24 October 2014
"The Knight's Tale" Part II Reaction
- - - Explain two things on this blog: 1. Exactly how Chaucer uses
satire to create a social commentary about knighthood, and what exactly
that commentary suggests. 2. What institution or segment of society is
like the knighthood in Canterbury Tales? In other words, if Chaucer were alive today, instead of knighthood, what would he target with his satire.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1. Chaucer uses satire to expose how knights really are. He is saying that knights are human beings, and they are no special than normal people, but their expected to live up to all the rules knights have. For example, Knights are expected to always be loyal to their Lord, show nobility, trustworthiness and so forth. Chaucer suggests Knights shouldn't be put on a higher pedestal.
ReplyDelete2. I think Chaucer would use satire to make aware of the Government or President. Satire mocks people or situations. Chaucer would expose the lies the Government or the President makes.
1. Chaucer's main focus of satire is courtly love. He makes fun of the Knight's ways. They are to be honorable and adult-like. In Part II, Palamon and Arcite met in the woods and start to fight like little girls over a women they don't know. This is unknightly which Chaucer is making fun of.
ReplyDelete2. If Chaucer were alive today, he would make fun of "love at first sight" because it is very similar to courtly love in the story. He believes it is ridiculous to fall in love with a person you don't know anything about. This is evident because he is mocking Palamon and Arcite for falling in love with a women they would probably never meet.
1.Chaucer describes two main codes of conduct in the Knight's Tale, chivalry and courtly love. Each of which he satirizes because of the clashing of the rules. The two knights should always abide by the knight's code which includes chivalry. Among these rules is that a knight should always stand by his fellow knight and be loyal to each other. This rule clashes with courtly love because the woman should come before anyone else. Chaucer uses these codes to satirize the fact that the knight's code does not mean anything anymore. The fact that these cousins were willing to fight like animals in order to win Emily's heart goes against the code they were supposed to live and die by. The attraction of courtly love was yielded a greater reward to the individual rather than sticking to the code of chivalry. Chaucer plays these characters out to be pathetic just as he believes the two codes of conduct are.
ReplyDelete2. If Chaucer were alive today, he would satirize the code of conduct of the church. People of today's society are supposed to follow what they claim to be moral laws.
Unfortunately many only follow the moral laws when it is convenient to them. People lie, cheat, and self-indulge on a daily basis but still claim to be good people. In my opinion, the laws of the church are most similar to the laws of knighthood.
1.) Chaucer, on the side, has commentary about the code of the knight. They have many honorable aspects, however there is a few examples of knights being fools. Palamon and Arcite for example. They are "perfect knights", however they basically become a parody of what a knight truly is. Chaucer is trying to say that the ideals of knights are just childlike if they are going to contradict them.
ReplyDelete2.) If Chaucer was alive today, his target would most likely be catholic priests and/or missionaries. Those kind of people lived a life of service to others. In their eyes it is God, God's people, and then priests. It was not a job to them. It was a way of life. In today's society, there is next to no one who is willing to help others before themselves.
2) If Chaucer were alive today, he would target any institution with rules he believed to be outdated or unrealistic with his satire. Perhaps instead of knighthood, Chaucer would target today's education system. While it has practical and necessary rules, many practices of today's public education system serve little purpose (such as studying impractical math, forbidding the necessary link between truth and Truth...). Chaucer's purpose with his satire of knighthood was to further the viewpoint of his readers.
ReplyDelete1) An important part of the chivalric code was the emphasis on knights' behavior toward each other. When Arcite and Palamon begin their fight in the woods (with the understanding that the one who kills the other, will be free to try to win Lady Emily), their behavior is described in this way: "There was no 'Good day,' not one salutation. Without a word before the confrontation... They smote each other as wild boars would fight" Palamon is described as acting like "a maddened lion" and Arcite is described as "a cruel tiger." Chaucer is describing the dissolution of the chivalric code, making fun of the fact that behind all the rules of knighthood, knights are just ordinary men.
