3. EARLY LIFE
1342-1400
Born to a middle class family
His father was a wine merchant who
believed his child should have a formal
education
Odd jobs = page, courtier, diplomat, civil
servant, scrap metal collector
Travelled all over Europe
4. LATER LIFE
Fluent in English, Italian, Latin, and
French
Worked as a government official under
three different kings = high social status
Was captured as a POW during the
Hundred Year’s War King paid his
ransom
Died of unknown causes – murder
suspected
Chaucer was one of the first writers to be
buried in the Poets’ Corner in
Westminster Abbey.
5.
6. WRITING STYLES
Often called the father of English poetry
Most scholars still wrote in Latin
Felt English lacked sophistication and had a limited
vocabulary
Only local stories and ballads written in English
He wrote in the vernacular or language of the
commoners Now known as Middle English
Allegory:
A story win 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: witty language used to convey insult
Rhythmic pattern
Lack of alliteration
Best known for writing The Canterbury Tales, but
also had several other works as well
7. 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 an inn and travels with
them to the shrine of St. Thomas Becket in Canterbury.
They decide to have a contest: whoever can tell the best
tale wins a dinner at the inn when they get back, courtesy
of the other travelers.
o Canterbury Tales can be considered “estates satire”
o Three “Estates” in European feudal society
– Peasants work (agricultural labor)
– Clergy pray
– Nobles fight (and rule)
Begun: 1386
Planned: 120 tales
Completed: 22 and 2 fragments
8.
9.
10. CHARACTERS
Narrator (“Chaucer”)
Host
Knight
Squire
Yeoman
Prioress
Second Nun
Three Priests
Monk
Friar
Merchant
Clerk
Man of Law
Franklin
Guildsmen
Cook
Shipman
Physician
Wife of Bath
Parson
Plowman
Manciple
Reeve
Miller
Summoner
Pardoner