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Chaucer's Use Of Satire In The Prologue Of The Canterbury Tales

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When reading “The Prologue” of the Canterbury Tales it is almost impossible not to find joy in the drunken wit of Geoffrey Chaucer. He writes with a certain sarcasm that is always charming in old to middle english works. There is no doubt that this is true in “The Prologue” of the Canterbury Tales. Chaucer’s inexplicable ability to channel reader emotion through his tone and literary elements like alliteration and rhyme is what makes “The Prologue” of the Canterbury Tales a timeless piece of literature. “The Prologue” of the Canterbury Tales tells the story of the narrator joining up with pilgrims to travel, as they are all going to the same place, so that they can all keep each other company. Many people may hear the word “pilgrims” and automatically think of a modern-day thanksgiving painting with …show more content…

(“Canterbury Tales” 244-252) To say that the Friar knows every barmaid and innkeeper in town is a great example of Chaucer’s use of hyperbole. By exaggerating the Friar’s deplorable activities it paints a vicious picture of the him. He is illustrated worse even more so when the narrator talks of lepers and poor people as scum and gutter dwellers in the eyes of the Friar. Through Chaucer’s use of hyperbole he is able to so exquisitely share his opinion of a character and then convince the reader to feel the same. Literary elements used in “The Prologue” of the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer are the key to why this poem, hundreds of years after being written, is still relevant. Through sarcasm and wit, Chaucer can make it relatable to people today. It is with old to middle english works like these that we can appreciate literature and learn so much more about it as

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