DOCTORAL SCHOOL

MASTER IN LANGUAGE, LITERATURE AND CULTURAL SCIENCES

COUESE TITLE: ECS 724: COMMONWEALTH PHILOSOPHERS ANDTHINKERS.

SPECIALITY: SCIENCE OF LANGUAGE

OPTION: ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH STUDIES I.

PRESENTED BY:

TIYO ELVIS CM-UDS-11LSH0658

COURSE MASTER:

DR. TAZOAH FRANCIS

REPUBLIQUE DU CAMEROUN

Paix-travail-patrie***********

UNIVERSITE DE DSCHANG*************

FACULTE DES LETTRES ETSCIENCES HUMAINES

*************DEPARTEMENT DE LANGUE

ETRANGER APPLIQUE

REPUBLIC OF CAMEROUNPeace-work-fatherland

*************UNIVERSITY OF DSCHANG

************* FACULTY OF LETTERS AND

HUMAN SCIENCES*******

DEPARTMENT OF APPLIEDFOREIGN LANGUAGE

ACADEMIC YEAR:

2014/2015

TOPIC: CHAUCER- STYLE; METAPHOR,

IRONY AND LANGUAGE.

Table of content

Dedication

Acknowledgement

Abstract Resume

1. Introduction

I.1. Background of the study

I.2. Statement of the problem

I.3. Significance of the study

I.4. Scope of limitation and delimitation

2. Chaucer’s literary life3. The principal body of the work

III.1. Chaucer’s style

III.1.1. Metaphor

III.1.2. Irony

III.1.2.1. Types of irony

III.1.2.1.1. Dramatic Irony/irony of situation

III.1.2.1.2. Subtle irony

III.1.2.1.3. Socratic irony

III.1.2.1.4. Verbal irony

III.2. Chaucer’s Language and contribution into the English

language.

4. Conclusion Reference/Bibliography

DEDICATION

This would not have been possible if not of the efforts of the

Almighty God who dueled in my spirit and granted me the

inspiration and grace to be able to realize and produce this

work. So I dedicate this work to Him with all glory, honor and

adoration. I dedicate this work to my mother as well who made

available to me all the financial resources.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This work could not have been written without the help of

many people. I wish to express my gratitude to them all.

I am thankful to Dr. TAZOAH Francis whose guidance and

assistance on a workbook bore fruit. I am equally thankful to Mm

Azoago Lilian who helped me in the understanding of my topic and

how to present the work.

My unalloyed thanks go to my brothers and sisters TOUOYEM

Nadège, TOUOYEM Vanessa, and DONGLA Delphine. They encouraged me

moral, spiritual and financial support in order to help me

concentrate and learn more because they are sure that the only

way to succeed in live is through hard work.

I also extend my heartfelt gratitude to my classmates

especially to Pa’ami Tchakote Gwldys. They took it as a

challenge to enable me to come out with this work. I would not

have accomplished all that I have in this work without their

help. Just the encouragement and support were enough to take me

far.

Abstract

In this work, I intend to discuss the issues which when coupled

makes Chaucer a great writer of his era. He wrote in an era in

which there were equally other influential writers but he stood

out among those prominent writers for a reason. In the course of

examining those factors which makes Chaucer the father of English

literature, I will limit my study to his language and styles,

particularly on metaphor and irony as used in his works The

General Prologue and The Canterbury Tales and some other

prominent works he wrote within his Life time which constitute

his literary life. To this effect, I will discuss in detail the

various types of ironies he uses and how he handles them

alongside metaphors and the contributions he made into the

English Language which has and how it has evolved to present day

English all of which combine to make him the Father of English

literature.

Résumé

Le présent travail vient à point nommé analyser les differents

axes de travail qui ont fait de Chaucer le grand écrivain de son

époque. Il écrit à une époque marquée par la prominence

d’intellectuels mais réussit à se différencier par la grandeur de

sa plume. Dans l’examen des différents facteurs qui ont fait de

Chaucer le père de la literature anglaise, nous allons nous

intéreser au style et au type de langage qu’il utilise; plus

précisement aux metaphors et à l’ironie dans The General prologue,

Cantabury tales et quelque autres textes dont il est l’auteur. A cet

effet, nous allons étudier en detail les différentes formes

d’ironies qu’il utilise dans ses textes et comment il les met en

relation avec les metaphors pour ainsi contribuer à l’évolution

de la langue anglaise.

