Satire intends to mock social rules and customs the author finds ludicrous or even harmful. Chaucer's work is packed with satire of medieval society, from the church to the ruling classes.
While the satire in "The Knight's Tale" is not as biting as the satire in "The Miller's Tale" or "The Pardoner's Tale," it is nevertheless a critique of the idea of chivalry. The tale involves two knights, Palamon and Arcite, who go to great lengths to win the hand of a fair maiden, the Princess Emily. Their fight for love seems more like a farce than a romantic tale.
There are comical little touches which make the knights seem foolish. For example, when Palamon first sees Emily from his prison, he moans loudly enough to awaken his friend, who after being awakened, also sees and falls in love with Emily. Another humorous touch is that Emily is not enamored with either knight and prays to the goddess Diana to either stay single or marry someone she actually loves.
An interesting interpretation of the satire is that the knight is intentionally satirizing his own class. Though he is the noblest member of the pilgrims, he dresses simply and never appears arrogant. Perhaps the story is his way of sharing his own criticism of the chivalric code knights were expected (but historically, rarely ever did) abide by.
Satire is the use of irony, humor, exaggeration, or parody to ridicule, expose, or criticize vices and shortcomings in politics or popular culture at large. In Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer makes masterful use of satire to disparage many of the leading institutions of his day. Particularly in the “Knight’s Tale,” Chaucer mocks the hypocrisy of the code of chivalry by which a knight is supposed to (yet often fails to) live. The ongoing, unwinnable battle between Palamon and Arcite to gain the unattainable love of Emelye reveals the absurdity and ultimate disappointment of strict adherence to the chivalrous mores. Both knights are presented as model exemplars of chivalry, battling and dueling and courting love within the accepted codes of honor; however, both embarrass themselves on multiple occasions, and neither is rewarded with the prize of Emelye’s hand in marriage. In the end, there is no winner and everyone is left unsatisfied.
https://owlcation.com/humanities/Canterbury-Tales-as-an-Estates-Satire
The chivalric code was considered very important in Chaucer's day. Those men who chose to live by the code were expected to adhere to exemplary standards of personal conduct and moral rectitude. Not surprisingly, many failed to live up to what was expected of them, and it's this failure that Chaucer ably satirizes in "The Knight's Tale."
Here, as elsewhere in The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer's satire is gently mocking, rather than destructive. He isn't so much attacking the whole concept of chivalry per se, so much as attacking the absurd lengths that some men will go to in trying to live up to its code of conduct. Indeed, one could argue that if the system of chivalry weren't working, then it wouldn't be possible to judge the actions of Arcite and Palamon and find them wanting. Both men lose their heads over the beautiful damsel Emelye, and it's this specific aspect of chivalry—the tradition of courtly love—that is the main butt of Chaucer's satire. Arcite and Palamon become so obsessed with fulfilling the ideal of courtly love that they casually disregard other—arguably more important—aspects of the knightly code, such as fidelity to oaths.
The Knight's Tale, as well as all of the other Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, is full of subtle satire. The best examples of satire in this tale come from the knight's story of Palomon and Arcite, two knights who are excessively chivalrous, and it is this excessiveness that Chaucer employs to satirize the role of the knight in medieval society.
The tone of the story is grand, as if the knight were telling an epic about immortal heroes and their conquests. This tone is humorous because Palomon and Arcite are not heroes deserving of such grand treatment. The knight's story is a parody of chivalry because though Palomon and Arcite are both ideal knights who embody all the best qualities of a knight, they break their code of brotherhood when they both seek the love of Emily. Their excessive chivalrousness and the excessive tone of the tale in general contribute to Chaucer's satirical message that the medieval perceptions of knighthood and chivalry may all be just a little bit ridiculous.
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