‘The Merchants Tale is full of destructive wit and farcical, popular humour.’
In the light of this comment consider the variety humour in the merchant’s tale.
The coupling of obscenity with literary art, which thus enables the discourse of poetry to become the object of satire, is, as critic David in 1976 states, the point of the Merchant’s Tale. The variety of humour throughout the tale distinguishes Chaucer as the ventriloquist and ‘artist-at-play’, which enables him to distance himself from the characters, yet still clearly ‘pulling the strings’, so he is free to tell a bawdy tale of explicit sex. Such humour is established through the elevated style of language and use of imagery, but most importantly irony, within the tale.
Sustained irony is present throughout the tale, in particular when concerning January’s opinion of marriage. The sceptical report of his ‘so wis’ opinion undermines the credibility of his argument. January’s foolish blindness in which believes that a young woman would enjoy the sexual prowess of an old man is ironic as he later becomes physically blind, and cannot enjoy the ‘fresshe beautee’ of May. January’s ‘Heigh fantasye’ about marriage to May is undermined through the tone in which it is described and the context in which it is set. The biblical references presented are made next to an overtly carnal or profane statement, making it ironic. Irony is also used through insinuation, as the sacred, most meaningful core vales of the marriage are glossed over during the ceremony and the January’s anticipation for the wedding night is seen as the climax of the wedding.
Chaucer draws attention to the worst in human behaviour within the tale, and continually highlights his character’s negative attributes as a form of slapstick comedy. This ‘popular’ humour is made through vividly clear sexual descriptions, as even the Merchant apologises for his blunt imagery, claiming he is a ‘rude’ man. The scene in the pear tree when May and...