I. INTRODUCTION

I-1 Background of the study

Geoffrey Chaucer is a 14th century English poet who is generally

considered to be the father of the English literature as he is

seen as the greatest English poet of the middle ages. This was

because of his writing style which made him outstanding among his

contemporaries and more so because he wrote in English in a

community that was dominated by French and Latin. He lived from

1343 – 25 October 1400. Throughout his lifetime, he gained fame

as an author, philosopher, alchemist and astronomer. Chaucer also

maintained an active career in the civil service as a bureaucrat,

courtier and diplomat. Some of his works include The Book of the

Duchess, the House of Fame, the Legend of Good Women and Troilus and

Criseyde, he is famous and best known today for The Canterbury Tales.

Chaucer was a crucial figure in developing the legitimacy of the

vernacular, Middle English, at a time when the dominant literary

languages in England were French and Latin.

Chaucer is born to a prosperous wind merchant, John Chaucer.

While still young, he was taken into the courts were he was to

spend the rest of his life. Throughout his career as a bureaucrat

and a civil servant, he travelled widely. This made him to gather

much skill from great literary figures who were writing already

in French and Latin as William Langland. He equally gained

knowledge of the trades as his father was a merchant all of which

made him an outstanding figure in his life time.

I-2 statement of the problem

Chaucer had his contemporaries who wrote along with him in the

medieval age but what I want to came with those things which make

Chaucer a great thinker through his use of style. The proceeding part

of this work will deal fundamentally on this problem.

I-3 Significance of the study

This work notably is of great importance as it investigates and

informs us of what makes Chaucer a great thinker, how he uses or

skillfully used style and other techniques in his works to pass

across his message and also how he became known as the father of

English literature.

I-4 Scope of limitation and delimitation

Chaucer as a famous and great thinker has several qualities which

makes him outstanding to the point of being considered the father

of English literature since the medieval age. This study how will

be limited to his use of style; metaphor, irony and language.

That is, I will be focusing my attention to pointing out the

manner in which he handles style which goes a long way to give

him the credit as father of English literature. Other aspects of

his overall works which contribute to this his fame will not be

included in this study.

II. CHAUCER’S LITERARY LIFE

Chaucer’s literary life or writing falls into three periods namely;

the period of French influence (1359-1352), the italian period (1372-

1380) and the English period or period of maturity (1380-1400).

The period of French influence (1359-1352)

As a beginner, Chaucer modeled himself and his poetic ideas

on French writers and style. During this period, he came up with two

publications- The Romaine de la Rose 1 and The Book of Duchess 2 . In writing

these works, Chaucer applied the French octosyllabic3 couplets in the

formal organization of his lines.

The period of Italian influence (1372-1380)

Chaucer’s mission to Italy brought him into contact with two great men

of letters- Boccaccio and Petrarch. From them, Chaucer learnt several

techniques including the use of imagery. He was also greatly inspired

by the new and unquenchable curiosity which was prevalent then among

men of letters. His knowledge of Italian literature, both ancient and

contemporary inspired him to come up with four major works well

written in the best English of his time. These works were:-

- The Parliament of Fowles (1377-1382)

- The House of Fame (1379)

- The Legend of Good Women (1385)

- Troilus and Criseyde (1385)

The English period (1380-1400)

By 1385, Geoffrey Chaucer had already made lasting fame for himself through his prolific publications. The minor works of the final periodshow Chaucer applying his Italian and French influences with thoroughly English sprit. His final short pierce, “The Complaint of Chaucer Tortis Empty Purse”, exposes the poet frankly and comically begging to have his pensions raised Henry IV who saw himself on the English throne in late 1399.

1 This is a long medieval French allegory based on a rose bush, representing love, which is gathered from the lover’s approach by various symbolic powers. 2 This is another allegory but written on the death of Blanch, John of Gaunt’swife. 3 The then prevailing style in French writing or literature.

