The Canterbury Tales ( ) by Geoffrey Chaucer

GEOFFERY CHAUCER

Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?-1400) An English author, poet, philosopher, bureaucrat, courtier and diploma One of the greatest narrative poet of English Father of the English poetry, who made a crucial contribution to English literature in using English at a time when much court poetry was still written in Anglo-Norman or Latin.

Course of Chaucer’s Life In 1357, he served as a page to Elizabeth, Countess of Ulster, from which he learned the ways of court and the use of arms. In 1359–1360 he was with the army of Edward III in France, where he was captured by the French but ransomed. In 1373 Chaucer traveled to Picardy as part of a military expedition, and visited Genoa and Florence.

In 1378, Richard II sent Chaucer as an envoy dispatch to the Visconti and to Sir John Hawkwood, English condottiere in Milan. From 1374 on he held a number of official positions, among them comptroller of customs on furs, skins, and hides for the port of London (1374–1386) and clerk of the king's works (1389–1391). Chaucer dead on Oct. 25, He was buried in Westminster Abbey (an honor for a commoner), in what has since become the Poets' Corner.

The first period includes his early work (to 1370), which is based largely on French models. The second period (up to c.1387) is called his Italian period. The final period, in which he achieved his fullest artistic power, belongs his masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales (written mostly after 1387).

The Canterbury Tales -----one of the most famous works in all literature----

General Prologue [slide Ⅰ ] ----outline of the story on a spring evening, the poet drops in the Tabard Inn, where he meets 29 other pilgrims all ready for a journey of 60 miles to Canterbury. Because of the long and tedious journey, the host of the Inn suggests that they should color the journey by telling stories. And the best story-teller should be treated with a fine meal at the cost of all the rest. The pilgrims are 30 in all including the poet. Therefore according to the plan, there should have been 120 stories altogether. But only 24 tales were written due to the author’s death in 1400.

General Prologue [slide Ⅱ ] However, incomplete as these stories are, they cover practically the whole major literary genres in medieval Europe,such as: chivalric, folk tales, legends, legendary epic sagas, beast fables, mythology, moral allegories, etc.

Function of General Prologue 1. Present a vivid collection of character sketches. 2. Reveal the author’ s intention in bringing together a great variety of people and narrative material together. 3. Set the tone for the story-telling: grateful acceptance of life; make clear the plan for the tales; motivate the telling of several tales; introduce the pilgrims, the time and occasion of the pilgrimage.

Features of The Canterbury Tales It covers a wide range of characters from nearly every walk of life—from the top of society to the bottom in the England of that time..

Three Basic “Classes” The Fighting / Noble class: knight squire Etc. The Praying / Church class: monk prioress Etc. The Working class: merchant haberdasher carpenter weaver tapestry-maker franklin miller Etc.

Sources No other work prior to Chaucer's is known to have set a collection of tales within the framework of pilgrims on a pilgrimage. However,Chaucer borrowed portions of his stories from earlier stories, and his work was influenced by the general state of the literary world in which he lived. Storytelling was the main entertainment in England at the time, and storytelling contests had been around for hundreds of years. The winner received a crown and, as with the winner of the Canterbury Tales, a free dinner.

Source [continued] and Style: Framing Device In Italy, Chaucer met writer Giovanni Boccaccio, and it is believed Chaucer got his inspiration for the Canterbury Tales from Bocaccio’s Decameron. Both use a framing device within the tales. Chaucer’s frame is a religious pilgrimage during which each traveler is to tell two tales going and two tales upon his or her return.

Genre and Structure Canterbury Tales falls into the same category or genre as many other works of its day as a collection of stories organized into a frame narrative or frame tale. Chaucer's Tales differed from other stories in this genre chiefly in its intense variation. Most story collections focused on a theme, usually a religious one. Even in the Decameron, storytellers are encouraged to stick to the theme decided on for the day. The idea of a pilgrimage appears to have been a useful device to get such a diverse collection of people together for literary purposes, and was also unprecedented.

Style: Historical context and themes The time of the writing of The Canterbury Tales was a turbulent time in English history. The Catholic Church was in the midst of the Great Schism and, though it was still the only Christian authority in Europe, was the subject of heavy controversy. An early English religious movement led by John, is mentioned in the Tales, as is a specific incident involving pardoners (who gathered money in exchange for absolution from sin) who claimed to be collecting for hospital in England. The Canterbury Tales is among the first English literary works to mention paper, a relatively new invention which allowed dissemination of the written word never before seen in England.

Style: Religion The Tales reflect much of the religious world of Chaucer's time. After the Black Death, many Europeans had begun to question the authority of the Catholic Church in various ways. Some chose less extreme paths, starting new monastic orders or smaller movements exposing church corruption in the behavior of the clergy, false church relics or sale of indulgences (payment for forgiveness of sins). Several characters in the Tales are religious figures, and the very nature of the pilgrimage to Canterbury is deeply religious, making this a outstanding theme of the work.

Style: Social class and convention The Tales constantly reflect the conflict between classes. Most of the tales are interlinked by common themes, and some "quit" (reply to or retaliate against) other tales. Convention is followed when the Knight begins the game with a tale, as he represents the highest social class in the group. But when he is followed by the Miller, who represents a lower class, it sets the stage for the Tales to reflect both a respect for and a disregard for upper class rules.

The social significance Chaucer gives us a true-to-life picture of the society of his time. He affirms man and opposes the dogma of asceticism preached by the church. As a forerunner of humanism, he praises man’s energy, intellect, wit and love of life. His tales expose and satirize the evils of his time.

Length of Trip, Condition of Road, and Safety In Chaucer's day, a leisurely journey to Canterbury on horseback probably took three to five days, with stops at inns along the way. April rains probably made the dirt road connecting Southwark and Canterbury muddy in spots with water pooling in holes and ruts. Robbers were a constant danger on rural roads. However, armed pilgrims traveling in a large group, like those in The Canterbury Tales, probably were safe from marauders.

The Martyr: Thomas à Becket Thomas Becket (also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London,and later Thomas à Becket; circa 1118 – 29 December 1170) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Catholic Church. He engaged in conflict with Henry II of England over the rights and privileges of the Church and was murdered by followers of the king in Canterbury Cathedral. Soon after his death, he was canonized by Pope Alexander III.

Contribution by the author Chaucer’s poetry is plainly narrative. Everything is based on reality.Chaucer’s language,now called Middle English,is vivid and exact. He is a master of word –pictures. His verse is among the smoothest in English. Hardly a single word will offer difficulties to a man of sufficient reading in modern English. Repetition with variation is redundant.

Chaucer’s contribution to English poetry lies chiefly to the fact that he introduced from France the rhymed stanzas of various types, especially the rhymed couplet of iambic pentameter (which would later be called later the “heroic couplet”) to English poetry, instead of the old Anglo-Saxon alliterative verse..