1. Chaucer uses satire to ridicule the knighthood. The Knight's Tale is a mockery of the knighthood. Chaucer uses the characters of Arcite and Palamon to portray how the knights code and way of life is not really honored. These two are supposed to be knight brothers and stick beside the other through their entire lives. However, the story told shows how these two completely turn against each other when the presence of courtly love is in them. They plan to have a battle to the death for Emily, whom neither of them has ever meet before. They abandon their brotherhood for this woman. This is against the knighthood that Arcite and Palamon are supposed to be sworn to. Chaucer uses satire to show this situation and mock the knighthood and the rules that it entails.
ReplyDelete2. Chaucer would target his satire at the political leaders of the world today. Chaucer was not afraid to attack the highest ranking people in his time. He made fun of the people who had a lot of power, but did it in a way where he would not be personally affected by it. This is how he would do it in today's society as well. Political leaders have a huge amount of power, just like the kings, queens, and knights of Chaucer's day. Chaucer would use his satire to make fun of these people and the way they are running their countries and just their daily lives in general. It can be related to political cartoons. These cartoons are meant to completely make fun of political leaders and the policies or ideas they believe in. Chaucer would take this same approach but in a poetic form using his satire to the fullest extent.
1. I think Chaucer creates a social commentary about Knighthood by telling us how Arcite and Palamon act because of being separated from Emily. For example, in the beginning of part 2, Chaucer starts off his summary of Arcite by saying "To summarize his woe with brevity, no creature's had such sorrow, to be sure." He goes on talking about how pitiful his condition is. I can tell from this that Chaucer is mocking his current state, and he is suggesting that knighthood isn't exactly all that it is cracked up to be. A wise, strong knight may not be in his eyes, they are actually foolish and "devoid of charity".
ReplyDelete2. If Chaucer was alive today, I think he would target the police force. Whenever I think of knighthood, with all of it's special rules and such, I think of the police. Knights were the protectors at the time, and the police protects us now, at least in our communities. With all of the faults of the police that are spread around, I think it would make a prime target for Chaucer's satire. Not all policemen are alike. There would be some, lets just say, "Arcites and Palamons" out there, or policemen that fail to live up to their expected reputation. It would be a gold mine for Chaucer.
1. In part two of The Knight’s Tale, Chaucer again uses satire a great deal in this poem. In part two, he illustrates satire with knighthood. Chaucer uses Theseus to mock how the knights are in the times of when this poem was written. In line 1448, the narrator says “That there was none whom Theseus loved more” displaying what we perceive the knights to be are different from what they actually are. The two knights fight for Emily in not a knightly manner. Chaucer embarrasses them by comparing them to animals for the way they behave. The way the knight’s act is a convention of medieval society which explains the chivalric code. The code is defined by appropriate interactions among people and proper forms of behavior. The knights break this code and are set up for embarrassment showing that the knights are not behaved like we think they are. Today, we think of knights as important respectful figures that do nothing wrong. This part in part 2 indicated how the knights have fallen from the knighthood.
ReplyDelete2. In the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer targets knights because they are supposed to be leaders and act in a behaved manner. He brings out their inner qualities by using satire to embarrass them and show that what we perceive them to be is different than what they actually are. Today, Chaucer would target celebrities for their inability to be the role models they are supposed to be. For example, “Hannah Montana” was supposed to be a role model to younger girls through her TV shows and singing. The girls would look up to her and be just like her with how they act and what they do. When Hannah Montana turned to the new face of Miley Cyrus, Chaucer would pick up on this and use satire to belittle her. The little girls who looked up to Hannah Montana would now change their aspect on what they wore and how they presented themselves. Chaucer used this idea of satire to make fun of people who were supposed to be perceived as role models in the age of The Knight’s Tale and in today’s time the press does the same thing to celebrities where they expose their inner selves.
