Chaucer’s Humour

Q. Chaucer’s Humour?
OR
Q. Chaucer Combines Objectivity with Sympathy?

Definition of Humour
Humour means that quality of action, speech, and writing which creates amusement. The true
form of humour is that which makes one laugh only for the sake of pleasure and enjoyment. It does not
hurt one’s feelings nor it pinches or agonizes.

Chaucer’s characteristics as a great Humorist

Chaucer is a great humorist because he loves mankind in spite of its or follies and weaknesses.
Even while he gently unmasks the roguery of the knaves, he fees grateful to them as they give him
pleasure. There is no malice, spite or animosity in his attitude. His attitude is that of benevolence and
tolerance. Even his satire is in the form of tender shafts of irony, which neither hurt nor destroys.
Chaucer may be regarded as the first great English humorist because no English literary work
before his, reveals humour in the modern sense. His humour does not simply raise a simile but also
relieve us from seriousness and gloom. He is a great master of humour and all his writing abound with its
rich variety. Masefield Calls him:
“a great Renaissance gentleman mocking the Middle Ages”
Chaucer possess all the characteristics of a great humorist. Firstly, he has catholicity and
tolerance of spirit which save it from slipping into satire. Secondly, Chaucer has the faculty of humour
which is fed by keen and penetrating observation Finally, Chaucer has a healthy interest in this world an
in life.

Chaucer’s humour essentially English in Character

Chaucer’s is an essentially English humour, as we see is qualities in the works of great English
humorists like Shakespeare and Fielding. It is not the “wit” of the Frenchman. His humour is chiefly
concerned with the people and happenings of everyday life as we see in “The Canterbury Tales”. Some of
the facts are quite trivial in themselves but become amusing because of the way in which they are told
e.g. the Squir’s locks which as if they were laid in press:
“ With lokkes cruller, as they were leyed in presse”
Similarly, the hat of the Wife of the Bath weighing 10 lbs.
“Hir coverchief ful fine weren ground
I dorste swere they weyeden ten pounds”
The Reeve’s thin legs, the Franklin’s weakness for sharp sauce etc. In these and other instances, we
see the comic quality of amused observation.

Chaucer’s humour: Sympathetic and Objective

Chaucer’s humour is without any sting, he is always sympathetic, except in his handling the Monk
and the Friar. He makes us appreciate a character even when laughing at it. His humour is not of satirical
kind. As compared to the Langland, who attacks the Church with keen and telling thrust, Chaucer
exposes the corruption of the Church with good humoured laugh. Moreover, Chaucer makes fu more of
the individual than of the institution. The genial sympathy saves the Chaucer not only from bitterness, but
also from bias. Satire is born of indignation.
Langland’s picture of evil does not reflect the real state of affairs, while on the other hand, it is
faithfully mirrored in Chaucer. Therefore, he is an objective humourist, a better realist than an indignant
satirist.

Chaucer’s humour for man and humanity

Chaucer is essentially the poet of man and is intensely interested in his affairs. Chaucer humour
leads him to be the poet of man and humanity. He ha large humanity and good-humoured tolerance for
man. He has no disdain for fools and no disgust for rascals. While gently unmasking the roguery of
rogues, he is grateful to them for the pleasure they give. He loves to dwell on their funny traits, looks at
their pranks and tricks with amused delight –all these make him a great humourist.

Chaucer’s many sided humour

Chaucer’s humour is many sided. Humour can be used in a broad as well as limited sense. In the
narrow sense, it means a gentle mirth. In the broader sense, it stands for boisterous humour, intellectual
humour (wit) and bitter humour (satire). Chaucer works reflect all these different types of humour. E.Alber
has beautiful expresses the many-sided humour of Chaucer: “In the literature of his time, when so few
poets seem to have any perception of the fun in life, the humour of Chaucer is invigorating and
delightful” For example, his humour is kind as in the case of the Clerk of Oxford, broad and semi-farcical
as in the Wife of the Bath, pointedly satirical as in the Pardoner and the Summoner.

Chaucer’s humour is spontaneous ( natural )

Chaucer’s humour is natural and spontaneous. If is because of his peculiar way of looking at
things, as the bent of his mind is essentially humorous. His humour is not the result of deliberate,
calculated effort, but it is spontaneous expression of his inner self. Therefore, it has unmistakable marks
of ease, spontaneity, naturalness and effortlessness. In the words of Walter Raleigh “his joy is chronic
and irrepressible”. The Canterbury Tales radiates with the natural joy that Chaucer felt in writing it.

Impartiality and Tolerance in Chaucer’s humour

 In the whole company of the prologue to the canter bury tales there are those that are good and
those others that are bad, the later more in number than former. But Chaucer’s attitude to them is neither
that of unruffled and quiet objectivity nor of partnership. Guided by his sense of humour, Chaucer
observes everything and records each detail with smiling eyes, slightly emphasizing one aspect here or
another there, in order to evoke in the reader that psychological state which makes him laugh without any
malice. To quote Legouis : “He is entirely patient with, ney he accepts with a smile the imperfection
of humanity”.
Tolerance, indulgence and capacity for enjoying life are the mainsprings of Chaucer’s humour.
The result is that the portraits he draws become true to life, interesting and enjoyable as life always is, to
those whose hearts have not been dried up by the apparently dull and boring routine of life.
Humour for the sake of humour; humour is the medium of Chaucer artistic expressions. Chaucer
is never a serious satirist. His aim is primarily to entertain his readers. His aim is never to be a moralist or
a preacher. He observes his age sympathetically and humorously. Chaucer does not specifically and
directly criticize any institution of his age. He is a poet who explores the theme of the individual’s relation
to society.

Conclusion

Chaucer’s humour is the outcome of a generous sympathy and broad-mindedness. These

excellences are imitated by the greatest English humorist like Shakespeare and Fielding. Critics may be
divided in opinion as to Chaucer’s right to be called the father of English poetry, but there can be no
question that he is first great English humorist.