With Chaucer is perceived the beginning of an era- a new epoch - in the history of English Literature . Hector is , indeed , the greatest name among the English men of letters before Shakespeare . But this is not all , for he had the credit to introduce the modern note into English literature.

But this is not all . Chaucer is a medieval poet , not simply a modern one , and he represents fully the medieval spirit that was dominant in the literature of his time . He belonged to the medieval world , in action and spirit , and knew medieval life in its various aspects . His multiplicity of occupation enabled him to grasp the numerous experiences , connected with medieval life and activities . His literary art is found to transmit much his experience and knowledge of medieval life and literature. 

Contemporaries of Chaucer

One of the primary notes of medieval literature is found in its story-telling aspect . Under the French influence and the Italian , the medieval English poets displayed more or less too much proneness to story-telling . This is found perfectly expressed in Chaucer who has remained one of the finest story -tellers in verse in English literature . His numberous works , inspired under different influences , bear out his power as a story-teller . The Knightes Tale and Troilus and Criseyde , his notable works in the Italian period , are rich in the gifts of story - telling . Drawn from the sources of Boccaccio , these texts present the stories of a chivalrous and adventurous life , and the tenderness of warm and devoted love . Here they seem to bear the tradition of medieval romances , although they are made of a better literary stuff . Chaucer is found , no doubt indebted to Boccaccio  for the plots of his poems , yet his originality is well demonstrated all through , and the mere adventurous events of Boccaccio tales are found transformed into the highly impulsive love - poems by Chaucer's sheer poetic genius . In The Legende of Good Women , Chaucer's great gift of story telling also remarkably comes out . But the crowning piece of Chaucer’s literary genius is The canterbury Tales , in which the tales told are no less admirable and effective . These tales are the expressions of Chaucer's genius and profile in story-telling . This is definitely a medieval strand in literature , much perfected and embellished on Chaucer.

The second aspect, so remarkable noted in medieval literature, is the trend to symbolism and allegory. In Chaucer is found the triumph of the English allegorical and symbolic poetry of the middle ages.Under the French influence, He wrote some of his earlier works, bearing allegorical notes, Among these allegorical works- The Boke of Blanche the Duchess -may be mentioned first.It was written to commemorate the death of Blanche of Lancaster ,the first wife of Chaucer's patron John of Gaunt. Fancy and reality, artificiality and allegory, are here finely combined. The poem is an allegory, intended for the price of beauty ,but its allegory is well balanced with realism, and the work nowhere appears dull or crude. The Duchess appears real mourning for her death remains equally so.The parlement of Foules and The Hons of Fame are also two allegorical works of Chaucer and reveal ,too,his power to blend realism with allegory and exhibit his fine sense of wit and humour. The Legende of Good Women is not an allegorical work ,but its prologue is allegorical. Different tales in The Canterbury Tales bear here and there some element of allegory .What is. however,remarkable in Chaucer is his power to combine allegory and lyricism, thought and imagination. The allegorical dominance in medieval literature is marked in chaucer.But his allegories have much broader canvas and a greater impact. These are not merely moral, But social, too.

The third medieval feature,in Chaucer's writing is the presence of the element of wit and humour. Anglo -Saxon poetry is distinctly grave and sombre , and lacks the fineness of wit and humour .This may, however,be found well counter-balanced in Chaucer's works that light up the predominance of wit and humour in the English literature of the middle age .Chaucer's amplitude  of wit and humour is perceived everywhere in his great works. His sense of the fun of life and humour is always found invigorating and pleasing, and here Chaucer is found to have moved much more forward from his contemporaries of chaucer. In his great works like  the hous of Fame ,The parlement of Foules and The Canterbury Tales, humour is present as an indispensable and diverting element and wit, displayed with a vigorous force. Of course, Chaucer's humour is found invigorated with a truly comic spirit,  and his great works are excellent social comedies.

Lastly, Chaucer's  versification is also commendable and illustrative of his medievalism .His mastery is manifested in his technical pattern, and here he also represent his age. The octosyllabic lines,Which are found the pattern of versification of Middle ages,have got a forceful handling and undergone  healthy renovations in Chaucer's hand. The heroic verse, Which is the metre of the great poetry of England, owes its origin to Chaucer's genius .The use of the ten -syllable  line regularly in narrative verses is definitely a mark of Chaucer's technical originality.

