The Nun’s Priest’s Tale, in the Book The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer, is a short fable told by the priest, to warn his listeners about flattery. The author uses negative rhetoric in the beginning of the story to describe the widow that owns the farm and her daughters. Chaucer goes on to use other literary devices like vivid imagery when introducing the rooster and the hen to the story. He goes on to include various different allusions and metaphors to help the reader grasp the events that the priest is revealing to the listeners.
In the beginning of the story the priest describes the widow as poor and old. He goes on to tell us that she lives in a small, melancholy cottage. By using the words “poor”, “old”, and “melancholy” the priest leads us to believe that the widow lived an unhappy life. The speaker goes on to reveal the rooster that the widow owned.
“He crowed so well there could be no improvement. His comb was redder than fine …show more content…
While he does this the author tells the reader of fox nearby in the garden waiting for the rooster to come outside. He compares the fox to the trojan horse. This Allusion to the Trojans tells us that the fox is a false assassin. The fox will befriend the rooster using flattery while secretly pursuing his lethal plan. When the rooster comes out to crow, the fox tells him that he has the most beautiful voice that he has ever heard, and that he has no intentions of harming someone with such a beautiful voice. The rooster is lulled into a false sense of security, closes his eyes and begins to sing. As he does this the fox leaps for his throat and carries and carries him off over his back. The roosters first thought are of his wife, Pertelote's words. He compares her council to that of Eve when she offered Adam the fruit and they are both condemned to death. Out of grief Pertelote sets herself on