Humour and Irony of Chaucer
Chaucer is one of the first English short
story-teller and the greatest humorists in English literature. In “The Prologue toe the Canterbury Tales”,
humor is all-pervasive. Humor in the Prologue appears chiefly in the shape of irony and satire,
though we do have some examples of pure humor which means fun and laughter for
their own sake. Chaucer is perpetually showing the humorous side, not merely of
his emotions but his interests, his knowledge, his beliefs, his everything.
The Prologue offers plentiful illustrations of Chaucer’s sense of humour. His
characterization of almost all the characters is, indeed humorous. It has at
the same time to be pointed out that Chaucer’s humour is mostly ironical and
satirical. For example, we
laugh at the Squire’s love-insomnia,
the leanness of the Clerk of
Oxford and of his horse which is compared to a rake. In Chaucer’s
treatment of characters, satire has generally a corrective motive.
Irony
is one of the chief weapons of Satire. Chaucer is not out to reform people but
he surely finds amusement in the absurdities, affections, and some of the minor
vices of the people he deals with. Chaucer’s use
of irony and satire is neither malicious nor cynical; but his satire is always
mild and gentle. His humour is thoroughly delightful, being free from the taint
of ill-will, cynicism, and pessimism. His whole point of view in dealing with
human life and human beings is that of a humorist. The poet paints the
character of the Clerk of Oxford with kind and patronizing humour.
Chaucer’s humor has a great variety. His humor is all pervading and pervasive. Its omnipresence holds a perennial charm to us. But it is not without pathos. He mingles the comic with the tragic. Smiles and tears find here equal. Besides, humor in Chaucer never forced upon the reader. It arises out the situation. No effort is exercised by the author to create humor. It is spontaneous, natural, and inevitable.
Chaucer’s use of irony to build up a satirical portrait and to
make us laugh is clearly seen in his presentation of the Prioress. The Prioress speaks French
fluently. According to the School of Stratford-at-Bow, this is an ironical reference to the Prioress’s
aristocratic breeding. Her dress and her fashionable manners are also
ironically described. Her charitable nature is depicted in such a way as to
amuse us.
The Monk too is portrayed satirically. He is fond
of hunting; he keeps a
large number of fine horses in his stable; he finds the rules of monastic discipline to be old and
therefore out of date; he does
not wish to drive himself made by studying too much; and so on. The worldliness
of this Monk is clearly exposed by ironic means. Irony is employed in the
portrait of the Friar, too. Here are the most ironical lines:
‘Unto his ordre he was a noble post’
Thus
we find that humour is the most prominent ingredient in Chaucer’s characterization of the
pilgrims in “The Prologue”. This humour lends a most distinctive quality to his
character-sketches.
He was free to write anything about anybody because he cleverly camouflaged his judgement behind irony and sarcasm.
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