Explain How The Use Of Satire In The Canterbury Tales

The General Prologue in the poem Canterbury Tales reflects the social classes of medieval society fairly clear. If you can understand the meaning behind Chaucer's satire. The characters reveal Chaucer's purpose by using the different positions in the society to judge the characters social position and if they really amount to it.

One character who helps reveal Chaucer’s purpose is the Doctor described in the prologue. He told us how he was a good doctor, but seemed to care about the money more than the actual patient. He also tells us how the doctor and the apothecary feed off of each other to both make money. This shows us that the Doctor and apothecary were probably somewhere in the middle, between the upper and middle class. They had the knowledge and reading of the upper, but didn't quite have the same amount of wealth.

Another character who helps reveal Chaucer’s purpose is the Franklin described in the prologue. He describes the Franklin as someone who worked his way up the social ladder, which was a sign of the rise of the Renaissance period. The medieval times didn't quite make it possible to people to work their way up, you were either born into wealth or you were a commoner, or you were just poor, working to the top wasn't quite possible. The Franklin also shows us how someone who works their …show more content…
He describes her in a flirtatious manner, and Nuns are supposed to be very chaste and pure. He describes how she had two dogs that were more well fed than a lot of the people in this time period, he describes the shiny jewelry she wears. Nuns aren't supposed to keep hold of material things and just have only what they really need. He describes her appearance of being well “filled out” meaning her nun cloak didn't hide her body like it was supposed to. These things show us that she probably isn't as pure as she claims, that she's just doing it for the social