III. THE PRINCIPAL BODY

III.1. Chaucer’s style

For an individual to be called a great thinker, it implies that

the individual has some capacities and skills which are

exceptional. That is, that individual is seen as being abnormal

because of the way they do their own things outstandingly. The

poet Geoffrey Chaucer4, from this definition can be considered as

a great thinker. This is because as a literary figure he

portrayed skills which were not very common among his

contemporaries. His artistic qualities can be seen in his use of

style and language.

“The variety of Chaucer’s tales shows the breadth of his skill and hisfamiliarity with countless rhetorical forms and linguistic styles.Medieval schools of rhetoric at the time encouraged such diversity,dividing literature into high, middle, and low styles as measured bythe density of rhetorical forms and vocabulary. Writers wereencouraged to write in a way that kept in mind the speaker, subject,audience, purpose, manner, and occasion. Chaucer moves freely betweenall of these styles, showing favoritism to none. He not only considersthe readers of his work as an audience, but the other pilgrims withinthe story as well, creating a multi-layered rhetorical puzzle ofambiguities. Chaucer’s work thus far surpasses the ability of anysingle medieval theory to uncover.

With this Chaucer avoids targeting any specific audience or socialclass of readers, focusing instead on the characters of the story andwriting their tales with a skill proportional to their social statusand learning. However, even the lowest characters, such as the Miller,show surprising rhetorical ability, although their subject matter ismore lowbrow. Chaucer uses the same meter throughout almost all of histales, with the exception of Sir Thopas and his prose tales. It is adecasyllable line, probably borrowed from French and Italian forms,with riding rhyme and, occasionally, a caesura in the middle of a

4 Chaucer is seen as the father of English literature.

line. His meter would later develop into the heroic meter of the 15th

and 16th centuries and is an ancestor of iambic pentameter. He avoidsallowing couplets to become too prominent in the poem, and four of thetales (the Man of Law’s, Clerk’s, Prioress’, and Second Nun’s) userhyme royal.” Unknown (2015), Wikipedia.

This points to the fact that Chaucer had a pertinent manner of

writing, a style which only he could wield with maximum effects

in his era.

Just by going through The General Prologue, Suh-Nfor tangie and Muwah

Cheng (2008) sees Chaucer’s tone as largely being ironic. That he

says one thing while he is implying another.

“ He pretends to be a mere innocent observer supplying details abouteach pilgrim in a haphazard manner; yet these seeming ly randomdetails, when carefully weighed , have a telling ironic force.

For example, the Prioress. Here is a gentle guileless nun, movingserenely towards Canterbury with her attendants. But, in what is sheinterested? The portrait that emerges is that of a nunwhose chieveconcern is to impress the other pilgrims with her gentility. Thus,Chaucer through the use of irony , makes his comment on theworldliness or the Medieval church.

Of all the pilgrims, only three- the knight, the poor parson and theplowman- are treated without any irony at all. The Knight presents theideal of the Age of Chivalry; the Poor Parson is the ideal churchman.The Plowman is the finest of the English working man. These three arecontrasted with people of all classes of the society and of severaldegrees of virtue. Chaucer calls none of them rascal, but his ironictone tells the reader that he knows what most of them are. But whetherhe is writing of saints or sinners, his tone clearly tells us alsothat he enjoys his fellowmen and sympathizes with their difficulties.His irony is blended with humor and compassion.”

We then come to see that Chaucer’s works are pregnant with

meaning through the use of style which combines to give his work

as the Canterbury tales a unique peculiarity which makes him

outstanding as the father of English literature. Each and every

line in the general prologue is embedded with surface and deeper

meaning with the deeper meanings carrying Chaucer’s intended

message.

Right from Chaucer’s time, his contemporaries had acknowledged

his skills. They came to realize that Chaucer, unlike them, had a

writing style which was not familiar with theirs and had

encouraged him to continue with it. Just as he blends “French and

Latin” styles, Benson (2000), so does he “blends classical and

biblical reference” Besong (1988).

