Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400)

Materie:	Riassunto
Categoria:	Letteratura Inglese
Voto:	1.5 (2)
Download:	647
Data:	25.10.2005
Numero di pagine:	7
Formato di file:	.doc (Microsoft Word)

Riepilogo di letteratura
- The Celt: they first appeared in Britain around the year 700 B.C. Originating from North-west of Germany they where very good at making weapon and metal jewellery. They were organized into tribes and originally they were a pagan culture who worshipped the elements.
- The Romans: they first appeared in Britain around the year 55 B.C. when Julius Caesar invaded the island. They introduced the Latin culture and civilisation, and, in particular, Christianity. They built towns, fortifications and roads. The settled administered the Celts. They didn’t conquest all the island, in fact a population called by the Romans Caledonians refused to be colonised so, in 121 A.D. emperor Adrian decided to built a wall to keep the northern raiders out of roman Britain. By the end of the fourth century the Roman Empire had begun to fall apart so in 409 A.D. emperor Honorius was forced to pull his roman legion out of Britain.
- The Anglo-Saxons: after the Romans withdrew definitively, around the year 450 B.C., in Britain arrived some German tribes (Anglos, Saxons, and Jutes). Originally they destroyed the roman town and re-established the pagan values. The Celts continued to resist the invaders but suffered from internal fighting. Many Celtics people fled to the west of Britain. Ireland, Wales and Scotland were never colonised by the Anglo-Saxons and this is why Celts language have survived in these areas to the present day (Irish, Welsh and Scottish Gaelic). The Anglo-Saxons divided the south of island into seven kingdoms: Kent, Essex, Wessex, Sussex, Marcia, Northumbria and East Anglia. There were only some communities of monks that were Christians. Around the year 597 A.D. the church sent a monk called Augustine to re-establish the Christianity. He became the first archbishop of Canterbury.
- The Vikings: around the year 793-795 A.D. in Britain arrived the Vikings. They invaded the east of the island and the Anglo-Saxons were forced to unite their force in Kent. Under the leadership of Alfred the Great they won and he became the first king to unite the entire island under one crown. He was very important also because he was literate and he translated several important Latin work and because he created the country’s first law. Finally he begun to write The Anglo-Saxons chronicle.
- The Normans: in the year1066 A.D. William, duke of Normandy arrived to Hasting. The Normans introduced the French language and in particular the hierarchical feudal system. It was a pyramidal system where, on top there was the king, for his campaigns the vassals had to give him knights or money to pay some knights and they had to promise loyalty at their overlord. In turn the king gave them lands. But the nobles grew in wealthier and became reluctant to fighting. So the merchants had more power and they influenced the court.
- Common Law: during the reign of Henry II (the first Plantagenet king) was introduced the Common Law, that concerned the feudal system. It was based on custom and comparison with previous cases. With it we can see the trial by jury, which is still used today in Britain.
- Magna Charta: during the reign of King John (1199-1216) we can found the establishment of the Magna Charta. King John imposed several taxes to pay his campaigns in France; in return from one of these in 1215 he was forced by nobles to sign this document. It established that the king could no longer claim taxes without the approval of a council and that no free man could be arrested, imprisoned or dispossessed without fair trial.
- Parliament: in 1258, under the leadership of Simon De Montfort, a parliament was formed and the nobles began to effectively govern the country themselves. The rebellion was crushed and De Montfort was killed but Edward I recognised the effectiveness of the parliamentary system and revived the idea in 1295. He widened representation to include not only barons and clergy but also knights and town citizens.
- Thomas Becket: during the reign of Henry II the Church had lots of power, so the king decided to proclaim archbishop of Canterbury his friend Thomas Becket. Henry II thought that in this way he could control the church, but Thomas faithful to his rule turned against Henry. He refused to support his proposed of reform bill, the constitution of Clarendom (1164 A.D.). So Thomas was killed by Henry, but he became a martyr.
- Lollardy: after Thomas Becket’s death the church is able more power and it became corrupted. During the XII century, under the leadership of John Wycliffe was born the Lollardy reform Movement. Its main objective was divesting the Church of much of its wealth, to be used for more charitable purposes. However the movement was suppressed.
- The hundred year’s war: when Normans invaded the Britain it became linked with France. In fact there were continual disputes with the French from 1337 A.D. onwards about the possession of land which became known like the hundred year’s war. First the English won at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 but then British were defeat by a little French army led by Joan of Arc at Orleans in 1429. At the end the French won a decisive battle at Castillon in 1453 A.D.
- War of the Roses: after the end of the hundred year’s war broke out a dispute from two important English houses. The dispute degenerated in a civil war was called war of the Roses because the emblem of both family was a rose, red for Lancaster and white for York.
- The Black Death: the hundred year’s war was interrupted in 1348 A.D. by the Black Death, an epidemic of bubonic plague which spread rapidly through the Europe. It had killed about 1/3 of Britain’s population but it improved the living conditions of the poor, so peasant could demand payment for their work and better living condition.
