Romance and Satire in the Tales of Chaucer

The attitude toward sexual love expressed in "The Reeve's Tale" of Chaucer's fabliau tale and the attitude expressed in a chivalric romance, such as "The Knight's Tale" are extremely different. The relationships between the attitude toward love displayed in the tales and the narrative devices of the tales are very contrasting. The differences are expressed through the varying manner that love is expressed, the roles of women, and the categorizing of social classes. The expression …

…a result of these receptive narrative devices, the relationships between the attitude toward love displayed in the tales become apparent. By way of differentiating love, classifying social status, the prospect of women, and the literary tactics utilized the relationship between these two tales is clearly expressed. "The Knight's Tale" and "The Reeve's Tale" are perfect models to illustrate the two extremes of love during the romantic period of history and even into the modern day.