Geo rey Chaucer

Chaucer’s life

•Born about 1343.

•The son of a wine merchant.

•Received a ne education.

•Grew up in close contact with the Royal Family.

•Travelled to Italy where he became interested in Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio

•He travelled extensively as a diplomat.

•Worked as a Controller of the Customs in the Port of London.

•Supported John Wycli e and Lollardy.

•Died in 1400 and was the rst poet to be buried in Westminster Abbey, in Poets’ Corner.

The father of English literature

Why is Chaucer the father of English literature?

•One of the rst English poets to be known by name.

•His language, the dialect of his native London, gradually became standard English, thus
becoming the basis of Modern English.

•He coined about 2,000 words and phrases.

•In his masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales, he was able to give a portrait of the English society of
his time.

Why is Geo rey Chaucer an “amazing mind”?

• Chaucer published the rst book of poetry written in English language.

• By doing so, he gave birth to English literature.

• He transformed English into a vehicle of literary expression and made poetry accessible to
everyone.

• He wrote his poem in ‘heroic couplets’ (ten syllables with an unstressed-stressed pattern), which
became very popular in English poetry after him.

• Chaucer wrote the rst scienti c book in English (A Treatise on the Astrolabe, 1391).

• He is said to have invented St. Valentine’s Day thanks to a poem he wrote for Anne of Bohemia
and Richard II, King of England.
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Chaucer’s three periods

The French Period

- poems modelled on French romance styles and subjects: The Romaunt of the Rose (before
1373) and The Boke of the Duchesse (ca 1369).
- French was the language of the English court at the time
- his poetic models were the allegorical poems on courtly love
The Italian Period

- A greater maturity of perception and skill in the manipulation of the metres. In uenced by
Boccaccio, Dante and Petrarca
- Troilus and Criseyde is a free rendition of Boccaccio’s Filostrato
- It is described as the rst modern work of literature in English
The English Period

- Marked by greater realism; includes his masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales.

The Canterbury Tales

•It is a narrative poem.

•It is told in verse.

•It contains a variety of narrative elements: the setting in time and place, the description of
characters, the use of a narrator (Chaucer persona).

•It has links with the moral views of the time.

•It gives insight into individual characters as regards their lifestyles, their psychology and their
experiences

The story

•Thirty people, including Chaucer as narrator, meet at the Tabard Inn in London.

•They join a pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral and the shrine of Thomas Becket.

•The host of the inn suggests that every pilgrim should 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.

•Chaucer died before nishing his work so the pilgrims never reach Canterbury.

The setting

- Point of departure —> human, who linked to worldly pleasures

- Destination—> Canterbury—> holy, the symbol of celestial city
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The pilgrimage

Why a pilgrimage to Canterbury?

-Canterbury Cathedral is the shrine of Thomas Becket, England’s rst martyr;

-going on a pilgrimage was common in Chaucer’s day;

-people went on a pilgrimage to ask for healing or forgiveness of sins but also to socialise.

-had a strong impact on the building and shipping industries;

-promoted the construction of churches taverns, and inns;

-were a spiritual experience;

-allowed people to come into contact with di erent countries and cultures.

In Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales the pilgrimage is:

-an act of religious devotion;

-a life-changing experience;

-an opportunity for pilgrims to explore the world;

-a chance to embrace the variety and diversity of the universe;

-an allegory of human life;

-a symbol of human timeless journey of discovery;

-an opportunity for pilgrims to socialise and get together.

The frame narrative

A general prologue, where the pilgrims are introduced —> 24 tales

Usually preceded by a prologue, which introduces the theme of the late

Sometimes followed by an epilogue

The style

It is written in rhyming couplets (AABB) made up of a iambic pentameters

Lines with ten syllables = ve feet following the stressed pattern unstressed-stressed

The sound is a similar to a heartbeat (ba BOOM)

Example: and bathed every vein in such liquor

The language

•By the time Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales:

-English had replaced French as the language of education in the local schools;
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-English was becoming the language of government;

-there was a growing demand for literary works in English.

•Chaucer used a literary language shaped by French and Latin models but built upon the old
popular tradition and on a deep knowledge of actual speech.

Characters

•The characters are introduced in the General Prologue.

•They are realistic and dynamic.

•Chaucer describes their appearance, clothes, actions and personality.

•Their names refer to their professions or roles.

•Chaucer uses caricature, irony and satire.

•Chaucer wanted to give a portrait of contemporary English society.

•He portrayed members of the nobility, the clergy and the emerging middle class of merchants
and craftsmen.

•He did not describe the high aristocracy and the peasants.

Chaucer and women

•Chaucer did not follow the social hierarchy of presentation.

•He mixed male and female characters.

•He wanted to underline the importance of women within the emerging middle class.

•He seems to show a real understanding and respect for women.

•Chaucer represents extraordinary and modern female gures.

•One of them is the 'prioress', a re ned woman who loves music and can speak French uently

•Another one is the 'wife of Bath', a 'liberal' woman who defends her freedom and intimidates
men using her power.
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