A Powerpoint Presentation by Katrin Lutao

Who is Geoffrey Chaucer? - known as the Father of English Poetry, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages.

Geoffrey Chaucer Biography Early Years

He was born in London, the son of John Chaucer, a vintner of Thames Street, who had also a small estate at Ipswich, and was occasionally employed on service for the King (Edward III.), which doubtless was the means of his son's introduction to the Court. Geoffrey Chaucer received an ample education and studied law at the Inner Temple in London. In 1357 Chaucer appears as a page to the Lady Elizabeth, wife of Lionel Duke of Clarence, and in 1359 he first saw military service in France, when he was made a prisoner. He was, however, ransomed in

Geoffrey Chaucer Biography - Love and Marriage In 1366 he was married to Philippa de Roet the eldest daughter of Sir Payne Roet who was one of the ladies of the Duchess of Lancaster. Katharine Swynford was her sister who became the widow of Sir Hugh Swynford and became the mistress and eventually the third wife of John of Gaunt. Previous to his marriage he had apparently been deeply in love with another lady, whose rank probably placed her beyond his reach. There is speculation that this could have been Blanche of Lancaster. His

Geoffrey Chaucer Biography - The Poet, Diplomat and Soldier In 1367 he was one of the valets of the King's Chamber, a post always held by gentlemen, and received a pension of 20 marks, and he was soon afterwards one of the King's esquires. In 1369 Blanche, the wife of John of Gaunt, died, which gave occasion for a poem by Geoffrey Chaucer in honour of her memory entitled "The Dethe of Blaunche the Duchesse". In the same year he again bore arms in France, and during the next ten years he was frequently employed on diplomatic missions.

Geoffrey Chaucer Biography The Canterbury Tales Begin

In 1382 he became Comptroller of the Petty Customs of the port of London, and in 1385 was allowed to appoint a deputy, which, enabled him to devote more time to writing. He had in 1373 begun his Canterbury Tales, on which he was occupied at intervals for the rest of

Geoffrey Chaucer Biography His Death

On the accession of Henry IV in 1399 an additional pension of 40 marks was given him. In the same year he took a lease of a house at Westminster, where he probably died on October 25, 1400. He is buried in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey. According to some historians he left two sons, Thomas, who became a man of wealth and importance, and Lewis, who died young, the little ten-year-old boy to whom

Chaucers Works

Times and Milieu

Geoffrey Chaucer likely wrote The Canterbury Tales in the late 1380s and early 1390s, after his retirement from life as a civil servant. This was a time of great social upheaval in England. . In the past, medieval society had been made up of three "estates," or broad groupings by occupation: military types, religious people (like priests and nuns), and peasants. But now, a new, middle class of artisans and merchants, of whom Chaucer was a part, was taking over England.

General Prologue

When in April the sweet showers fall And pierce the drought of March to the root, and all The veins are bathed in liquor of such power As brings about the engendering of the flower, When also Zephyrus with his sweet breath Exhales an air in every grove and heath Upon the tender shoots, and the young sun His half course in the sign of the Ram has run And the small fowl are making melody That sleep away the night with open eye, (So nature pricks them and their heart engages)

Then folk long to go on pilgrimages, And palmers long to seek the stranger strands Of far off saints, hallowed in sundry lands, And specially from every shires end Of England, down to Canterbury they wend The holy blissful martyr, quick To give his help to them when they were sick

Tabard Inn

Canterbury Cathedral

Host Knight Miller Reeve Man of Law Cook Wife of Bath Friar Summoner

Clerk Merchant Squire Franklin Shipman Prioress Physician Pardoner Monk

Nuns Priest Second Nun Canon Canons Yeoman Manciple Parson Narrator

The Pilgrims

The Reeves Tale

 Revenge of John and Alan to the miller Theft begets theft (on the miller)

Themes

The Merchants Tale

Themes Lie and deceit of May to January Love and Faith of January to May

The Franklins Tale

Themes
Love and Waiting of Dorigen to Arveragus Aurelius Unrequited Love for May Mays Kindness and Sensitivity to Aurelius Love

The Pardoners Tale

 Avarice and Greed of the Three Men Deceit between the Three Men Themes

The Shipmans Tale

Themes
Love and Forgiveness of the merchant to his wife Wifes Unfaithfulness and Materialism

Wherfore I biseke yow mekely, for the mercyOf God, that ye preye for me that crist haveMercy on me and foryeve me my giltes;/ andNamely of my translacions and enditynges ofWorldly vanitees, the whiche I revoke inMy retracciouns:/ as is the book of Troilus:

Chaucers Retraction

The book also of Fame; the book ofThe xxv. Ladies; the book of the duchesse; The book of seint valentynes day of the parlementof briddes; the tales of counterbury Thilke that sownen into synne;/ the book of theLeoun; and many another book.

