Geoffrey Chaucer is renowned as one of the most prominent and innovative writers in the history of the English language. He was born in London to a thriving merchant family, gaining an opportunity for education in elite schools. Chaucer learned French, the language of wine trade, while working for his father; whom served him to explore and pursue his love of poetry from a young age (Bleiberg). Over the course of his maturity, he developed remarkable skills to write his own first poems in French. With his family connections within the royal court, Chaucer served under the royal service, while obtaining valuable knowledge by relentlessly reading and analyzing Italian literature and by immersing himself into French poetry (Hacht 2). Geoffrey Chaucer …show more content…
In earlier periods, literature functioned as tool to paint one’s fantasy. Contrarily, Chaucer utilized literature to expose his contemporary society and its values with specific detail. The Canterbury Tales depicts the lifestyles of men and women during Chaucer’s lifetime. It is not only a poetic piece, but contains truthful historical evidence. For example, a pilgrimage is often a common activity practiced by many during the fourteen century (Moss and Wilson). The author tries to give a close illusion to real life to his audience which was lacking in English writing. Furthermore, the themes the writer uses in The Canterbury Tales are ones that many can relate to; such as jealousy, revenge, anger, love and happiness. For instance, in the Knight’s Tale, two knights battle for the same women’s hand in marriage (Moss and Wilson). Most of the audience can relate to this story because many people do crazy things for love. Chaucer’s capacity of including relatable themes in his compositions provides realism in his …show more content…
With his skills and knowledge, Chaucer has constructed the English language from the ground up. His first step consisted of increasing the value of the English language in the fourteen century. After studying French poems and Italian novels for years, he managed to incorporate certain aspects of those languages to improve upon the English language. Moreover, he contributed to versification by choosing the East Midland dialect for the English language. With a great determination and persistence; he caught the attentions of many, with his newly enhanced Middle English. By focusing on realism in his poems, he was one of the first poets who created an opportunity for the audience to connect with his characters. This technique is a powerful tool that took precedent for future poets and authors. Lastly, Chaucer’s humor and personality brought his writings to life in the eyes of his readers. It inspired future writes to include a sense of freshness in their compositions. For all these reasons, Geoffrey Chaucer is vital to both the English Language and its Literature. Without him English wouldn’t be the dominant language it is in today’s society. He is now considered one of the founding father of the English
Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. In the Riverside Chaucer. Larry D. Benson, ed. Boston: Houghton, 1987.
Boardman, Phillip C. "Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343-1400)." Enduring Legacies: Ancient and Medieval Cultures. 6th ed. Boston: Pearson Custom Pub., 2000. 430-54. Print.
Mandell, Jerome. Geoffrey Chaucer : building the fragments of the Canterbury tales. N.J. : Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1992.
Toswell, M.J. "Chaucer's Pardoner, Chaucer's World, Chaucer's Style: Three Approaches to Medieval Literature." College Literature 28.3 (2001): 155. Literature Resource Center. Web. 25 Feb. 2011.
Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales in The Riverside Chaucer. General Ed. Benson, Larry D. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987.
Howard, Donald R. Chaucer: His Life, His Works, His World. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1987.
Chaucer, Geoffrey. “The Canterbury tales: The Prologue”. Our Literary Heritage. Ed. Desmond Pacey. 4th ed. Montreal, Que.: Mcgraw-Hill Ryerson ltd., 1982.
Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed Mack, Maynard et al. W. W. Norton and Co. New York, NY. 1992. 1551-1621.
Chaucer’s book The Canterbury Tales presents a frame story written at the end of the 14th century. It narrates the story of a group of pilgrims who participate in a story-telling contest that they made up to entertain each other while they travel to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. Because of this, some of the tales become particularly attractive for they are written within a frame of parody which, as a style that mocks genre, is usually achieved by the deliberate exaggeration of some aspects of it for comic effect. Chaucer uses parody to highlight some aspects of the medieval society that presented in an exaggerated manner, not only do they amuse the readers, but also makes them reflect on them. He uses the individual parody of each tale to create a satirical book in which the behaviours of its characters paint an ironic and critical portrait of the English society at that time. Thus, the tales turn satirical, ironic, earthy, bawdy, and comical. When analysing the Knight’s and the Miller’s tale, one can realise how Chaucer mocks the courtly love convention, and other social codes of behaviour typical of the medieval times.
What makes Chaucer’s characters so unique and unforgettable is that he cast them outside of these roles. Bordering on the controversial but lightened by his use of humor, his characters...
Written by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the fourteenth century, The Canterbury Tales and more specifically it’s prologue, shed a great deal of light on the rising middle class in (fourteenth century) England. Despite the fact that some readers may not know a lot about the time period today, Chaucer’s writing in the prologue elaborates on topics such as occupations, wealth, education, and political power. Scholar Barbara Nolan writes of the prologue, “it is more complex than most…It raises expectations in just the areas the handbooks propose, promising to take up important matters of natural and social order, moral character, and religion and outlining the organization the work will follow” (Nolan 154). In other words, while noting the distinct complexity of the writing, Nolan points out that Chaucer’s prologue gives the reader a lot to digest when it comes to both background information and overall form of the following writing. Focusing on the background information supplied in the prologue, readers quickly become educated about middle class England in the fourteenth century despite having been born hundreds of years later.
...gerated stories, so Chaucer the author, can use this parodies to satirize medieval society in an innocent but genius way “Be then advised, and hold me free from blame; / Men should not be too serious at a game.” (The Miller’s Tale Prologue). It is through of the eyes of Chaucer the pilgrim, and through his tendency to use propensity long words, double banked adjectives, long, complicated sentences and paragraphs, attractive mannerisms of expression that there parodist features can be identified and then exploit. Chaucer the poet, is therefore a man who takes it upon himself to correct censure and ridicule the follies and vices of society and thus to bring contempt and mockery upon aberrations from a desirable and civilized norm. Thus Chaucer parodies actually convey a protest, a sublimation and refinement of anger and indignation – a satire – of the medieval times.
Chaucer, Geoffrey. "The Project Gutenberg EBook of Troilus and Criseyde." 12 July 2008. Project Gutenberg. Web. 27 November 2013.
As Chaucer wishes to fulfill Horace’s rule of great poetry, as stated Ars Poetica, to both “delight and instruct”, the entertaining changing in narration and implication of morals does just that. In addition to the previously mentioned reasons for preservation, Chaucer’s form of writing and ability to change styles to accurately depict narration allowed his work to stand out in comparison to other English works. When taking this all into context, the need for preservation of The Canterbury Tales is
The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, is recognized as the first book of poetry written in the English language. This is because poetry was often written in Italian or Latin not English, even writers from England wrote in the other languages because English was considered low class and vulgar, but after Chaucer's writings were published they became a recognized and legitimate work. The Canterbury Tales gives modern readers a good judgment of language in the 14th century as it also gives a rich, elaborated tapestry of medieval social life, combining elements of all classes, from nobles to workers, from priests and nuns to drunkards and thieves. The view of the Canterbury Tales being held up as a precise reflection of English society in the 14th century is significantly correct, because they were very attached to the church and beliefs and the way they all act in the Tales shows how they really were a society of the Church.