- The peasants’ revolt: it started in 1381 because nobles and landowners had imposed a pool tax at the population to remove their financial power. The peasant organized an armed revolt led by Watt Tyler, they marched toward London and occupied the city: the government pretended to accept the peasant demands but when the peasant withdrew they took control again and killed hundred of protester.
Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400)
- Life: he was born in London and was well educated, even if we unknown if he went to university. In 1372-1373 was sent to Italy where met Petrarca and became familiar with Boccaccio and Dante’s works. His works can be divided into four periods: the French period, the Italian period and the English period. During the first period, he wrote exclusively in English and was influenced by the French models, he wrote: “The Romaunt of the rose” and “The book of the duchess”. During the Italian period he following the examples of Dante and Boccaccio and wrote: “The parlement of Foules”, “The house of fame”, “Troylus and Cryseyde” and “The legende of Good Women”. In the third periods he worked on his masterpiece “The Canterbury Tales”, written in middle English. Originally he planned to write 120 tales, but he was able in write only 24.
- The Canterbury Tales: it is structured as a series of interlinked stories; in fact they complete each other. In the general prologue the narrator gives us a brief description of each of the pilgrims and each tale is preceded by a prologue in which the pilgrim tells us something about himself. The host of The Tabard Inn tavern in London proposed the tale-telling competition at the pilgrims. Each of them has to tell two tales on the way to Canterbury and two on the way back. The pilgrims come from all levels of society, such as the military, the clergy, the middle classes and the trades and each one’s of them had human and individual quality.
- General Prologue: The opening of The Canterbury Tales can be divided into four different parts. The first part starts at line 1 and finishes at line 11, and tells us about April. In fact in the first part Chaucer gives us a description of this month, he tells us about the birds and the wind Zephyrus. In the second part, that is to say from line 12 to line 18 he says what people generally do in April. In the third part that is to say from line 19 to line 34, he tells us what happens at the Tabard Inn. Finally in the last part, from line 35 to line 42, he speaks about the method of description the poet will employ. The month of April brings rain and more generally the rebirth of nature. In this month Zephyrus, the sweet spring wind, blows everywhere upon the tender shoots and the bird are singing and they’re so excited that they sleep all night with open eyes. In April, people too, fell full of life and restless and they want to go on pilgrimage. The narrator is staying overnight at the Tabard Inn. It is late. He is lying in bed and the day after he will set off to go on a pilgrimage to Canterbury. Twenty-nine people arrive at the Inn. They are all pilgrims and they start to talk to each other. They discovered that they are all going to the same place, Canterbury. The room at the Inn is very large and comfortable and the pilgrims are treated well. Before starting his story he’s going to take some time to describe the pilgrims, referring to their class, profession and clothes. The text consists on rhyming couplets. In line 5 the narrator uses personification because he refers to the wind using the possessive adjective “his”. Another example of this figure of speech can be found in line 7-8 where the narrator refers to the sun with words like “his” and “young” which are normally used for human beings. There are some enjambments between lines 2-3, 6-7, 9-10, 13-14, 21-22, 33-34, 38-39. The frequent use of enjambments gives the text the tone of ordinary conversation; it makes the rhythm flow from line to line. Lines from 1 to 18 make up only one long sentence. The main clause starts only at line 12 and is preceded by a series of subordinate clauses. This forces the reader to read on a quickly until he gets to line 12 and communicates the feelings of growth and energy that accompanies the coming of spring.
- The friar: This text is taken from the General Prologue, where the narrator supplies the reader with a description of some of the pilgrims. The text can be divided into three parts. In the first, from line 1 to line 6, the narrator explains the behaviour of the friar. In the second part, from line 7 to line 14, the narrator speaks about the friar relationship with the rich people of the town and cowty. And in the last part, from line 15 to line 25, he explains the friar’s attitude to money. At the beginning of the text the friar’s characters and personality are described as “wanton”, “merry” and “festive”. We understand that the Friar is a libertine and cheerful man. The narrator presents the Friar as a man that is better at talking and gossiping than any other member of the four orders of the time (Franciscan, Dominicans, Benedictine and Augustine). The Friar was very popular and in particular franklins (small landowners) and rich and respectable ladies of the town liked him because he gave them easy absolution when they went to confession. Indeed he was lager to absolve as long as he received money and presents. The narrator portrays him in a gently and ironic way but without being too judgmental. His portrait is ironic, involving and critical. One of the interesting things to note about the Friar is the dimension of moral ambiguity that Chaucer gives him. Although he ironses about his corruption - giving easy absolution in exchange for money – he also seems to appreciate his qualities such as his lack of bigotry and his good mood. Indeed, the narrator of the General prologue never judges his human weakness but instead gently marks him for them. The text consists of rhyming couplets. There is some enjambment between lines 3-4, 8-9, 11-12, 16-17, 18-19, 22-23. There aren’t any difficult or long sentences and use of run-on lines, like in the opening part of the prologue, adds a conversational form.