Geoffrey Chaucer

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GEOFFREY CHAUCER

The known facts of Chaucer's life are fragmentary and are based almost entirely on official records. He was born in London between 1340 and 1344, the son of John Chaucer, a vintner. In 1357 he was a page in the household of Prince Lionel, later duke of Clarence, whom he served for many years. In 1359–60 he was with the army of Edward III in France, where he was captured by the French but ransomed.
By 1366 he had married Philippa Roet, who was probably the sister of John of Gaunt's third wife; she was a lady-in-waiting to Edward III's queen. During the years 1370 to 1378, Chaucer was frequently employed on diplomatic missions to the Continent, visiting Italy in 1372–73 and in 1378. 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 (1374–86) and clerk of the king's works (1389–91). The official date of Chaucer's death is Oct. 25, 1400. He was buried in Westminster Abbey.

The main feature of Chaucer’s works is their great variety. His poems are usually divided into 3 periods: the FRENCH, the ITALIAN and the ENGLISH.
1. The French period is so called because it includes poems modelled on French romance styles and subject such as:
- The Romaunt of the Rose. It introduces the reader to medieval court behaviour as regards courtly love.
- The Boke of the Duchesse. It is a personal elegy in which the knight in black tells of his grief for the loss of his wife and this gief is transposed becoming the universal gief of all man for the death of all good young wives.
2. The Italian period shows a greater maturity of perception and skill in the manipulation of the
metres. To this period belong:
- The Parlament of Foules. It introduces the reader to one of the most popular genres of medieval literature, the Bird and Beast Fable.
- The House of Fame. It is a masterpiece of comic fantasy, dealing with the contemplation of the vanity of human wishes.
- The Legende of Good Women. It speaks of the unhappy fate of the women who suffered in the cause of love. The poem is the first known attempt to use the couplet in English.
- Troylus and Criseyde. It is a long poem adapted from Boccaccio which reveals a subtle psychological insight into the development of the characters.
2. The English period is marked by greater realism and includes Chaucer’s masterpiece: Canterbury Tales (ca. 1387), which was written in Middle English. Chaucer’s language gradually became standard English, thus becoming the basis of Modern English.

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