Chaucer. no doubt ,belonged to the medieval world,but he is the earliest of his great moderns,  and in comparison with the literature of his own time and that which succeeded him,the advance made by him his own time and that which succeeded him , The advance made by him stupendous making allowances for his old fashioned language , Dryden judges and praises Chaucer (in his Preface to the Fables) as a modern writer, and  no modern author has received higher compliments from him."The Chaucerian literary world is not antique but modern, with an absolutely modern environment,  and his genius puts fresh and formative spirits into old things and turns gross into gold", Albert is quiet right in his observance, "Chaucer is , indeed, a genius ; he stands along , and for nearly two hundred years none dare claim equality with him."

Chaucer as a medieval poet

Green Land | September 25, 2016 | 0 comments

With Chaucer is perceived the beginning of an era- a new epoch - in the history of English Literature . Hector is , indeed , the greatest name among the English men of letters before Shakespeare . But this is not all , for he had the credit to introduce the modern note into English literature.

But this is not all . Chaucer is a medieval poet , not simply a modern one , and he represents fully the medieval spirit that was dominant in the literature of his time . He belonged to the medieval world , in action and spirit , and knew medieval life in its various aspects . His multiplicity of occupation enabled him to grasp the numerous experiences , connected with medieval life and activities . His literary art is found to transmit much his experience and knowledge of medieval life and literature. 

Contemporaries of Chaucer

One of the primary notes of medieval literature is found in its story-telling aspect . Under the French influence and the Italian , the medieval English poets displayed more or less too much proneness to story-telling . This is found perfectly expressed in Chaucer who has remained one of the finest story -tellers in verse in English literature . His numberous works , inspired under different influences , bear out his power as a story-teller . The Knightes Tale and Troilus and Criseyde , his notable works in the Italian period , are rich in the gifts of story - telling . Drawn from the sources of Boccaccio , these texts present the stories of a chivalrous and adventurous life , and the tenderness of warm and devoted love . Here they seem to bear the tradition of medieval romances , although they are made of a better literary stuff . Chaucer is found , no doubt indebted to Boccaccio  for the plots of his poems , yet his originality is well demonstrated all through , and the mere adventurous events of Boccaccio tales are found transformed into the highly impulsive love - poems by Chaucer's sheer poetic genius . In The Legende of Good Women , Chaucer's great gift of story telling also remarkably comes out . But the crowning piece of Chaucer’s literary genius is The canterbury Tales , in which the tales told are no less admirable and effective . These tales are the expressions of Chaucer's genius and profile in story-telling . This is definitely a medieval strand in literature , much perfected and embellished on Chaucer.

The second aspect, so remarkable noted in medieval literature, is the trend to symbolism and allegory. In Chaucer is found the triumph of the English allegorical and symbolic poetry of the middle ages.Under the French influence, He wrote some of his earlier works, bearing allegorical notes, Among these allegorical works- The Boke of Blanche the Duchess -may be mentioned first.It was written to commemorate the death of Blanche of Lancaster ,the first wife of Chaucer's patron John of Gaunt. Fancy and reality, artificiality and allegory, are here finely combined. The poem is an allegory, intended for the price of beauty ,but its allegory is well balanced with realism, and the work nowhere appears dull or crude. The Duchess appears real mourning for her death remains equally so.The parlement of Foules and The Hons of Fame are also two allegorical works of Chaucer and reveal ,too,his power to blend realism with allegory and exhibit his fine sense of wit and humour. The Legende of Good Women is not an allegorical work ,but its prologue is allegorical. Different tales in The Canterbury Tales bear here and there some element of allegory .What is. however,remarkable in Chaucer is his power to combine allegory and lyricism, thought and imagination. The allegorical dominance in medieval literature is marked in chaucer.But his allegories have much broader canvas and a greater impact. These are not merely moral, But social, too.

The third medieval feature,in Chaucer's writing is the presence of the element of wit and humour. Anglo -Saxon poetry is distinctly grave and sombre , and lacks the fineness of wit and humour .This may, however,be found well counter-balanced in Chaucer's works that light up the predominance of wit and humour in the English literature of the middle age .Chaucer's amplitude  of wit and humour is perceived everywhere in his great works. His sense of the fun of life and humour is always found invigorating and pleasing, and here Chaucer is found to have moved much more forward from his contemporaries of chaucer. In his great works like  the hous of Fame ,The parlement of Foules and The Canterbury Tales, humour is present as an indispensable and diverting element and wit, displayed with a vigorous force. Of course, Chaucer's humour is found invigorated with a truly comic spirit,  and his great works are excellent social comedies.

