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Chaucer As A Humorist

1) Chaucer is considered the first great humorist of English literature, as his works like The Canterbury Tales reveal humor in a modern sense not seen before. 2) As a humorist, Chaucer has a generous sympathy for humanity despite its flaws, as seen in The Prologue where he raises smiles with his portrayals but without bitterness. 3) Chaucer's humor comes from his tolerant and objective observations of human nature, as he looks at people's traits and actions with amused delight rather than indignation, as shown by his gentle portrayals in The Prologue.

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370 views5 pages

Chaucer As A Humorist

1) Chaucer is considered the first great humorist of English literature, as his works like The Canterbury Tales reveal humor in a modern sense not seen before. 2) As a humorist, Chaucer has a generous sympathy for humanity despite its flaws, as seen in The Prologue where he raises smiles with his portrayals but without bitterness. 3) Chaucer's humor comes from his tolerant and objective observations of human nature, as he looks at people's traits and actions with amused delight rather than indignation, as shown by his gentle portrayals in The Prologue.

Uploaded by

Alisha Khalid
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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CHAUCER AS A HUMORIST

Chaucer is a born humorist, he is rightly considered to be the first many sided humorist
of English literature. No English literary work before him reveals humor in the modern
sense. Chaucer’s distaste for all extravagances and follies helped to make him great
comic poet but he is not a bitter satirist. As humorist, Chaucer is great humanist because
he loves mankind in spite of its foibles.

“Actually, Humor is the sympathetic appreciation of the comic, the faculty


which enables us to love while we laugh, and love to better for our laughter.it
also appeals us to appreciate a character even when laughing at it.”
“The Prologue “is the best example of Chaucer’s many sided humor. Half of the
Canterbury Pilgrims, as they file before the reader of “The prologue”, raise his
smile. Throughout”

The Prologue “Chaucer’s humor is free from satire.


“Satire is the outcome of indignation and colors the vision of a satirist and
exposes his personal passion and prejudice.”
Contrary to this Chaucer’s aim is primarily to entertain us by his art of narration.
The main motive of a satirist is to reform or to preach, while Chaucer never tends
to be a satirist, a moralist or preacher, because he does not wish to instruct and
preach.
In Canterbury Tales Chaucer’s humor is born of a generous sympathy. He
observes his age sympathetically, humorously and liberally. He does not
specifically criticize any institution of his age as his cotemporary, Langland did
against the church.
Legos rightly says
Of all writers of genius. Chaucer is the one with whom it is easiest to have sense
of comradeship.
Chaucer is precursor of an essentially spontaneous English humor. In this
connection, Oliver Elton has stated: “He is the first free and brilliant intelligence
among our poets; the first artist to show the open life of mankind upon a
generous scale and in a clear mirror, the first portrait-painter; and the first true
comedian. And he is so far in the company of Shakespeare, that he too presents
character and the human scene impartially, and in a way that we can trust.
These two are the friendliest of our great poets.”
Shakespeare and Fielding followed Chaucer’s footsteps and enriched the comic
literature of the world. About the Miller he says:
He was short-sholdered , athikke knarre,
Ther was no dore that he holve heve of harre,
Or before at a rennying with his heed.
His berd as any sowe or fox was reed.
Chaucer makes us appreciate a character even when laughing at it. He
makes fun more of the individual than of the institution. In The Prologue Chaucer
showed the value of the comic point of view. Friar’s wantonness is very enjoyable:
To make has English sweete upon his tongue ;
And in his harping, whan that hr hadde songe,
His eyen twinkled in his heed dright
As doon the sterres in the frosty nyght

His humor is the outcome of generous sympathy and broad mindedness. The
genial sympathy in his humor has saved his humor from bitterness and
bias .Except in his handling of the Monk and the Friar, there is no sting at all. In his
handling of the Wife of the Bath, he reminds us of Shakespeare’s treatment of Sir
Toby in Twelfth Night and of Falstaff in Henry IV.
There is objectivity, serenity and equanimity in Chaucer’s humor in “The
Prologue” Chaucer exposes the various clashes among his characters and their
interests in relation to society. Thus, being a humorist, Chaucer has never lost his
edarnimiity and senerity and therefore he is also unlikely to lose his objectivity
which is conductive to realism. An objective humorist is this a better realist than
an indignant satirist. Chaucer observes everything keenly and records each detail
with smiling eyes.
Chaucer was essentially the poet of man, intensely interested in man and
his affairs. In The Prologue Chaucer’s humor is a part of his rich humanity and as a
humorist, Chaucer is a great humanist, because he loves mankind in spite of its
foibles. He had no disgust and disdain for rascals. Even while he gently unmasks
the roguery of the knaves, he feels grateful to them as they give him pleasure.
There is no malice, spite animosity in his unborn attitude of benevolence and
tolerance.
He loved to dwell on their funny traits, looked at their pranks and tricks with
amused delight.
Through his tolerant attitude, several trivial phenomena in The Prologue become
amusing because of the way in which they are told by Chaucer. For example, look
at the character of Squire:

“With lokkes crutle as they were leyed in presse.”


The Wife of Bath:
Her coverchiefs, fall fine weren of ground.
I dorst swere the weyden ten potand.
The Reeve :
Full longe were his legges and fullene
The Summoner:
And when that he wel druncken hadde the wyn
The height of tolerance comes when a writer makes fun of himself also. That is
exactly what Chaucer does. Chaucer takes delight in raising a gentle smile at
himself. For example, he has given humorous description of himself in The
Prologue to the tale of Sir Topas. Chaucer cracks many a jest at his own self .

In the The Prologue , he refers to himself as a simple unlettered man :


My wit is short ,as you may well understand.

Chaucer’s humor sometimes takes resort to suggestion and paradox. The


suggestiveness of his humor become all the more striking and effective when it
becomes paradoxical. He says something, but suggests just the opposite. Chaucer
is often criticism in disguise. For example, the Monk does not attach any
importance to the text which condemns hunting and which enjoins the monks to
lead a cloistered life. In the very next breath Chaucer slyly adds:

“And I said his opinions was good . “

He not only means more than what he says; sometimes he means just the
opposite of what he says. For about The Wife of Bath he says:
She was worthy woman at hir lyve,
Housbondes at chirches dore she hadde five,
Withouten oother compaignye in youth,
But therof nedeth not to speke as
nowthe
Thus, Chaucer accepts paradox in life and mirrors it in his paradoxical manner.
Chaucer’s skill in narration is mingled with his surpassing gift many sided humor.
Chaucer’s humor is a part of his humanity and realism and it sometimes startles
us in “The Canterbury Tales”. Chaucer had the keenest sense of the ludicrous
diverted himself. Chaucer was gifted with the power of ridiculing the follies and
hypocrisies of his day but never like Swift. His object is to paint life as he sees it
and like Henry Fielding to hold up to nature a mirror which reflects and does not
distort the image. True humor enables us to love while we laugh with others and
do not laugh at others. Most of Chaucer’s humor is perfectly innocent fun.

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