When knighthood is presented in a piece of literature it usually shows that the characters are brave, strong, and a fighter for their lord. When it comes to "The Knight's Tale", Chaucer decideds to mock the knights instead of praise them. He shows them as being weak indiviuals. For example he described how Arcite is handling his banishment from Athens. Chaucer says that "and all through every night he'd wail and moan" and "so feeble were his spirits". By the author describing his character being torn apart, he shows that knighthood is a thing in the past and chivarly is dead.
ReplyDeleteIf Chaucer were alive today he would target the rich and famous with his satire. There are many made up stories of the famous that the public hears from magazines, television, and social media. If a scandal got leaked such as drugs, alcohol abuse, and cheating we are quick to be informed about it. Chaucer could easily pick up on any person's flaw and make it known to many.
Chaucer throughout all of his stories uses satire to poke fun at the main idea. He talks about knighthood in a way that it is deteriorating. The characters both show extremely unkighthood qualitites. From the knights fighting over a girl whom they don't know, to them crying and mourning over her, we see how opposite they are than the general knight. He is also showing us that we only think of knights in the way they are percieved. He clarifies that knights aren't truly how people think they are.
ReplyDeleteThere are many different segments of society Chaucer could poke fun at, but the number one that comes to mind is the government. Most of society thinks everything they do is to help. That we know everything that goes on and are safe in their hands. But he would poke fun at what we do not know they do. Little things they keep secret or that we are oblivious too. We see the governent as always trying to help the people and to share with us everything.
Chaucer uses satire to create social commentary by ridiculing the knights. The ridiculing is used to create a pathetic view of the knights. That view affects the whole mindset of knighthood. Creating a pathetic persona of the knights will have a negative impact and creating social agreement of the idea that knighthood is indeed pathetic in nature.
ReplyDeleteA segment of society that is similar to the knighthood would be that of the paid athletes. The NFL, for example, would be a target for Chaucer. Football players are paid a great deal of money and receive tremendous amounts of recognition just for playing a game. They are the focal points for society today, similar to knights in the past. Yet many scandals among fellow football players are prominent, just like issue between Palamon and Atcite. Chaucer would use his satire to ridicule the high status of the players and the scandals amongst teammates, just as he does with the status of the knights and the internal conflict in knighthood.
1. Chaucer continues to use satire just as he did in Part I. When the two knights are battling the narrator describes Palamon as a maddened lion and as a cruel tiger. These two men who are supposed to be classy heroic figures are being compared to animals. This signifies there loss of control and purpose. The negative representation emphasizes the knights neglection of the chivalrous way to fight.
ReplyDelete2. If Chaucer were still alive today he would try to target celebrities. These people are considered by many to be perfect and peoples role models. Actually most of them are the complete opposite. Chaucer could expose there flaws just as he did with the knights knighthood. He may also go after politicians or people with much power. He may attack them because they are supposed to be leaders of this country , but you see many times those people messing up and making mistakes. That is who Chaucer would most likely go after if he were still alive today.
Chaucer uses satire to create a social commentary about knighthood by displaying traits of the knights in the story in a way that makes them appear idealistic or narrow-minded. An example of this would be Palamon's and Arcite's complete idolization of Emily. They freely proclaim that they live to serve her and can be her sole lover, without ever meeting her in person. Chaucer's satire suggests that the rules and ideals of knighthood are not practical or applicable in the real world. While stories are told with knights performing terrific deeds, the code itself often leads to much grief and misery.
ReplyDeleteAn institution comparable to the knighthood in Canterbury Tales would be professional sports. Although it is held in high regard and appreciated by many people, it can be argued that a game of football for example, does not contribute greatly to society. Some of the issues Chaucer might criticize would include the exorbitant salaries of the players, massive crowds of overweight spectators, or the complete lack of a moral compass in top athletes. Chaucer's main focus would be the idea that following the rules of a game does not necessarily lead to success in life.
