Tale of Sir Thopas

E951992

Tale of Sir Thopas is a deliberately comic, burlesque romance in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales that parodies chivalric adventure narratives through exaggerated clichés and doggerel verse.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
Tale of Sir Thopas canonical 2
The Tale of Sir Thopas 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Canterbury Tale ⓘ
Middle English poem ⓘ
burlesque romance ⓘ
literary parody ⓘ
approximateDateOfComposition late 14th century ⓘ
author Geoffrey Chaucer ⓘ
contains catalogues of clothing and equipment ⓘ
invocation of the Virgin Mary ⓘ
mock battle preparations ⓘ
countryOfOrigin England ⓘ
featuresCharacter Sir Thopas ⓘ
the giant Sir Olifaunt ⓘ
featuresMotif quest for an elf-queen ⓘ
followedBy The Tale of Melibee ⓘ
form narrative poem ⓘ
frameCollection tales told on the road to Canterbury ⓘ
genre comic romance ⓘ
parody of chivalric romance ⓘ
includedIn most major manuscripts of The Canterbury Tales ⓘ
interruptedBy the Host ⓘ
language Middle English ⓘ
literaryPeriod Middle Ages ⓘ
literarySignificance early example of parodying romance conventions ⓘ
illustrates Chaucer’s self-caricature as a poet ⓘ
meter tail-rhyme stanza ⓘ
narrativeFrameSpeaker Chaucer (pilgrim) ⓘ
linked to: Chaucer the pilgrim
narrativeMode third-person narration ⓘ
narrativeStatus interrupted tale ⓘ
notableManuscript Ellesmere manuscript of The Canterbury Tales ⓘ
originalLanguage Middle English ⓘ
parodies chivalric adventure narratives ⓘ
courtly romance conventions ⓘ
partOf The Canterbury Tales ⓘ
protagonist Sir Thopas ⓘ
rhymeScheme tail-rhyme (aabccb, etc.) ⓘ
setting Flanders ⓘ
structure series of short tail-rhyme stanzas ⓘ
style deliberately clumsy ⓘ
heavily clichéd ⓘ
targetOfSatire metrical romances popular in late medieval England ⓘ
theme critique of bad versification ⓘ
mockery of chivalric ideals ⓘ
satire of popular romance ⓘ
tone comic ⓘ
mock-heroic ⓘ
verseForm doggerel verse ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Chaucer the pilgrim → tellsTale → Tale of Sir Thopas ⓘ
The Tale of Melibee → contrastWith → The Tale of Sir Thopas ⓘ
linked to: Tale of Sir Thopas