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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 3 page essay that examines Chaucer's use of irony in describing the Prioress in the Prologue. The writer discusses this description in detail, offering translations of the description from the Middle English and pointing out where Chaucer used irony to comic effect while also showing the Prioress to be a shallow hypocrite rather than a spiritual leader. No additional sources cited.
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khchir.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
with twenty-nine traveling companions. To entertain themselves while journeying, they take turns telling tales. These tales vary widely in tone and substance. The Knights Tale, The Man of Laws Tale,
and The Squires Tale all deal with courtly love. However, The Franklins Tale is a Breton Lay, that is, a short romantic poem and The tales of the Miller, Reeve
and Merchant are in the form of French fabliaux, which is a short story with ribald content. On the other hand, The Monks Tale is a medieval tragedy. Therefore, the
student researching this topic can see that the characteristics of the tales, their tone, etc., are not consistent but vary with the presumed speaker. However, a common characteristic that
frequently appears in the tales is Chaucers love of irony. This feature can readily be seen from the beginning of the poem when Chaucer provides character sketches of each of
his traveling companions. The following examination looks at Chaucers use of irony in relation to the Prioress. The character sketch that he provides of this religious leader is scathingly sarcastic
and filled with irony, using her pretensions for comic effect. Chaucers description of the Prioresss physical appearance begins on line 118, which reads "Thar was also a Nonne,
a Prioresse/That of hir smiling was ful simple and coy./Hir gretteste ooth was but by saint Loy!/And she was cleped Madam Eglantine (lines 118-121). In deciphering Chaucers Middle English, the
footnotes and margin notations in the Norton Anthology of English Literature are invaluable. All interpretations of archaic words in this report are taken from these notations. Basically, these lines state
that the Prioresss smile was sincere and mild, her strongest oath was "by Saint Eloi" and that her name was Madam Eglantine. This is Chaucers first use of irony in
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