III.1.1. Metaphor

Metaphors are analogies which allow us to map one experience in

the terminology of another experience and thus to acquire an

understanding of complex topics or new situations. VOSNIADOU and

ORTONY (1989). Metaphor is recognized as an important way of

thinking – constructing analogies and making connections between

ideas – and an important way of using language – to explain

abstract ideas or to find indirect but powerful ways of conveying

feelings. By investigating people’s use of metaphors, we can

better understand their emotions, attitudes and

conceptualizations, as individuals and as participants in social

life. From this description of metaphor we see that while using

it, we put words in a different manner put our meaning of what we

are trying to say does not lie in the words themselves. Chaucer

makes use of this technique in his works to good effect. For

instance, in the pardoner’s tale we see glaring evidence of the

use of metaphor through symbols. The three rioters set out to

look for death and kill him but when they found death, they could

recognize it. The old man the rioters meet on their way

metaphorically or symbolically stands for death or better still

the serpent in the garden of Eden, the tree under which they

found gold stands for the forbidden tree in the garden and the

gold means the fruit on that forbidden tree in Eden which is

death as the old man told them but they blindfolded by it and at

the end, they metaphorically loss their lives to death in the

battle. Here, we see that the narrator is saying something else

but which metaphorically has another meaning intended for the

listeners/readers to decode.

Considering The Merchant’s Tale, we can also see the great use of

metaphor by the poet. Through the merchant’s mouth, he tells

builds a story which metaphorically is portraying human “folly…

human absurdity and human blindness.” Besong, (1988). An example

of this can be found in the in The Merchant Tale in the episode

where January allows May to climb on his back to go up the pear.

While May is up in the tree, January holds tide unto the tree

trunk to prevent anyone from up when his sight is suddenly

restored. He faces reality but rejects it as he quickly believes

the explanation given him by May who has been caught cheating red

handedly. “He believes May, rejects the evidence before him,

rejects the evidence of his senses and prefers to return to his

fool’s paradise. January has chosen not to confront the truth, he

resists from any form of enlightenment since he lacks any

insight.” That pear tree is metaphorically January’s

foolishness. Damian who was in the tree waiting for May stands

for the serpent that was in the Garden of Eden and because of his

action with May, she will never really be happy. One thing

however remains unsaid; mankind has been lecherous and short

sighted right from the beginning and this is what the narrator

has been saying out the play metaphorically and this is what the

story has metaphorically been saying but with the use of

different words woven in a story.

III.1.2. Irony

Irony in its simplest sense can be seen as “humor based on using

words to suggest the opposite of their literary meaning. That is

“irony is the use of language to suggest the opposite of what is

stated or intended. In Chaucer’s the general prologue, many

pilgrims are treated with irony. For instance, it is ironic that

the monk prefers hunting outside the monastery than live a

confined and prayerful life. Irony can however be divided into

several subgroups as dramatic, subtle, Socratic and verbal

ironies.

III.1.2.1. Types of irony

III.1.2.1.1. Dramatic Irony or irony of situation

“This has to do with opposites or the reverse of what is expected

occurs. In The Merchants Tale, January has very idealistic views

about his marriage to young May. The old lecher’s illusions of

marriage as a paradise on earth turn out to be his purgatory in

the tale”. Besong, (1988). This is also evident in The General

Prologue through vicious characters. The Nun Prioress is said to

be tender hearted to puppies and pets and feeds them with

delicacies while there are poor people starving and have nothing

to eat. She tries to uplift herself by all means possible right

up to her etiquette and manner of speaking (French) which to an

extent we discover that she does not even know the French well

itself. Her pretentious attitude makes her personality

contradictory to her calling as a Nun for she does only the

opposites of the things we expect from her. The Monk is not an

exception of this. Instead of remaining confined in the monastery

and lead a prayerful life he openly rejects the teachings of

Austin to our dismay making us to ask the whether he is at all a

Monk or someone else in guise. The Pardoner, Summoner, Friar and

a host of other pilgrims are treated in a likewise manner except

for ideal pilgrims as the Knight, Poor Parson and The Squire.

