Humor in "The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer

Chaucer's aim in paternity The Canterbury Tales was to deal with the person's problems in a rapidly changing chivalrous world. Indeed, Chaucer gave voice and authority to characters whose questionable social status would usually leave powerless, as "the Canterbury Tales is a comedy that declargons its difference from diachronic tragedy at every turn. This does not mean, however, that it is itself an ahistorical form." Instead, Chaucer's reverse to the social mores of his day firmly plants The Canterbury Tales in a historical context, as he is able to capture the sense of impend change and spirit of rebellion that was blossoming in the gothic world. Thus, the humor that is so apparent in the reports is a herculean tool in Chaucer's rendering of society and its ills.

Chaucer's concern for the individual clearly diverges from the commonly-held chivalrous view that the interests of the church, nation, and other social groups should guard priority over the problems of the individual. Chaucer chooses to include humorous characters as a way of highlighting both the beauty and ugliness of gentle nature. He wants his characters to be cut-and-dried, living through common experiences, so that when he satirizes them or reveals their true nature, the reader is able to have it off something of himself in the depiction. Chaucer believes that selfhood is a value that

Once the knight agrees, the gray-headed woman tells him that all women beseech to interpret their husbands and their own lives. The Queen is impressed with his answer, so the over-the-hill woman tells the knight that he must now draw her. He agrees, only when confides that he is disgusted by her appearance. The venerable woman tells him that he can choose whether she is hideous but loyal, or beautiful and disloyal. The knight says that she should make the decision herself, and the old woman is so pleased that the knight has given her control of their relationship that she transforms herself into a woman who is both beautiful and loyal.

And swoor, "By armes and by blood and bones,

So that unnethe upon his hors he sat,

The Miller's Tale itself conforms to the medieval genre of fabliaux, which are comical short stories that portray the events of ordinary life with an unexpected, often outrageous ending. Chaucer uses the fabliaux so that the Miller capacity satirize the concept of courtly love that the Knight extol in his previous tale. Instead of resembling the selfless, tormented lovers in the Knight's tale, Nicholas and Alisoun are depicted as lustful and selfish. Absoloun, who behaves more like a courtly lover by respectfully wooing Alisoun, is repaid for his " dread" behavior with a kiss on Alisoun's ass and Nicholas exhalation gas in his face. Chaucer criticizes the idea of courtly love by utilizing the comical Miller to convey a candid, bawdy tale clearly meant to shock and amuse readers.

The Miller tells the story of Nicholas, a student at Oxford, who tricks his foolish landlord, a carpenter named John, into believe that a flood, even worse than the one that Noah survived, is about to go on them, so that Nicholas might sleep with John's attractive, young wife Alisoun. In order to prepare for the flood, John sleeps in a bathroom suspended from the ceiling of a barn, and Nicholas and Alisoun are able to get together their lust. But Alisoun has another
Order your essay at Orderessay and get a 100% original and high-quality custom paper within the required time frame.