Geoffrey Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer ( 1343-1400)
Geoffrey Chaucer was a professional courtier, that is someone

who regularly attended the king’s residence and the
government.
Born in London in a family of a rich wine merchant (in other
terms he came from the class of the new wealthy city
gentlemen) he received a good education and for much of his
life he served in the Hundred Years’ war both as a soldier and
as diplomat since he was fluent in French , Italian and he knew
Latin and other languages as well.
For his job he was sent to Italy, where he may have met
Petrarch and became familiar with Dante and Boccaccio.
Chaucer’s works
Chaucer’s works are commonly divided into 3 periods:
1. The French period – highly influenced by the French narrative style ( e.g. “The Book
of the Duchess” an elegy for the wife of his patron : the Duchess of Lancaster)
2.The Italian period where he had the possibility to expand his style thanks to Dante
and Boccaccio
( “The Parliament of Foules” – a comic fable with birds and other animal
“The House of Fame “–a dream vision parodying the convention of courtly period –
“Troilus and Criseyde” a humorous love narrative inspired by Boccaccio’s Il Filostrato )
The English period or the last period of his life mainly occupied with the writing of his
masterpiece: “The Canterbury tales”
The Canterbury Tales (1392-1395)
•
The Canterbury tales is a frame story, that is a tale which
contains other stories within itself. The frame, in this case is
given by the story of a pilgrimage to Canterbury made by 29
pilgrims who meet at The Tabarn Inn in London. They are
journeying to Canterbury to visit the shrines of Thomas Becket and
Chaucer, who is the narrator, arrives at Tabarn Inn while they are
gathering.
The Frame
It is the Host, Harry Bally, who proposes the TALE TELLING
•
COMPETITION as a way of passing the time during the journey .

Every pilgrim has to tell two stories on the way to Canterbury and two
on the way back: the pilgrim who tells the best story will win a free
dinner. There’s a strong allusion to Boccaccio’s Decameron but here the
situation is quite different because the pilgrims have met by chance and
come from different levels of society and they are often rude and
frequently interrupt each other. The tales are both religious and
humorous, moral and satirical.
The General prologue
In the General Prologue the author gives us a brief description of
•
each of the pilgrims by focusing on the details of their clothes

and their physical features as an expression of both their social
status and their individuality.
Chaucer describes these characters in such a vivid way that they
•
become more than stereotypes. I mean that they are different

from the static characters of the medieval ballads. They have
human and individual qualities which emerge from the story
skillfully told by them.
The pilgrims
•
They come from different social classes:
•
The military : e.g. the Knight
•
The clergy: e.g. the Friar, the Nun, The Prioress
The Middle-classes: e.g. The Merchant, the
•
Doctor
•
The trades: e.g. The Carpenter, the Miller
It is important to underline that neither aristocracy nor the poorest
•
class are included in this gallery of human beings.

Themes
•
Love, marriage, corruption , hypocrisy,
chivalry are among the main themes covered in
this tale and they are presented by using two
strong strategies: Irony and Satire. Irony is
when you say something by implying its
opposite, satire is when you ridicule vices and
immorality.
style
Chaucer uses a blend of styles coming from

•
comedy to tragedy, from realism to allegory in a

sort of medieval encyclopedia which reflects like
a mirror different views of the world
Language and form
The language used is the Middle English (1100-1450) a
•
blend of the three languages spoken in England during the

Middle Age: French, Anglo-Saxon and Latin . The language
he creates is a vernacular language that can be compared to
Dante Alighieri’s Italian.
Anyway…by the time Chaucer wrote his poem , there was a
•
strong demand of literary works in English.
The poem is written in lines of 10 syllables (pentameters)

•
with a line rhyme aa-bb-cc

Geoffrey Chaucer

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Geoffrey Chaucer

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Geoffrey Chaucer

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Geoffrey Chaucer ( 1343-1400)

Geoffrey Chaucer was a professional courtier, that is someone

Chaucer’s works are commonly divided into 3 periods:

COMPETITION as a way of passing the time during the journey .

each of the pilgrims by focusing on the details of their clothes

become more than stereotypes. I mean that they are different

class are included in this gallery of human beings.

Chaucer uses a blend of styles coming from

comedy to tragedy, from realism to allegory in a

blend of the three languages spoken in England during the

strong demand of literary works in English.

The poem is written in lines of 10 syllables (pentameters)

with a line rhyme aa-bb-cc

You might also like