Chaucer's use of satire in The Knight's Tale creates a social commentary about knighthood. He uses the characters of the knights in the tale to point out flaws in the knightly system, showing his audience how weak the knights of society really are. His satire suggests that knights are phony and not as noble and strong as they are presented. Knights are supposed to follow certain guidelines to make sure their reputation is not ruined. For example, knights were never supposed to break oath, and according to Palamon, Arcite broke the oath they made when he tried to claim Emily for himself. Also, knights were supposed to present themselves as invincible, and both Arcite and Palamon fall weak at the simple sight of a beautiful woman. With examples like these, Chaucer is able to present the weaknesses of knights in society and create a social commentary about knighthood. If Chaucer were to use satire to criticize a piece of today's society, he would most likely poke fun at men and their "bro code" just like he did knights and their "knightly code". Men like to use a so called "bro code" to keep their reputation in tact, just like knights did, but most of them lose sight of it and hide their true selves behind it. This would be the perfect idea for Chaucer to make fun of.
ReplyDeleteChaucer uses satire to create a social commentary about knighthood by making fun of the codes of knighthood. He makes the characters the opposite of true knights. They are constantly complaining of their conditions and states. Palamon and Arcite complain about being put in jail for life. Once they are set free, they complain about not being able to see their love Emily. A true knight accepts his fate and does not complain. They fight for the love of a woman they have never met. They propose a fight to the death and the winner gets her. The two men are selfish and attempt to destroy each other for the love of a woman. These actions go against everything a knight stands for and their codes of living. The reason he uses this satire is to suggest that knighthood and the code of chivalry is a dying cause and is not needed in their society. He believes that knighthood is outdated and needs to end.
ReplyDeleteThe institution in today's society that the culture holds onto but is not needed anymore is the Queen of England. She does not have much power and is just a figurehead. Her main purpose is to be used as a symbol for British culture. The British monarchy is a tradition that is not necessary in today's society. This is comparable to knighthood because they both are parts of culture that are not needed.
Chaucer uses satire to ridicule knighthood and chivalry. Knights were known for being chivalrous and noble, but Arcite and Palamon show just the opposite. Instead of kindness shown to each other over the situation between them about who will end up with Emily, they decide to make fools of themselves by having a duel in the middle of a field. Chaucer uses this to mock knighthood, because knights were supposed to battle with honor and nobility, but instead they act like fools and turn themselves into bloody messes. Another way this satire is used is that the two knights are fighting over a woman that neither of them know. They are in love with her looks, but neither of them have even spoken to her before, or know her at all. This suggests that knighthood was not taken as seriously as most people thought they did. Knights were supposed to be noble and chivalrous, but neither Arcite nor Palamon show these traits in the poem.
ReplyDeleteIf Chaucer were alive today, he would target famous celebrities with his use of satire. Back in the Middle Ages, knights were well known, and were often treated with respect. However, with most of today's celebrities, Chaucer would not have a hard time giving celebrities a lack of respect. Celebrities today are often on the news for doing some of the most outrageous things, and are being made fun of for these acts daily on national news when there are more important news items to talk about. Chaucer would use his satire to ridicule celebrities because he is known for making fun of famous people back in the Middle Ages, and making fun of these people today would not be that difficult because of the crass acts committed by celebrities today.
-Chaucer uses satire to create social commentary about knighthood because he believes interpreting it in this way would help explain it more easily. If Chaucer would be alive today, his satire would probably target people as a whole in this day and age. He uses satire in such a way that you don't have to think about it too much and it just flows.
ReplyDelete---Chaucer uses satire to show the knighthood is basically falling apart. Knights are turning against each other and acting childish while doing it. he also shows knights are not as smart as people think they really are. This is seen when Arctite enters back into the city so easily. In part 1, Chaucer also suggest that knights a full of themselves when he does not provide a prologue for himself in the beginning.
ReplyDelete--- If this was written today, Chaucer would probably target the police force. Today police are very full of themselves and believe everyone knows who they are. Propaganda from this also makes them appear to have more power then police really do. They also behave childish by abusing their power in situation when their anger. So if the knights tale was written today the police force would be the focus of the writing.
