Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer
Biography
❖ He was born in 1340 in London
❖ 17 years later he became a public servant to Countess Elizabeth of Ulster and continued in
that capacity with the British Court throughout his lifetime
❖ The Canterbury Tales became his most acclaimed work ,considered one of the greatest
poetic works in English
❖ He died in October 25, 1400 in London, England
Characteristics of his work:
MORAL
How can we describe him?
He is also a reformer,
He is a genial observer
but he is foremost a
of mankind, a
celebrator of life who
storyteller, as well as a
comments shrewdly on
satirist, one whose
human absurdities
satire is usually
while being, at the
without real bite
same time, a lover of
mankind.
Chaucer’s influence on English
Literature
He wrote in Middle English and his work has marked a major transition
between the scanty remnants of Anglo-Saxon epic and early religious
poetry and the development of a modern English poetic corpus.
He helped found the English vernacular tradition
During the fourteenth century, French and Latin were viewed as more
sophisticated and more permanent than English.
And Chaucer proved that
literature written in English could
be every bit as beautiful,
enjoyable, complex, and profound
as literature written in a
supposedly “better” language.
His work indirectly
contributed to the
creation of English
language dictionaries
However, people today do more than just read Chaucer’s work – many deeply enjoy it. Full of emotion, wit,
social critiques, and a surprising number of fart jokes, works like The Canterbury Tales and Troilus and
Criseyde enchant audiences today.
Chaucer scholarship is a substantial academic field, but even
beyond that, fans of Chaucer have fun playing with his
identity, language, and writing.