Chaucer was the greatest poet of the Middle Ages, and best remembered as the author of The Canterbury Tales, one of the most important books in the history of English literature.
Life of Geoffrey Chaucer in a Nutshell
Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London c. 1343 into a prosperous wine merchant family. At the age of 16, he took part in a military expedition to France, a part of the Hundred Years' War. He was held prisoner, captured by the French. The English king and Chaucer's friends paid the ransom for his release.
In his late 20s, between 1370 and 1387, Chaucer was sent on diplomatic missions throughout Europe. For this, he gained status and wealth having been granted privileges and incomes by the king. This was also the period of his greatest creativity as he produced most of his best poetry.
Chaucer's Earlier Works of Poetry
During his first trip to Europe, he encountered French Romance literature. It prompted him to translate Romaunt of the Rose. He wrote The Book of the Duchess and later, The House of Fame, both works incorporating a French-style dream sequence.
Before The Canterbury Tales, his best-known work was Troilus and Cressida, a long poem based on a love story told by the Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio.
Caucer's The Canterbury Tales
Chaucer did not begin The Canterbury Tales, regarded his greatest work, until he was in his early 40s. It was left unfinished when he died. The Canterbury Tales is made up of 24 stories told by a group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury Cathedral.
The rhyming verse is written in what is called "Middle English." It is an old form of the language very different from the English used today. The stories are thoughtful, humorous, sometimes rude and moralizing. Many of them were told by other writers of the time. Chaucer's versions have been enjoyed for centuries because of the lasting beauty of his poetry and the colorful depictions of his characters.
Last Words on Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer, although considered the greatest of English Medieval poets, was greatly influenced by contemporaneous French and Italian writers. His poems are remarkable for their narrative sense, humor, and the strength characterization. He died on October 25, 1400, at the age of c. 57.
Works by Geoffrey Chaucer
- The Book of the Duchess, c. 1369
- The House of Fame, c. 1374-85
- The Parliament of Fowls, c. 1380
- Anelida and Arcite, c. 1380
- Palamon, 1380-1386
- Troilus and Cressida, c. 1385
- The Canterbury Tales, c. 1386 onwards
- The Legend of Good Women, c. 1387-94
- Treatise on the Astrolabe
Sources:
- McGovern, Una, Ed. Chambers Biographical Dictionary. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers, 2002.
- Ousby, Ian. The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
- Payne, Tom. The A-Z of Great Writers. London: Carlton, 1997.
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