In part 2 Chaucer shows certain characters traits ect. Chaucer has described, using satire, in the prologue to the "Canterbury Tales". One of the characters that Chaucer describes with great use of satire is the Monk. Monks devote their life to God and seek to follow his example of unconditional love. Chaucer's Monk, however, is not a normal monk.
ReplyDeleteThe General Prologue of the Canterbury Tales satirizes almost every character that Chaucer introduced. Each person fits into there own discription.Most being satires.but to think that a monk would be a loving, peaceful person. However, Chaucer's monk is a hunter, an animal killer.
Instead of knighthood in today's soci Chaucer would most likley use politics and government to spread his satire. During the Canterbury tales knighthood is in the popular middle class of society and is praised for bravery. It's much different then it would be today.
Chaucer directly points out that he feels knighthood has completely deteriorated through the characters of Arcite and Palamon. Each of these men claim nobility and attempt to demonstrate this quality by bragging about how they are the better man for Emily. However, this is a prime example of courtly love, and Chaucer makes a mockery of the men just to prove that knight’s are not all they claim to be. In fact, the idea of knighthood has almost disappeared completely. Chaucer saw this as a significant problem in society and calls out this underlying problem through the two men.
ReplyDeleteChaucer would most likely target the government. The government claims that they make decisions solely to benefit the people in the U.S. In the mean time, society is repeatedly being scammed and lied to. Secrets are withheld from the people’s access. The government was set in place to protect the people, just as knight’s were intended to protect their people. However, as we see the knights repeatedly being embarrassed because they are not protecting everyone, I believe he would call out the government in a similar way. He liked to criticize people who had authority as well, and the government ultimately controls society.
One manner in which Chaucer displays social commentary through satire is with the chivalry and accompanying courtly love by which the knight humbly abides. He makes specific remarks and comments to the armor that the knight wears in the Prologue because it would play an important role here as background information. He believes that knighthood and chivalry is dead, and leads to consequences of dasterdly calliber. Such is the target of his satire, the story between Arcite and Palamon. They both become so infatuated with Emelye that the two conflict over it openly. Evidence of the satire is blatant even in subtlties. For example, the mourning cry Palamon gives just at first sight from the tower of Emelye. It extends on however, such as with how Arcite is freed from the tower, but Palamon is left to gaze up Emelye. But now Arcite is free to try to get her hand. It is a juxtaposition between the two, and their ambitions of courtly love that ultimately collapse on them later when they fight to the death. In this, he is pointing out the flaws of courtly love and chivalry, and death there of.
ReplyDeleteToday, Chaucer would have written about the flaws of our media and the infatuation with "love" as its contradiction and loss of faithfulness. He would exploit the ridiculous abundance of sex and the longitudinal perserverance of it from the oblivious audiences. This is because similar to how he believes that courtly love is the destructive force as an end all cause, the infatuation of audiences to these deceptive images of love in media leads the masses to embrace it in its false image. Culture is on the decline and it is undeniably linked to its leading benefactor: movies, shows, music, etc. Chaucer would surely expose it as a subject of his satire.
1. One way Chaucer displays his social commentary through satire is with his view of chivalry and the accompanying courtly love of knights. How he describes the armor is complimentary of how he believes chivalry is dead and how this translates to Arcite and Palamon. They become so obsessed with Emelye they have open conflicts about it, despite the code of chivalry. Chaucer's satire is relevant even in subtle commentary. Palamon's mourning cry whenever he lays his eyes on Emelye for the first time is evidence of Chaucer's satire.
ReplyDelete2. I believe a modern day Chaucer would have written about basically the same things he wrote about when he was alive. Namely, religion, and the Catholic Church. I believe he would have written about the inconsistencies in both the institution, and how people today will use religion to satisfy personal wants and needs, twisting facts and scripture.