Chaucer's Use Of Parody In The Canterbury Tales

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Chaucer also utilizes the literary device of a parody, by parodying the rooster and chickens of the barnyard to a king and other members of the royal court. While life outside the barnyard is described as monochromatic, the rooster Chauntecleer is described much like a king “His comb was redder than fine coral…and his color like the burnished gold.” (Lines 39-44). The choice to use chickens to represent nobility in itself says a lot about how Chaucer views the court, considering that chickens are not very bright animals. By using chickens to parody members of the court, Chaucer is easily able to mock medieval education and the learned traditions of the medieval court by likening them to facts that simple chickens could comprehend. While discussing

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