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Standards Focus: Genre—Poetry, Narrative, and Satire
Genre refers to the specific category in a general topic. Jazz and heavy metal are genres of
music, for example. In literature, genres include poetry, fiction, tall tales, nonfiction, and
others.
Poetry
The Canterbury Tales is a poem consisting of approximately 17,000 lines. The poems are
arranged in stanzas of varying lengths, bear a rhythm, and follow one rhyme scheme per
poem. For the most part, Chaucer uses couplets, predominantly heroic couplets (two
rhymed lines in iambic pentameter), for his tales. Iambic pentameter consists of lines with
10 syllables in an unstressed/stressed pattern. Additionally, each pair of lines contains an
end rhyme.
Take a look at the following example. The rhyming words have been underlined, and the
rhyme scheme has been completed following the pattern “a, a, b, b.”
When in April the sweet showers fall a
And pierce the drought of March to the root, and all a
The veins are bathed in liquor of the power, b
And brings out engendering of the flower b
At times, Chaucer switches his format, although he rarely surrenders the poetic form entirely.
In the following passage from the Man of Law’s Tale, Chaucer breaks from the heroic couplet
and moves to a rhyme scheme of ababbcc. He changes the early part of the stanza but
maintains the couplet at the end. The same pattern is used for the Prioress’s Tale.
Oh hateful grief to suffer indulgence a
By hunger, thirst and cold to be confounded b
To feel heart’s shame at asking a few pence a
Or, asking none, to know yourself surrounded b
By such necessity your need is sounded b
In every ear and you are left to creep c
About and borrow, beg or steal your keep c
Narrative
In addition to being a poem, The Canterbury Tales is also a narrative. Narratives tell a
story or convey the experiences of one or more characters in the story. In this case, each
pilgrim tells a story about the experiences of a person or of a group of people, while the
collection of tales tells the story of the pilgrims and their trip to the shrine of St. Thomas à
Becket in Canterbury. Each individual tale is a narrative and the overarching tale of the
group’s voyage is a also a narrative of their collective experiences on the road. In this way,
The Canterbury Tales is a narrative within a narrative using a structure called framing.
Narratives can be found in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction.
Satire
Satire refers to a body of work that focuses on a specific person, thing, or event to ridicule or
poke fun at it. In modern times, satire can be found in movies and television programs as
well as literature. Because The Canterbury Tales pokes fun at the pilgrims within the story,
the poem falls under the category of satire. Chaucer paints the Friar as a man of God but
also mentions that he sells what is supposed to be God’s forgiveness for money (9). Thus,
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Chaucer holds the Friar up for scrutiny and ridicule because of the contradiction between
what friars should do and what this Friar does. In addition, Chaucer holds the merchant up
for ridicule by stating he talks about how to save and use money properly but is secretly in
debt (10). There are other examples throughout poem.
Estate Satire
The term estate satire refers to a specific type of satire. In this case the word estate refers to
the social classes and the hierarchy. During the time in which Chaucer wrote, the hierarchy
started with the monarchy and nobility and worked its way down to the poor people who
worked for the landowners. Because Chaucer specifically includes characters that represent
every facet of society except for the monarchy, The Canterbury Tales is an example of estate
satire.
The Knight, Squire, and members of the religious section of society including the Prioress
and Monk represent the upper end of the social class structure. Representing other aspects
of the social hierarchy are the Man of Law, the Merchant, the Parson, and the Plowman,
among others. While he is careful not to ridicule the monarchy, Chaucer openly satirizes
members of the remaining social classes throughout The Canterbury Tales.
Exploring Expository Writing: Genre—Poetry, Narrative, and
Satire
Directions: After reading the article, complete the following activity. Write the letter of
the correct choice on the line provided.
