Geoffery Chaucer’s Life And Works Essay, Research Paper

In Todays writing, writers conform to the readers wants and needs,

contrary to the writers of the 13th and 14th centuries. In these times

writers wrote from the heart not from the pocket book. They wrote on

their beliefs and morals and dreams. But never did they judge. Their

styles taken from their trials and tribulations. As so in Geoffery

Chaucers works he used his life experiences to influence his every

word.

Geoggrey Chaucer is the first literly personality in English, and we

know more about the outline of his life than we do about Shakespeare s.

His inner life is recorded in his poems, and he liked to put himself as a

character into them. From his birth to his death his writing was not

appreciated, but as they say some writers are hated in life and praised in

death.

Today man understands his physical surroundings more fully than

did his medieval ancestor, today that is not the case. Today man is able

to take percautions against many of the dangers which face him. Fears

of that sort, exceedingly violent in themselves, bred a species of

violence in the medieval mind. So in the writings of the times this

eminent fear was a influence of writing for all.

Though Chacuer was an amazing writer most of his life is

fragmentary, but there is a lot of it. A lot of people’s lives back then

were difficult to document. He was an extraordinary man, a great poet

who was courtier, soldier, learned man, much travelled minor diplomat.

The range of his experience and interests is amazing, from common life

and bawedy talkes to puritanical religion.

He knew an assortion of people of all backgrounds from French to

Flemish. His attitudes ranged from sentimental feeling for small

children, to a deep inerest in love. Chaucer’s age has never been

determinded for sure but has been speculated by the finding of a receat

from a tailor, when Chaucer was being fitted for a uniform for work,

meaning he would have had to have been between the ages of 13 and

18. This placing his birth between the years 1340-1344 in London, the

son of John Chaucer a vintner. In 14th century London there were three

elementary schools of good “academic” standing which were attended

by the sons of the higher class. And wedo know that Geoffery Chaucer

attended one of those schools before continuing his education in a much

higher enviroment. All three schools offered the same curriculum more

or less: reading, religion, Latin, French, and arithmetic, and maybe

even some science courses. Chaucer shows this in all of his mature

work of being extraordinarily well read and of having many wide and

deep intellectual interests.

Another obvious influence on Chaucers writings was his city itself.

With the crooked narrow streets of London to grow up on, and the

horesback riding constantly along the countryside meeting all the

townsmen and the peasants surrounding him, Chaucer experienced his

early life in a entirely new fashion. With a population of 40,000 made

up in a small area, he had many subject to base his stories upon and

proved throughout time that he did base most of his most famous

subjects off of people he had meet through his life and travels.

The next important event in Chaucers life was his service with Prince

Lionel. He started off as a page, only to advance to squire in the Royal

Household. Funny is that in the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer mentions a

number of accomplishments of that delightfull and life-like character

who bore the title of squire. But what must have been the most

rewarding accomplishment for Chaucer himslef in his won courtyly

education is not on the list of acquisitions of his Squire knows how to

“wel endite” (Bowden 9) that is, how to compose very well the lyrics for

songs. Fourteeth-century squires were expected to make perfect the art

of writing verse. Famous French authors such as Guillame de Lorris fo

Le Roman de la Rose, Deschamps, Froissart, and Machaut were the

foundation for Chaucer’s first poems.

With most of his life based on the serving of others Chaucer decided

to joing the English army (1359-60) under Edward III. He was captured

by the French army and ransomed. Chaucer was soon released for

sixteen pounds, which was less than Edward III paid for his horse. By

the year 1366 he had married Philippa Roet the sister of John Guant’s

3rd wife. After marring Philippa his social status was raised once again.

He then began to go on Diplomatic missions to the continent of Italy

(1372-73). Chaucer began to travel a lot to Italy for Diplomatic reasons

this would prove to have a huge importance on his writings. Chaucer

decided to go to the Inner Temple and study law, and after this he held

a number of elected positions. Among them he was the controller of

customs on furs, skins, and hides for the port of London. And then was

the clerk of the kings works. Chaucer died on October 25th, 1406,

buried in Westminster Abbey.

Even though Chaucer had a collection of works unlike any others he

still had yet to be appreciated as a truly great writer. And along with

this he still wasn’t able to attaine knighthood but in the end did have a

very decorated military career and a complete career in civic service.

In his time he was not appreciated as though are writers are today

with a number one best seller. In his time Chaucer’s writing style wasn’t

even liked. To most his writing was apropriate, therefore making

Chaucer’s writings a taboo of its time. But his writings were not left

unapreciated forever. It wasn’t till the last 17th century in England

when his writings started to catch on to the English readers. At this

point Chaucer was dead, and as you can see in his mind he died a

failure. But in reality his work lived on longer than any other English

writing from that time period. Scholars at one tiem divided Chaucer s

works into three periods : the French, Italian and English periods.

To the first belong his translation of the Romace of the Rose, the

Book of Duchess, and a minor poem, the ABC, a translation of a French

poem in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary which , according to

Speghy s edition of Chuaucer, was made at the request of Blanch,

Duchess commemorated in the Book. (Grose 98) Up to this point in

his career Chaucer is siad to have followed the French tradition in

which he was schooled. But in 1372 he visited Italy for the first time,

and it is considered likely that works which show a close acquaintance

iwth Italian authors must have been written after this visit.

