This is often done with the idea of implementing or promoting change by informing the general populace about a given problem and appealing to people’s sense of justice.
What are the 4 types of commentary?
Types of Commentaries
- Technical or Critical or Exegetical: Includes very detailed, technical discussion of text. Requires some understanding of the original languages.
- Expositional or Essential or Semi-Technical: Includes less technical, but still extensive discussion.
- Homiletical: Intended to aid in sermon preparation.