1. _____ Genre refers to
a. a type of music only
b. a subset of a category
c. a specific type of poetry
d. nonfiction literature
2. _____ In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer uses
a. iambic pentameter and limericks
b. heroic couplets as well as other rhyme schemes
c. only one rhyme scheme throughout and it is called the heroic couplet
d. only one pattern with an identical format for each tale
3. _____ Two tales that stray from the heroic couplet and iambic pentameter combination
are
a. the Monk’s Tale and the Prioress’s Tale
b. the Knight’s Tale and the Man of Law’s Tale
c. the Monk’s Tale and the Knight’s Tale
d. the Man of Law’s Tale and the Prioress’s Tale
4. _____ Rhyme scheme refers to
a. the similarity in the last sounds of each line
b. the number of beats per line
c. whether the syllables are stressed or unstressed
d. the number of syllables per line
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5. _____ In the rhyme scheme for the example from the Man of Law’s Tale, the letters
a,b,a,b,b,c,c refer to the sounds
a. that begin each line
b. that are in the middle of the last word of each line
c. made by the last syllable in the last word of each line
d. that are made by the punctuation used at the end of each line
6. _____ A narrative is different from other forms of poetry because the narrative poem
a. has a speaker
b. relays events or experiences
c. is always about love and romance
d. consists of stanzas and couplets
7. _____ In The Canterbury Tales, the narrative consists of
a. individual tales told by each pilgrim
b. the part discussed in the General Prologue
c. individual tales as well as the pilgrimage and contest
d. the very last tale
8. _____ Framing is a technique used to
a. embed one or more narratives within another narrative
b. draw lines around the story like a frame
c. have a speaker hold a frame while telling the narrative
d. focus the readers’ attention on the narrative
9. _____ Satire refers to
a. any humorous story
b. a story that is designed to ridicule
c. a story that has been translated from Latin for the express purpose of poking fun at
someone
d. a story that is serious in nature
10. _____ Evidence that The Canterbury Tales is a satire can be found in
a. the descriptions of the characters in the General Prologue
b. the rejection by publishers to publish the poem
c. the titles of each tale
d. the simple fact that Chaucer wrote the poem and all of his works were satirical
11. _____ An estate satire is different from a satire because
a. an estate satire ridicules a person’s home and land whereas a satire ridicules a
person’s character
b. a satire can only become an estate satire after the person being ridiculed has died and
their estate has been settled by lawyers
c. an estate satire includes the social hierarchy as the target, rather than a single person
d. an estate satire is a satire that was originally written in Greek and translated into
Modern English after the copyright was transferred to the author’s estate
12. _____ In Chaucer’s time, the social hierarchy consisted of
a. sailors, highwaymen, landlords, and criminals
b. landlords and the poor who worked for and were exploited by them
c. different religious orders with the pope as the supreme ruler of the land
d. the monarchy, nobility, religious leaders, merchants and the poor who worked for
the landlords
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Standards Focus: Unreliable Narrator
It is common in stories to find a narrator who tells the story to the audience from his or her
point of view. We call this type of narration first person point of view because it is being
told by the person who is observing or participating in the action. Think of it as the first
person on the scene telling what happens. In contrast, if the narrator has access to
everything that happens in a story regardless of where, when, or to which character it
happens, then the narrator is omniscient. The type of narrator the author chooses has an
impact on the overall effect of the story.
A narrator who sees and reports everything without bias can be considered a trusted source
of information whereas a narrator who has a limited view can only tell the reader what he or
she knows. Thus, the reader has to fill in information through inference or other characters
if the narrator is not omniscient. It is the job of the reader to discern the type of narrator
telling the story and, if the narrator is first person, to think about whether or to what extent
the narrator is relating the truth.
For the reader to truly understand the events and details, he or she must take into account
who the narrator is and what role the narrator plays in the story. For example, if the
narrator is the antagonist, then the way the story is told would be different if it were coming
from the protagonist.
Think about the story of the tortoise and the hare. If the narrator is an objective observer
who is simply relaying the details of the action, then the details might appear as basic facts:
The race started, the hare took off quickly and the tortoise followed at a slower pace.
After a few minutes and a large lead, the hare decided to take a break. While he was
asleep, the tortoise caught up to and passed the hare. When the hare woke up, the
tortoise was so far ahead of him that the hare could not catch up in time and the
tortoise crossed the finish line first.
If, however, the tortoise was the narrator, the story might be very different:
Before the race started; the hare was taunting me and picking on my short legs.
When the race started he kicked dust in my face as he left the starting line. I was
struggling to move my shell with my short legs, but I did the very best I could. After
awhile the race felt futile since I had not seen even a hair of the hare in several
minutes. Just as I was about to give up, I saw the hare napping under a tree. I
suppose I should have called out to him but he had been pretty mean to me right
before the race, so I just kept moving. When I saw the finish line ahead of me, I
couldn’t believe my eyes. I was nearly there. I heard the hare behind me and tried to
push harder. I made it across the line before the hare. It was a great day!
