Transcript Geoffrey Chaucer - Pearland Independent School District

Geoffrey Chaucer
Background
Father of
English Poetry
• Chaucer has often
been called “the
father of English
poetry,” a phrase
that makes him
sound like a stuffy
sort of writer.
The Language
• Chaucer’s
masterpiece—is
anything but stuffy. In
fact, its realistic
language and coarse
humor prompted critics
to call Chaucer
everything from
“observant” to
“contemptible.”
Man of the
World
• Chaucer was a man
of the world who
knew how a variety
of people spoke
and acted. This
knowledge was
invaluable to his
writing.
Family
• Born in London into a middleclass wine merchant’s family,
he became a page in the royal
household while still a
teenager, probably around the
age of 17. Despite the lowly
duties of the job—making
beds, carrying candles,
running errands—the position
offered Chaucer exposure to a
world of fine manners and
high-born people.
The World
• A few years later, he saw
more of the world when he
served in a military
campaign in France. While
in his twenties, Chaucer was
made a court official, an
appointment that was the
start of many years of public
service. During his career,
he traveled abroad on
diplomatic missions and was
therefore exposed both
French and Italian literature
and culture.
• For the rest of his life, he held
Rest of
a variety of government posts.
Chaucer’s life
• Some other facts about
Geoffrey Chaucer—he was
the clerk of the king’s works—
a post in which he supervised
the maintenance royal
buildings and parks. When he
moved from London to Kent,
he served as a representative
to Parliament. He was always
considered a commoner.
Writings
• Despite these busy
professional duties,
Chaucer managed to create
a large body of writing. His
work is often divided into
three distinct periods. His
early poetry, which is
influenced by the French
medieval tradition, includes
the
• Book of the Duchess
• Romaunt of the Rose
• Later, he wrote
the
• Parliament of
Fowls
• Troilus and
Cressida
• His most mature
writing, crafted in
his forties, includes
the:
• Legend of Good
Women
• The Canterbury
Tales
Masterpiece • The Canterbury Tales is
considered Chaucer’s
masterpiece for several
reasons:
• First, it marks the
beginning of a new
tradition; Chaucer was the
first writer to use English in
a major literary work.
Before him, literature was
composed in French or
Latin.
Cont’d
• Secondly, because The
Canterbury Tales focuses
on an assortment of people
who are thrown together
on a journey, it gives a
lifelike and engaging
picture of a cross section of
society during the 1300s.
• Finally, it is an outstanding
literature achievement.
Lines
• Chaucer created
approximately
17,000 lines of
vivid poetry,
which still attract
new readers
centuries later.
Birth and
Death
• Geoffrey Chaucer was
born about 1342 and
died on October 25,
1400. Note: Other historians
have him being born in London
around 1340.
• Although Chaucer was
considered a
commoner, he was
buried in Westminster
Abbey in honor of his
lifelong contributions
to England.
Twenty-Nine • In Chaucer’s work twentynine pilgrims travel to
Pilgrims
Canterbury to visit the
shrine of St. Thomas à
Becket.
• When Chaucer’s pilgrims
first meet, at an inn, their
hosts suggests they tell
stories to pass the time.
Their stories become the
main part of The
Canterbury Tales.
Real
Characters
• Chaucer’s pilgrims
are well-rounded
characters with
personalities and
pasts. As one critic
said, “Not a
whisper, not a wart,
is omitted.”
Occupations of
• The pilgrims’ occupations reflect
Fourteenth Century
different aspects of fourteenthSociety
century society:
• Feudel System: Knight, Squire,
Yeoman, Franklin, Plowman,
Miller, Reeve
• Religious Life: Nun, Monk, Friar,
Cleric, Parson, Summoner,
Pardoner
• Trades of Profession: Merchant,
Sergeant at the Law, Five
Tradesman, Cook, Skipper,
Doctor, Wife of Bath, Manciple,
Host
Frame Story
• The Canterbury Tales, uses
a frame tale, a story that
provides a vehicle, or
frame, for telling other
stories. The frame is about
a pilgrimage, a trip made to
a holy place for religious
reasons or just for fun and
adventure.
The Language
of Chaucer
• Chaucer spoke in Middle
English, the result of mixing
Old English of the Anglo
Saxons with the Old French
of the Normans. The
grammar and vocabulary
might seem the same, but
certain pronunciations are
different. For example, the
e of Modern English was a
separate audible syllable in
many English words.
The Prologue’s
Opening Lines
Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote
When April with his showers sweet with fruit
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
The drought of March has pierced unto the root
And bathed every veyne in swich licour
And bathed each vein with liquor that has power
Of which vertu engendred is the flour,
To generate therein and sire the flower;
Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
When Zephyr also has, with his sweet breath,
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
Quickened again, in every holt and heath,
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
The tender shoots and buds, and the young sun
Pilgrimages
• Pilgrim means “traveler,” and many religions
encourage believers to travel to holy places to
show devotion or to seek divine help for
problems.
• People would undertake a pilgrimage for many
different reasons. The motivation for most
would be a combination of three closely
interrelated reasons:
– Firstly, people desired to see and touch places and
objects that were considered holy. This might involve
travelling to view places associated with Jesus or it
might be to view relics of a favorite saint. The purpose
of this pilgrimage was to attempt to make the object of
faith more real. Secondly, people visited holy sites to
make amends for having committed sin. By doing a
pilgrimage as a penance, they hoped for forgiveness.
These pilgrimages might have been for private reasons
or for public reasons. They may have been voluntary or
they may have been forced. Finally, people went on a
pilgrimage for the simple pleasure of travelling. In a
world that offered precious few opportunities to
experience the world beyond the horizon, pilgrimage
was an exciting, challenging opportunity to leave village
life behind.
Tabard Inn
Bibliography
• http://pages.towson.edu/duncan/c
haucer/duallang1.htm
• http://www.internationalschooltou
louse.net/vs/pilgrims/motive.htm#
The need to see and touch
• Glencoe Literature: British
Literature. The Reader’s Choice:
Texas Edition.
• http://www.librarius.com/chauchr
o.htm
• Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales
(Selected): An Interlinear
Translation
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/hist
oric_figures/becket_thomas.shtml