Chaucers Retraction

The Use of a Frame Narrative in The Canterbury Tales Chaucers The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories that all fit within one single narrative, yet each could also stand alone. This narrative strategy is referred to as a frame narrative, in which a larger story serves as the framework within which a series of smaller tales fit.

Form

 Scholars label as frame tales literary works that present a story (or stories) within another story. The inner story is like a painting on a canvas; the outer story is like the frame of the painting. In The Canterbury Tales, the inner stories told by the pilgrims form the images on the canvas; the outer story told by Chaucer forms the frame. (Cummings Study Guide)

Form

Themes of The Canterbury Tales

Feminism and anti-feminism Chaucer was extremely interested in the role of women in society, and how they reacted to it. Chaucer actively explores the potential dynamics of a male-female marriage.

Sex and adultery

Many of Chaucer's Tales are interested in the way a marriage might work or fail to work. Look at any of the tales which dramatize adultery or cuckolding (the Miller's, the Reeve's, the Merchant's, the Wife of Bath's, etc.), focusing particularly on the way that sexual activity is depicted. Chaucer's presentation of sex varies wildly, sometimes present only through pointed euphemism and sometimes, like in the Reeve's or the Merchant's tales, vividly described.

Criticism on the Church

The Canterbury Tales provides the reader with a picture of a disorganized Christian society in a state of decline and obsolescence. The Canterbury Tales constitutes a passionate attack on the decadence and corruption of the medieval church. Chaucer exposes the evils attacking the very root of Christianity.

Literary Merits

Intellectual Value
Many of the pilgrims in the General Prologue are trying to appear to be something they're not. The Merchant would like people to think he's financially solvent. The narrator helps us see through these deceptions, and they become part of what makes The Canterbury Tales funny. Other pilgrims make their living through deception; like the Pardoner, who makes a pretty penny on fake relics.

Emotional Value
Throughout The Canterbury Tales one of the recurrent subjects in the tellers tales is love. Not all of the tellers agree about what love is, however, nor how it should be shared. They philosophize about related concepts, including marriage, fidelity, and chastity, and argue about mens and womens roles in the context of an intimate relationship.

Spiritual Value
It's probable that the pilgrims' journey from London to Canterbury represents another journey that was very important to a medieval person: the journey from Earth. Their pilgrimage is meant to be a journey of repentance, so that by the time they reach Canterbury, they will be fully cleansed of these sins. to Heaven.

Artistry and Style

One of the things that makes The Canterbury Tales so fun to read is the great (and often grotesque) detail with which the narrator describes each of the pilgrims. Chaucer is relying on a medieval tradition of "estates satire," a collection of stereotypes about people based on what occupation they had or what social class they belonged to.

Universality

For a body of work to last some 700 years and still be as popular today as it was when originally published, and for still being culturally relevant after so many years of social, political, and cultural changes worldwide, stands as the strongest testament to its brilliance. ( Baldassarro, 2011) What makes The Canterbury Tales so timeless and important is that it presents a true-life image of a period in history that cant be understood or appreciated through the filter of the typical intellectually-marred school books found in the classroom.

Permanence
One of the reasons why The Canterbury Tales has endured in the literary canon for centuries is that it represents a slice of medieval life while simultaneously serving as an antidote to the extreme social difficulties of that period, namely, the Plague. Notice that multiple social classes, genders, and perspectives are represented in The Canterbury Tales, and that each teller of tales has ample time to entertain, incite, or persuade the listener to adopt his or her point of view.

Sources
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/li terature/canterbury-tales/summaryanalysis.html http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/li terature/canterbury-tales/summaryanalysis.html http://www.google.com.ph/imghp?hl=en &tab=wi

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