James Joyce was known to use scrupulous meanness as his prose style often in his novels and short stories. This means that he doesn't have to use a lot of words to convey his message which is always true and real. Having this in mind, the correct answer is Eveline, because that is a short story written by Joyce and found in his "Dubliners."
Chaucer's descriptions from "The Monk's Tale" which best illustrates Fortune as deceitful is,
"Who then may trust the dice, at Fortune's throw?'
The Monk tale is a series of tragedies which represents the news that the wealth and position is just an illusion. He refers through the example of many falling from high to low ends, such as the example of Lucifer falling from heaven. Through such example and stories, he continues to show the people who have fallen from grace.
Model of tragedies which Monk offers is a Boethian one that is which is a reminder of the versatility of the life itself, to bring on top to those who are crashing down on the grounds and that the tendency of the feminine, whimsical fortune to spin her wheels. Hence, it is a simple narrative and Boethian reminder that high status often ends inadequately.
To understand this phrase you have to analyze it in pieces.
Courtier is a word to describe a person that goes to the court to present, in this case, poetry. The court was the place where the powerful people (kings, princes, queens, royal governors...) of society would go to have a different kind of reunions and presentations.
Middling is a word that was used as a synonym for standard, regular. Here it means that the poet is not particularly bright, not all that talented.
Metaphor because, it’s a phrase being said and has very little meaning. It means that when trying to become “presentable” there isn’t much time for you to think twice of how you look.