When the tortoise tells the story, it is clear that there are embellishments that only the
tortoise would know. Suddenly, the hare isn’t just another rabbit in a race but has become a
mean character that taunted the tortoise and deserved to lose. If the hare had narrated the
story, he might have made the tortoise appear to be the villain. In cases like this example,
the narrator cannot be trusted to give the truth without bias. We call such a narrator
unreliable because the reader cannot rely solely on such a narrator’s point of view.
There are other reasons why a narrator might be considered unreliable; essentially, if the
narrator has any reason to favor or disfavor any of the characters, then he or she is
unreliable. This includes such things as racism, sexism, and ageism, as well as simply
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lacking vital information about the context due to mental disturbance, influence of
substances, or ignorance.
In The Canterbury Tales, the first person narrator is Chaucer. The reader might be tempted
to believe the narrator is objective because he has the same name as the poet; surely, the
man who constructed the entire poem would have all of the information and be omniscient!
While this might seem like logical reasoning, it is not one that should be held by the astute
reader. The use of a narrator allows Chaucer to include potentially sensitive material—as a
character in the narrative—without being obvious about it.
For example, before allowing the Miller to tell his tale, Chaucer puts in a disclaimer and
advises the reader not to read the Miller’s Tale if he or she finds the contents too sensitive.
And I regret I must repeat it here,
And so I beg of all who are refined
For God’s love not to think me ill-inclined
Or evil in my purpose. I rehearse
Their tales as told, for better or for worse,
For else I should be false to what occurred.
So if this tale had better not be heard,
Just turn the page and choose another sort;
You’ll find them here in plenty, long and short. (88)
Despite stating that the Miller, among others, is a churl and the tale is too bawdy for those
with sensitive constitutions, the narrator claims he is duty bound to tell every word of every
tale. Chaucer the narrator speaks as though the pilgrimage were an actual event and he is
simply the one called upon to record their conversations without bias or commentary.
According to him, the reader must decide to read or skip certain of the tales. By this point,
the reader should realize that it is up to him or her to form opinions about the characters
and tales because the narrator is not a reliable source of information.
The use of the unreliable narrator also allows Chaucer to create a satire of the different
members of the social structure. With the exception of the monarch, Chaucer includes every
other member of the social classes in his band of pilgrims. As the narrator, Chaucer can
make comments about these people without insulting the wrong people. Both King Edward
III and King Richard II granted Chaucer political and diplomatic positions over the course of
his lifetime. If Chaucer had offended either one, he may have lost his livelihood or his head.
The other powerful force in England was the Catholic Church. Chaucer would run the risk of
being excommunicated by the Pope if he spoke outright against the abuses within the
Church. To avoid offense, Chaucer disguises his opinions in seemingly positive—or at the
least neutral—observations about the different characters.
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Exploring Expository Writing: Unreliable Narrator
Directions: After reading the article on Unreliable Narrator, complete the
following activity in complete sentences on a separate piece of paper.
Part A
1. Unreliable means
a. unwilling to change
b. expressing ignorance
c. cannot be trusted
d. not ready
2. A narrator is considered unreliable when
a. the reader cannot depend on the narrator to give an objective telling of the
story
b. the reader disagrees with the narrator
c. the narrator speaks directly to the reader
d. the narrator only appears at the end of the story
3. The narrator in The Canterbury Tales is
a. the Friar
b. Chaucer
c. an objective observer
d. the Merchant
4. A narrator can be considered unreliable when he or she
a. repeats information
b. asserts that what is being said the absolute truth
c. is completely honest
d. has an obvious bias or ignorance
Part B
5. What reasons could a writer have for creating an unreliable narrator?
6. Identify two reasons why Chaucer may have chosen to use an unreliable narrator.
7. How does Chaucer use his narrator to disavow responsibility for the tales that he
is, in fact, creating?
8. Think about stories you have read recently. Did any of them have unreliable
narrators? How do you know? If you considered the narrator reliable, how do
you know he/she should have been trusted? What clues support your response?