The Cantebury Tales
I’ll publish right or wrong, fools are my theme, let satire be my song. This seems to be Chaucer’s theme. Geoffrey Chaucer ,author of The Canterbury Tales, scorns and ridicules society in this book. Chaucer uses satire in “The Miller’s Tale,” “The Reeves Tale,” and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”. In “The Miller’s Tale,” Chaucer satirizes society by the form of fabliau, showing how bourgeois and vulgar the characters are. For example, Nicholas says to Alison, “Sweetheart, make love with me right now or I will die, God save me(63)!” Even though Nicholas is living with Alison and her husband, and he is trying to seduce her.. This passage shows how Nicholas will say anything to convince Alison of his love and she believes him. Another example is when Alison says, “ My husband is so jealous that unless you wait patiently and secretly I know that I am as good as dead.(63).” Alison is agreeing with Nicholas’ plan to have an affair. This is another form of satire because even though Alison didn’t really agree at first, in the end she gives in. This shows the reader how indecent she is and how society tends to give in to their pleasures.