Literary Devices In The Canteberry Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer

Submitted By Alexa-Dino
Words: 695
Pages: 3

The Canteberry tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, it’s a composition of all these tales in their pilgrimage. In the story I read the Physicians tales, Chaucer tells about a Judge who is overcome by lust, and wishes to get what he desires. But as Chaucer’s tale usually go the judge did not get as he desired. In his this story Chaucer uses a lot of literary Devices, but the ones that stick the most are satire, as the judges plan is foiled, metaphor as the knight honors is in risk, and holy war for the sake of the knights daughter Virginia.
The Physician is the narrator in the story which is also a presence of irony since after the death of the Virginia and the judge he does the autopsy. The story begins with the daughter going into town one day and the judge sees her, he is automatically intrigued with her beauty that his desires take the best of him. So he brings up a plan to get the knights only daughter, Virginia, he bring a lonesome bum, and offers him money to go along with the judges plan to have Virginus daughter. The helper accuses Virginus of kidnapping Virginia and holds her against her will, they go to court and as the judge’s plan seems to be going his way, he demands that the knight bring the maiden until these disputes are settled. As Virginus approaches his home he sense what’s going to happen to his daughter, so he instead tells his daughter that he must kill her, to protect her honor. At the beginning she offers other suggestions but he refuses them all, so she accepts the fate that her father has given her, she at last thanks the lord to die a virgin and to come into his Kingdom the purest. When the knight goes to court to take his daughter into the custody of the judge, the judge instead is surprised to receive the head of Virginia. The judge is then disgusted with himself, and the terrible fate that he had given Virginia, so he ran off and hung himself. Then an angry mob came in and tried to kill the guy who helped the judge but Virginus told them that it was not his fault that greed had gotten the best of him, they instead exiled him.
In the story Chaucer shows satire, as the judges plans are foiled and he given a head instead of a maiden. Satire is the literary device that represents irony in this story, which is what also represented in the knights honor as he takes his honor to the fullest extent. “Daughter,” quod he,