In The Wife of Bath's Tale, Chaucer uses many rhetorical devices, or techniques that authors or speakers use to convey to the listener or reader a meaning with the goal of persuading him or her towards considering a topic from a different perspective. The topic that Chaucer was trying to convince his audiences to having a new perspective on was the matter of women and their rights in society. The traditional view of women was that they were domesticated people who shouldn’t have rights, much of a say in anything, or an education. Their purpose was to get married young, have a lot of children, and stay home to take care of their children and the household, while their husbands were at work. Chaucer uses many rhetorical devices some of them being similes, allusions, and alliteration.
Alliteration refers to a repetition of a particular sound in the first syllables of a series of words and/or phrases. Examples of this in the text are: “fair fame” and “liege lady.” Using alliteration in one’s work will give it a rhythm, a lyrical edge; a nudge in the direction of music, and it will call attention to specific sections in the work. Rhythm is used throughout Chaucer’s work. Another rhetorical device used is allusion. Allusions are a figure of speech that makes a reference to, or representation of, a place, event, literary work, or myth. In this case, an allusion is made to King Arthur, “now in the olden days of King Arthur, Of whom the Britons speak with great honor.” (30) King Arthur was a legendary British leader of the late fifth and early sixth centuries. Allusions help the audience relate and understand something better because it’s something that most of the audience would be familiar with, so it’s easier for Chaucer to get his idea across. An allusion to Ovid’s tale of Midas is also made. “Ovid, among some other matters small, Said Midas had beneath his long curled hair, Two ass's ears that grew in secret there. ’’
Another rhetorical device Chaucer uses is a simile. A simile is a figure of speech that indirectly compares two different things by employing the words "like", "as", or "than". A simile used in the Tale is, “Here was but heaviness and grievous sorrow; For privately he wedded on the morrow, And all day, then, he hid him like an owl; So sad he was, his old wife looked so foul.’’( 226-227) This simile compares the Knight to an owl. The Knight basically hid from his wife to be all day. As does an owl hide all day, for they are nocturnal and only come out at night.