During this period, the Italian period , he wrote famous works such

as the Legend of Good Women, the House of Fame, the Parlement of

Foules and the Troilus and Criseyde. Even though Chaucer s

reputations today depends mainly upon the Canterbury Tales. But in

bulk they form rather less than half of those owrks of his which have

come down to us. Besides a number of shorter poems, there are five or

sidx other major works in verse and two or three is prose. With these i

will not examine. But in the De Consolatione Philosophiae of Boethius

and the Treatise on the Astrolabe, both of which are accepted as

genuine, and another scientific essay, the Equatorie of the Planets,

dating from the year 1392. This piece of work was discovered after

WWII. In the Library of Peterhouse, Cambridge, by Dr. D.J. Price, who

has attributed it ot Chaucer. (Grose 97) No incontrovertible evidence

has appeared either to prove or disporve this, so the quesitno is still

open. (Grose 97) These works belong to science more than too

English Literature. These being his earliest known works shows how

his life of schooling in science more than likely was the fuel for his

writing.

During this period you could see a lot of the influences that played a

major role in his writing. From the story Troilus and Criseyde, Chaucer

shows three main influences; the chivalric world, the philosophic world,

and his enviromental influences. Criseyde, in one of her early

conversations with Pandarus, speaks of the disgrace that worul come to

her if Troilus love were suspected by anyone. And as the love affair

prgressed through the story it ends in a tragic way. This done to show

the chivaly of the time by emphazing the courtly love theme (Bowden

184).

Chaucer is noticeably affected by London during his time. That is,

by the turmoil and confusion that surrounded the political background

at the time. Unrest in enviroment breeds questioning in many

departments of life, and philosophical concepts even slightly and

momentarily shaken become matters calling for rethinking and

affirmation. Chaucer during the story shows how Troilus who in his

pain would learn more surely why his disasters have come about hinting

along the lines of predestination. But he never makes a stand on his

beliefs. This all shows the phycological effects of the times on people,

espically a chivlric knight.

After all this came his most prized works the Cantunbury Tales

during his so called English period , dated around the time Chaucer

retired from the Customs position he held. Even though certain stories

of the Canterbury Tales was written before the entire works was

released it is still all credited to the english period. This work is upon

which his modern reputation depends. But in all of his works a

common theme is shown. The point which I want to bring out is the

growing importance of the comparison of the contrasting elements in

Chaucer s writings as his style matured. There is a possible analogy

here with comtemporary art, or at least architecture. The predominant

architectural style during Chaucer s lifetime was what is now known as

the Gothic. It had its origins in France in the 12th century and lasted

until the Renaissance. In architecture, both the Romanesque style

which preceded it and the classical life which can elater were founded

upon the harmony produced by the use of the classical orders of

architecture. Every bulding seemed to have a rational scheme imposed

upon it. Gothic architecture, on the other hand, is covered all over with

unrestraint decoration (Grose 121). In his writing detail is piled upon

detail. Instead of the colonist, more solid barrel vault, the vaults of a

Gothic church seem to soar upwards airily towards the heavens. (Grose

121)

A better way of looking at his career is to see it an an increasing

Gothis mastery of contrast and comparison, whihc are the foundation of

the ironic humour for which he is justly celebrated. As in the Romance

of the Rose, Chaucer uses his French formed back ground is the style of

Courtney Love, and in form it is in the love-vision tradition. Another

way of analyzing the love-vision is to see it as an organic structure in

wihc certain actions take place before the main part of the story is

reached (Grose 123).

The Book of the Duchess, developing fromthe Romance of the Rose,

shows the first site of naturalistic style which is said to be the mark of

Chaucer s later poetry. Most of his poem is writtne in the same

conventional courly vein as his tranlsation of the Romance, but there are

signs of comis reliefd as well as observed detail which are not to be

found in that work. Apart from the portrayal of the narator himself, one

notable passage is th eone where Iris is sent on a message to Morpheus,

The God of Sleep. In this Chaucer takes a usual complete contrast from

romantic poem to a humorous poem pointing out the inherent notion

that the God of Sleep should be very hard to waken.

And then in his final period of his writing, Chaucer wrote in English

style which seemed to stick for him. During this he wrote The

Canterbury Tales, by far his most impressive works. In this he seemed

to use people that he had meet throughout his entire life and place them

into the pages. Many of the figures in the General Prologue seem to

leap off the pages. He does an extrodinary job of developing all these

characters to engulf the reader into the stories. Chaucer in this story

had many intentions for meaning and interpetation bu tthe most

significant, on a symbolic level is the image of a pligrimage tied up with

the question of love, which has proved to be the most prominent theme

in all of Chaucer s works. A pigramige should remind u sof the Divine

Loev; the giure of life as a pilgrimage towards the Divine Love is as old

as the Church herself. (Grose 128) When we look at the pilgrims more

closely, the motives we can see love at work. And it seems that through

all the stories love is there, showing that at the time Chaucer had one

thing on the mind.

Whether these periods have any validity is a enduring quesiton

amoung the scholars, and not only in regard to Chaucer. It is a

facinating question, bringing in many considerations of greater and

lesser importance. For instance, how far is Chaucer an orignial writer?

Many of his works are mere translations, while others are clearly based

quite closely on borrowed stories. In fact, the only Canterbury Tales

that are not traceable to other writers is the character the Miller. (Grose

98)

All these stories and poems had some common and some conflicting

views. But throughout his entire writing career the theme of love stayed the

same. He seemed to want to focus on the comparing and contrasting of the life

it s self. And as we could see his writing only got better the longer he wrote and

the more he travled. Through every experience his writing grew more brillant,

and more captivating. And in the end at his death Geoffery Chaucer was

unappreciated, and denied by the public only later to be considered one of the

greatest writers of all time.