The Canterbury Tales is a collection of 24 stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. Chaucer's long poem follows the journey of a group of pilgrims, 31 including Chaucer himself, from the Tabard Inn in Southwark to St Thomas à Becket's shrine at Canterbury Cathedral.

1. Geoffrey Chaucer
1340-1400
The Canterbury Tales
(A Critical Evaluation)
By- Dr. Anukriti Sharma

2. ChauCer’s Life in a GLanCe
 Geoffrey Chaucer, the son of John Chaucer, a wine
merchant of London, was born about 1340.
His father was connected with the royal family perhaps
as purveyor of wine and Chaucer himself became at
seventeen a page to the page to the wife of the Duke of
Clarence, third son of Edward III.
Two years later he went to the French wars where he
was taken prisoner and was ransomed by the King
himself.
After his return he was appointed Valet of the King’s
chamber.
He married to Philippa and had a son named Lewis to
whom he dedicated his Treatise on the Astrolabe.
Edward III

3. ChauCer’s Life in a GLanCe
Not much is known of his wife, Philippa, who is believed to
have been sister to the wife of John of Lancaster, his great
patron.
Philippa is said to have died in 1387.
From about 1370 when he was thirty to 1378 he was
employed on diplomatic missions to France and Italy. About
this time he was a member of Parliament for Kent and also
held the office of comptroller of Customs in the port of
London.
In addition he was granted a pension and was generally
prosperous throughout life except for a brief spell during the
disgrace of John of Gaunt under Richard II.
He died in 1400 and was buried in Poet’s corner
Westminster Abbey.
Philippa Roet
Richard II.
Westminster Abbey

4. Father of English Literature
 Geoffrey Chaucer, the first national poet of
England, had the rare distinction of having
lived through the reigns of three English
monarchs.
 Geoffrey Chaucer widely considered the
greatest English poet of the Middle Ages, he is
best known for “The Canterbury Tales”.
 He has been called the "father of English
literature", or, alternatively, the "father of
English poetry".

5. The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, the
masterpiece by Geoffrey Chaucer, reveals the
he was much more than a man of letters and
a student. He had served himself in war and
diplomacy. He was a courtier and official,
and a politician. In the course of his life he
had opportunity to come in contact with men
of all classes and in several countries. The
result of this varied experience can be seen
in his ‘The Canterbury Tales’.

6. Geoffrey Chaucer; The Canterbury Tales
Geoffrey Chaucer, from the 15th-century
Ellesmere manuscript of The Canterbury Tales.
Canterbury Tales is written in Middle
English.
It was written around 1386-1395.
The original copies of Canterbury Tales
were printed in 1477.
Chaucer was supposed to write 120 tales,
but he only wrote 20 tales.
The pilgrimage happened in the late
fourteenth century.
Including Chaucer they were 31
pilgrims.
Some facts about Canterbury Tales

7. The main purpose of the pilgrims was
to visit the Canterbury Cathedral
where the shrine of Saint Thomas
Becket was located.
The winning prize for the story
telling contest among the group of the
pilgrims to get a free meal at Tabard
Inn at Southwark.
Some facts about Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Cathedral ,Shrine of Saint Thomas Becket
The Tabard (Tablot) Inn at Southwark, London

8. The Narrator is an anonymous member of the
pilgrimage.
Each of the characters express different views of
reality.
It is written in the past tense.
Some facts about Canterbury Tales
John Lydgate
The tales of Chaucer were praised John Lydgate and
Thomas Occleve.
Both of them were considered as the first critics of
Chaucer’s works.

9. The Prologue has rightly been called
a
“portrait-GaLLery”.

10. The Knight’s Tale,
The Miller’s Tale,
The Reeve’s Tale,
The Cook’s Tale,
The Man of Law’s Tale,
The Wife of Bath’s Tale,
The Friar’s Tale,
The Summoner’s Tale,
The Clerk’s Tale,
The Merchant’s Tale,
The Squire’s Tale,
The Canterbury Tales
The Manciple’s Tale, and The Parson’s Tale (in prose),
and ends with “Chaucer’s Retraction.” Not all the
tales are complete; several contain their own prologues
or epilogues.
The Franklin’s Tale,
The Second Nun’s Tale,
The Canon’s Yeoman’s Tale,
The Physician’s Tale,
The Pardoner’s Tale,
The Shipman’s Tale,
The Prioress’s Tale,
The Rime of Sir Thopas,
The Tale of Melibeus (in prose),
The Monk’s Tale,
The Nun’s Priest’s Tale,

11. Thank you so Much

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