Technique and Argumentation in The Complaint of Chaucer to his Purse Isabel Emma Kay College

In Complaint to His Purse, Chaucer employs a variety of poetic devices to construct a parody of the traditional medieval romantic lyric. He uses a combination of imagery and strict rhyme to evoke the romantic, while his use of hyperbole, word play and satire reveals the poem as distinctly whimsical and comedic. However, Complaint to His Purse is not merely a satire of medieval courtly love, but a plea, addressed to newly-crowned King Henry IV, an attempt to persuade him to restore the poet’s annuity. Not only do the poem’s formal and linguistic devices serve to craft a satire of medieval romance, but they also function as persuasive rhetorical devices, intent on convincing the King to secure Chaucer’s finances. This essay will explore how Chaucer uses formal and linguistic devices to capture, and then parody the medieval romantic lyric form, and how these same devices are manipulated to create a persuasive argument.

Chaucer uses linguistic devices like hyperbole, simile and metaphor, and word play to capture, and then parody, the romantic lyric form. The poem opens with metaphor, as Chaucer writes, “To you, my purs (...),/ ye be my lady dere”, the purse takes the role of the desirable lady. This direct address to a “lady”...