III.1.2.1.2. Subtle irony

It is an intelligent, experienced, or sensitive enough to make

refined judgments and distinctions. This is found in The General

Prologue where we see Chaucer making use of it to extent. Chaucer

employs juxtaposition to show her (Nun Prioress) pretensions,

ambiguity to show how she is out of place in her nunnery and

deflation to portray her worldly inclinations. Geoffrey Chaucer

pretends to see eye to eye with the nun. Besong, (1988). Her

possession of a golden broach jewelry and love for delicacies

like cake, all point o her secret longing for more worldly life.

Even though a nun, she longs to be called Madame Englentyne. She

sings and speaks French though not the Paris style. There is

emphasis on her romantic physical appearance. This again is

ironic of a religious figure of her nature. Ncham, (2011). He

also uses this on The Friar. The Friar unlike his fellow beggars

tries to make himself outstanding by going where none of the

other beggars to. Chaucer tells us of his dealings but in a

rather subtle manner that we may be tempted to say he approves of

his activities whereas he is condemning the decadence of

ecclesiastic figures who have become so heartless right to the

point all their objectives is centered on extorting money from

the mass. The Friar would not even pity a poor widow but must

extort money from her. Although Chaucer presents these activities

of The Friar as if he is praising his talents to be able to do

much more than expect, he is actually condemning such dubious

character of ecclesiastic figures for that matter. The Friar

extorts money and lies to have priestly license from the Pope to

listen to confessions. He engages in the sale of fake relics and

indulgences but all these are ridiculed by Chaucer’s use of

subtle irony.

“… and city dames and possessions

For he was qualified to hear confessions

Or so he said with more than priestly scope;

He had a special license from the pope

Sweetly he heard his penitents at shrift.” Ncham, (2011),

translation from The General Prologue by Chaucer.

III.1.2.1.3. Socratic irony can be said to be ignorance feigned

in order to elicit explanations from somebody whose own ignorance

can then be exposed through subsequent clever questioning. This

irony is names after Socrates the classical Greek philosopher who

taught his students through this method. Socrates always

pretended to be ignorant and always adopted his opponents’ view-

point in order to display the error in the latter’s argument.

Chaucer appears in The Merchants Tale to accept January’s view about

marriage only to expose the old lecher’s spiritual decadence. In

The General Prologue, he pretends to agree with hypocritical and easy

going Monk who argues that how can mankind be redeemed if monks

remain cloistered in a monastery. Besong, (1988).

“… And I agreed and said his views were sound;

Was he to study till his head went round

Pouring over books in cloisters? Must he toil

As Austin bade and till the very soil?

Was he to leave the world upon the shelf?”

III.1.2.1.4. Verbal irony: something said or written that uses

humor based on words suggesting the opposite of their literal

meaning. The Sergeant of law is described as “busier”. That is he

puts on a show of being in great demand for his professional

expertise. In other words that is the impression he gives people

not he really is. Besong, (1988).

III.2. Language

In as much as his distinctiveness was seen in his writing, so too

was the case in his language. Chaucer is credited have influenced

and laid the foundation for the modern English language we have

today. That is, Chaucer also made enormous contribution into the

English language. Most of the word stock in the English language

today has their origin from Chaucerian English. The poetry of

Chaucer, along with other writers of the era, is credited with

helping to standardize the London Dialect of the Middle English

language from a combination of the Kentish and Midlands dialects.

This is probably overstated; the influence of the court, chancery

and bureaucracy—of which Chaucer was a part—remains a more

probable influence on the development of Standard English. Modern

English is somewhat distanced from the language of Chaucer's

poems owing to the effect of the Great Vowel Shift some time

after his death. This change in the pronunciation of English,

still not fully understood, makes the reading of Chaucer

difficult for the modern audience. The status of the final -e in

Chaucer's verse is uncertain: it seems likely that during the

period of Chaucer's writing the final -e was dropping out of

colloquial English and that its use was somewhat irregular.

