Chaucer was also in charge of typical diplomatic matters between countries, such as military strategy, foreign policy, and economics. Here, he was introduced to many new things such as medieval Italian poetry and different forms of writing that would have a profound influence on his literary style. During these missions, Chaucer came into contact and built relationships with many important people such as Boccaccio. During the 1370s, Chaucer went on many diplomatic missions to places all around Europe, such as Flanders, Italy, and France. Around these years, Chaucer carried many different job titles, including chief-of-mission, yeoman, valet de chambre, and esquire. Many believe the pair had three or four children, however, the exact number is unknown. He accompanied the English army in their invasion of France under the leadership of Edward III but was caught and taken hostage in 1359 however, Edward liked Geoffrey so much that he paid a considerable ransom to bring him back.īy 1366, Geoffrey found the love of his life, his future wife, a high-born woman by the name of Philippa, and married her. Here, he received the necessary courtly education to advance his career and likely influence his writing style in the years ahead. Through these connections, Geoffrey soon found himself employed by the upper classes and began his career in 1357 working as a member of the household of Elizabeth, Countess of Ulster. His father, John Chaucer, was a vintner or winemaker, who sold his wares to royalty and other aristocrats of the royal court. Chaucer was born in London, around 1343 CE into a family of merchants. Widely regarded as one of the greatest literary works ever written, The Canterbury Tales is the seminal work written by “The father of English literature,” Geoffrey Chaucer.
Iambic pentameter aided the legitimization of writing this work in English because similar meters were used for Romance language poetry. This delicate pattern may have been lost in translation but it can be observed in the Middle English version included below – and is best understood if read aloud. The poem is written in iambic pentameter five sets of unstressed and stressed syllable pairs per line (“The Canterbury Tales: Meter”). Many credit him with popularizing Middle English as a literary language, due to the popularity of the story. Both these events are reflected in Chaucer’s writing, as many of the pilgrims come from different social classes and occupations, highlighting their varying perspectives on English society at the time. Although writing in French or Latin was the norm at the time (as it was the language of the court and the church), Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales in Middle English, the vernacular of the time period (“Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales” ). The Black Death (bubonic plague) swept through the country in the 1340s and increasing tax prices, combined with a growing wealth gap, culminated in the Peasants’ Revolt in 1381 (Sinead, et al). Written in 14th-century England, The Canterbury Tales strongly reflects the political instability of the country in that period. Due to this, only 24 of the pilgrims’ stories were completed and the return journey from Canterbury is not included in the work (“The Canterbury Tales”). Sadly, The Canterbury Tales remained unfinished at Chaucer’s death in 1400.
Written almost entirely in verse (though there are shorter prose sections as well), each pilgrim was planned to tell four stories, two for the trip to the shrine and two for the trip back, totaling about 120 stories. The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, is a collection of stories told by a group of pilgrims as they travel from London to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket. 27 Geoffrey Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales
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