1. Parody and Satire

2. Satire?

3. Satire Satire is a genre of writing that criticizes and attacks vice, folly and abuse, particularly of ruling parties or those in power. It is marked by anger and a desire to change or destroy that which it attacks. It has a definite target and often uses humor to make a specific point. EXAMPLE: Saturday Night Live

4. Parody Parody is the practice of copying the mannerisms, style or appearance of a work or its author's voice to make a point about that work. By adopting the guise of the attacked work, the artist reveals its inherent ridiculousness. Parody is generally gentler than satire. It only attacks the style and content of a fictional work and not real-life events. It is possible to use a parody as the basis for a satire, however. EXAMPLE: Scary Movie

5. Pastiche A pastiche is something that copies or mimics elements of another work's style, possibly in a humorous way, but usually just as an affectionate nod to another artist's work. While the artist may have made the pastiche in homage, the work itself does not make any points, favorable or unfavorable, about the original. EXAMPLE: Veggie Tales

6. Test Yourself For each example, decide – is it... A.Parody B.Satire C.Both D.None of the above

7. The Nun’s Priest’s Tale A Parody of Sorts

8. Mock Epic In mock-heroic style, a writer: –Applies epic language to ordinary characters and trivial events –Uses the combination of lowly subject matter and impressive descriptions to develop amusing, even ridiculous, contrasts

9. Genre The Nun’s Priest’s Tale is a beast fable, of the sort best known to us in the collection attributed to the African slave, Aesop. The antagonist in this tale has his own "series" of beast fables, the "Reynard the Fox" tradition, which exists in many manuscripts in both French and English. In effect, he's doing a "guest shot" here, but his character would have been extremely well known to Chaucer's audience and his "modus operandi" as a chicken thief and liar fits the type perfectly.

10. Genre (cont.) How does this story compare to Aesop’s Fables? What makes this a beast fable for adults, and how does the debate between Chaunticleer the rooster and Pertelote his "wife" parody human attitudes and values? Would you consider C and P to be "round" or "flat" characters, and what does that do to your feelings and thoughts about this fable?

11. Characters The poor but self-sufficient and honest widow Chaunticleer, the handsomest, best-educated, and most perceptive rooster yet seen in life or literature Pertelote, his favorite consort among the hens a murdered traveler who appears in a dream the col-fox, a sometime "dinner host" of Chaunticleer's father and mother

12. Summary The rooster, dreaming of an attack by a large, furry, red animal, is advised by his wife not to worry because a little laxative will put things right. The rooster, proud of his learning, decisively defeats his wife's argument by citing classical authors, including one author's anecdote about a murdered traveler who, in a dream, tells his companions where his killers have hidden his body. The rooster, satisfied, has a little "whoopee" with Pertelote and then goes to the barnyard where he encounters the fox.

13. Summary (cont.) The fox, asking the rooster to sing so he can experience the rapture of hearing him, nabs the rooster by the throat and is chased by the entire household. The rooster, thinking quickly, tells the fox that if he were in the fox's position, he should surely turn and shout defiance at the pursuers. The fox, proud of his success, does so and the rooster flies away into a tree. The fox tries to trick him again, but the wily bird triumphs.

14. Context Just before this tale begins, the Monk has been telling the travelers a series of depressing anecdotes. The Knight interrupts the Monk by asserting that tales of "sodeyn fal" without "solas" are not "gladsom to hear." The Host follows up on this line of reasoning by saying that tragedy ought not to be told as part of a "game" because it annoys the audience.

15. Discussion Questions The Host's turn to the Nun's Priest uncharacteristically moves from a teller of one estate to another from the same estate (clergy). However, in both instances he asks the clergymen to tell tales of a secular nature, either of "huntyng" or a "myrie" tale rather than something reverent. What does this tell you about the role of the Church in Chaucer's world?

16. Discussion Questions (cont.) The tale, itself, presents a great opportunity to see the life of the peasantry. The "povre wydwe" runs a homestead farm that barely supports her and her maid-servant, Malkyn. What other aspects of this household tell you things about the economic realities of late 14 th c. English peasant life?

17. Discussion Questions (cont.) The crowing of Chauntecleer is described as a more sure indicator of the hour "Than is a clokke or an abbey orlogge." The first town clocks in England were constructed at Salisbury (1386) and Wells Cathedral (1390), and they were notoriously inaccurate, suggesting there might be a simple truth behind this praise of the bird's sense of time. How does the narrator explain why Chauntecleer knows what time it is with such accuracy, and how does that link the rooster to the first lines of the "General Prologue"?

18. Discussion Questions (cont.) The hero's appearance is a crucial descriptive element in every romance, as is the portrait of the heroine. With what kind of language does the narrator describe this barnyard pair? Compare it with the description of the Prioress in the "General Prologue."

19. Discussion Questions (cont.) Pertelote's name translates from the French as "one who confuses someone's lot or fate." Does she deserve this name?

20. http://faculty.goucher.edu/eng330/ chaucernuns_priest.htm