Geoffrey Chaucer was born in 1340 in London and held various jobs as a royal messenger, customs official, and forester. He was influenced by Italian authors like Boccaccio during trips to Italy. Chaucer wrote in Middle English using styles like allegory and satire. His most famous work is The Canterbury Tales, left unfinished at his death, which features pilgrims telling stories on a journey to Canterbury Cathedral.
Geoffrey Chaucer was born in 1340 in London and held various jobs as a royal messenger, customs official, and forester. He was influenced by Italian authors like Boccaccio during trips to Italy. Chaucer wrote in Middle English using styles like allegory and satire. His most famous work is The Canterbury Tales, left unfinished at his death, which features pilgrims telling stories on a journey to Canterbury Cathedral.
Geoffrey Chaucer was born in 1340 in London and held various jobs as a royal messenger, customs official, and forester. He was influenced by Italian authors like Boccaccio during trips to Italy. Chaucer wrote in Middle English using styles like allegory and satire. His most famous work is The Canterbury Tales, left unfinished at his death, which features pilgrims telling stories on a journey to Canterbury Cathedral.
Geoffrey Chaucer was born in 1340 in London and held various jobs as a royal messenger, customs official, and forester. He was influenced by Italian authors like Boccaccio during trips to Italy. Chaucer wrote in Middle English using styles like allegory and satire. His most famous work is The Canterbury Tales, left unfinished at his death, which features pilgrims telling stories on a journey to Canterbury Cathedral.
Chaucer’s Works Two Big Historical Events PART 1 Early Life of Chaucer Born in 1340 Son of a prosperous wine merchant (middle class) In mid teens, he was placed in the service of the Countess of Ulster so he could obtain more education and be schooled in court and society life Learned Latin, French and Italian equipping him for diplomatic and civil service as well as enabled him to translate literary works in all three languages In 1359 he was captured by the French at the siege of Reims during the Hundred Years' War while serving in English army; he was ransomed by King Edward III a year later showing he was a court favorite.
Chaucer joined the royal
household and became a trusted messenger and minor diplomat As a Royal Massenger
Chaucer was frequently sent to the
continent on secret business for the King. Some of these trips were to Italy where he became acquainted with the works of the greatest Italian authors of the early Renaissance period: Boccaccio, Dante, Petrarch Other Jobs of Chaucer Controller of Customs on Wools, Skins and Hides for the Port of London ◦ Here he met many types of businessmen, sailors, travelers city folk and common laborers. Clerk of the King’s Works ◦ While in charge of construction and repairs affecting the royal residences, he met many guildsmen as well as court officials. Deputy Forester of the King’s Forests ◦ Away from the city, he met peasants, foresters, local clergy and other country folk Representative of the Shire of Kent in Parliament ◦ He met the rich, the influential and the upper middle class as well as the higher ranking church officials. Died of unknown causes – murder suspected.
Chaucer was one of the first writers to be
buried in the Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey. Foto Poets’ Corner PART 2
Chaucer’s Writing Style
Most scholars still wrote in Latin OR French Old English lacked sophistication and had a limited vocabulary Only local stories and ballads written in English He wrote in the language of the commoners Now known as Middle English Allegory: A story in which the character, settings, and events stand for abstract or moral concepts. It has a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning. Popular in the Middle Ages. Satire: a way of criticizing something such as a group of people or a system, in which the writer deliberately make them seem funny so that people will see their faults. Rhythmic pattern: he introduced the iambic pentameter. Lack of alliteration Best known for writing The Canterbury Tales, but also produced several other works PART 3 Chaucer’s Works
The French Period
The Italian Period
The English Period
The French Period The French period is basically a period of apprenticeship. It was in the influence of the French masters that he learned classical restraint, a taste for the good things of life and to be witty rather than satiric.
His popular work in this period is The
Book of Duchess, —a lengthy allegory on the death of Blanche, the wife of his powerful patron. The Italian Period The Italian period of Chaucer’s career dates from 1372 when Chaucer was on a trip to Italy and possibly came into personal contact with the great Italian masters. From Boccaccio he borrowed freely ―with a royal bettering in the borrowing.‖ Troilus and Cressyde, a masterpiece, has been taken bodily from the Filostrato, though abundant additions and omissions make the work entirely Chaucer’s own. While in the Italian poem the stress is largely on passion, Chaucer is more concerned with the study of character. The English Period The last period of Chaucer’s poetic career extending from 1384 to 1390 is known as the English period. Instead of being simply imitative, he becomes independent, relying upon himself completely. The greatest work of this period, The Canterbury Tales. Although the work was never completed, The Canterbury Tales is considered one of the greatest works in the English language
The narrator meets 29 pilgrims at the Tabard Inn in
London and travels with them to the shrine of St.Thomas Becket in Canterbury. The host of the inn suggests that each pilgrim should tell two stories while going to Canterbury and two on the way back: whoever can tell the best tale wins a dinner at the inn when they get back, courtesy of the other travelers.