Chaucer's versification suggests that the final -e is sometimes

to be vocalized, and sometimes to be silent; however, this

remains a point on which there is disagreement. When it is

vocalized, most scholars pronounce it as a schwa. Apart from the

irregular spelling, much of the vocabulary is recognizable to the

modern reader. Chaucer is also recorded in the Oxford English

Dictionary as the first author to use many common English words in

his writings. These words were probably frequently used in the

language at the time but Chaucer, with his ear for common speech,

is the earliest manuscript source. Acceptable, alkali, altercation,

amble, angrily, annex, annoyance, approaching, arbitration, armless, army,

arrogant, arsenic, arc, artillery and aspect are just some of the many

English words first attested in Chaucer.

Chaucer wrote in late Middle English, which has clear differencesfrom Modern English. From philological research, we know certainfacts about the pronunciation of English during the time ofChaucer. Chaucer pronounced -e at the end of words, so that carewas [karə], not /kɛər/ as in Modern English. Other silent letterswere also pronounced, so that the word knight was [kniçt], withboth the k and the gh pronounced, not /naɪt/. In some cases, vowelletters in Middle English were pronounced very differently fromModern English, because the Great Vowel Shift had not yethappened. For instance, long e in wepyng "weeping" was pronouncedas [e], as in modern German or Italian, not as /i/. Wikipedia,2015.

This quotation below from Troilus and Cresedey of Chaucer found in

Benson’s work The High Style justifies this claim.

“Youre termes, youre colours, and youre figures,Keepe hem in stoor til so be ye endite

Heigh style, as whan that men to kynges write.Speketh so pleyn at this tyme, we yow preye,

That we may understonde what ye seye.”

From this example we see how Chaucer used the English language

which was later on adopted and used through England before the

Great Vowel Shift which simply brought modification on the

pronunciation of the words. It is worth noting that just as he

learnt and borrowed techniques from writers in other languages to

improve upon his writing style, so too does he equally borrow

words and some linguistic features from other languages- Latin,

and French- to improve upon the English language at the time

which then experience the change during the Great Vowel Shift

period. The text below will be translated to modern English so as

to clearly demonstrate all that have said so far on language.

Chaucer’s language Modern English language 'Wepyng and waylyng, care and oother sorwe

'Weeping and wailing, careand other sorrow

I knowe ynogh, on even anda-morwe,'

I know enough, in the evening and in the morning,'

Quod the Marchant, 'and so doonoother mo

said the Merchant, 'and so doesmany another

That wedded been. Who have been married?Figure 1. Translation from Chaucer’s medieval English to modernEnglish.

Chaucer’s ability to live in a society as his and accomplish all thathe accomplished makes him qualified to be seen as a great thinker andworthy to be called the father of English literature.

IV. CONCLUSION

Work has eventual come to an end after having gone through

several stages. Geoffrey Chaucer, being a medieval poet produced

artistic masterpieces which soon came to the forefront to

classify as the father of English literature and a great thinker.

This is because he through his use of style (metaphor and irony)

and language, he projects extra and abnormal skills in the

handling of these elements which put him ahead of his

contemporaries giving that unlike his contemporaries, he did not

use a specific traditional way of writing as it done in French

and Latin but rather, he compressed elements and features from

different backgrounds to produce classical works and enabled him

to greatly enrich the English language with his vast knowledge

from different cultures. The analysis of the use of his style and

language in this work shows that Geoffrey Chaucer is undoubtedly

the father of English literature and thus a great thinker.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

- BESONG, Bate, HANDBOOK FOR A’LEVELS ENGLISH LITERATURE, Limbe

South West Province (Region) Cameroon, NOOREMAC PRESS, 1988.

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PARDONER’S PROLOGUE AND TALE, Bamenda Cameroon, STIGMA PRESS

BAMENDA, 2011.

- Suh-Nfor Tangyie Peter and Muwah Cheng Edward, “Geoffrey

Chaucer: The General Prologue and The Pardoner’s Prologue

And Tale”, Advance Level LITERATURE IN ENGLISH Companion, Water Side

Street Bamenda Cameroon, AGWECAMS Publishers, Vol. 1, 2008,

Pg 128-161.

- Microsoft® Encarta® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation.

All rights reserved.