Lastly, Chaucer's  versification is also commendable and illustrative of his medievalism .His mastery is manifested in his technical pattern, and here he also represent his age. The octosyllabic lines,Which are found the pattern of versification of Middle ages,have got a forceful handling and undergone  healthy renovations in Chaucer's hand. The heroic verse, Which is the metre of the great poetry of England, owes its origin to Chaucer's genius .The use of the ten -syllable  line regularly in narrative verses is definitely a mark of Chaucer's technical originality.

Chaucer. no doubt ,belonged to the medieval world,but he is the earliest of his great moderns,  and in comparison with the literature of his own time and that which succeeded him,the advance made by him his own time and that which succeeded him , The advance made by him stupendous making allowances for his old fashioned language , Dryden judges and praises Chaucer (in his Preface to the Fables) as a modern writer, and  no modern author has received higher compliments from him."The Chaucerian literary world is not antique but modern, with an absolutely modern environment,  and his genius puts fresh and formative spirits into old things and turns gross into gold", Albert is quiet right in his observance, "Chaucer is , indeed, a genius ; he stands along , and for nearly two hundred years none dare claim equality with him."

THE AGE OF CHAUCER

Three distinct periods or stages are discernible in Chaucer's poetical works , so vast and so varied . It is , however , not at all possible to ascribe any of his particular work to any specific period or stage . Some tales of The Canterbury Tales , for instance , were written by him in some earlier phase or time . But these are found grouped and arranged in the final stage .

These three Chaucerian periodss are the French , the Italian and the English . This division is based on the three distinct phases of Chaucer's literary career . But such a division is neither exact nor all fair . Chaucer works , attributed to the Italian period , thus , are marked with French influences . These works are liable to be construed as the works of his French period . This classification , made on the basis of distinct literary influences , is to be taken not too scrupulously .

The influence of French literature is remarkably patent in Chaucer's works all through . The Italian romances are found to inspire his story - telling in verse .  His acute observations on English social life and conduct are definitely discernible in his literary inspiration and success in the final phase of his literary career . as a matter of fact , a better appreciation of Chaucerian literature needs a close acquaintance with these three distinct influences .

To the French period of Chaucer belong some of his earlier works , which are mainly allegorical . Some of his love lyrics , marked with grace and tender sentiments. are the product of this period . Of course , most if these lyrics are at present no longer extant . The best known of such lyrics is the Romaunt of the Rose , a translation from the popular medieval love poem Roman de la Rose of France . The poem is rather long , and contains , in octo-syllable couplets , a graceful allegorical presentation of the whole course of love and reveals much of Chaucer"s originality . But there are controversies as to Chaucer's  exact personal contribution to the translation .

The most remarkable Chaucer's  works of the French period is The Boke of Blanche , the Duchesse , a courtly and aristocratic elegy , written about 1368-69 , to commemorate the death of Blanche , the first wife of Chaucer's patrin , John of Gaunt . This work is mainly allegorical , although it bears out decisively Chaucer's lyricism . The allegorical element of the poem carries a note of praise for beauty , signified by the late duchess . The longest of his early poems , this does nowhere appear abstract , although it has much of traditional elements-dream , mythology , fancy , and so on . It contains enough substance of reality in the character of the Duchess herself and in the deep grief for her death .

Two other important works , The Parlement of Foules and The Hous of Fame, generally attributed to Chaucer's Italian period , bear actually the French influence , and should be included in his French period . Both these poems are in the pattern of French allegorical poetry,  and stand out as Chaucer's significant contribution to English allegorical literature .

In the former work, the allegory is based on a parliament,  held by nature, in which different fowls participate .Big and mighty fowls are shown to dominate the entire deliberation.  The whole account is amusingly presented.  and allegories the working of the actual parliament , dominated by big bosses and influential people . Chaucer's allegory,  however, is something more than the characteristic medieval allegory,  like The Owl and the Nightingale , which is mainly moral in effect . His work has a social outlook and a genuinely comic spirit.In the other work,  the capricious ways, in which fame spreads,are signified allegorically. The poet shows here, through the image of different apartments in the house of fame, how fame passes through different phases in human life.

Both the poems,  built in the dream convention,  indicate Chaucer's highly realistic sense and his power to blend allegory with realism .Moreover, his enjoyable sense of wit and humour is well borne out in these works,  too. In fact,  they remain quite vigorous, engaging and original allegorical,  under the French influence , and are found to inspire the works of Spenser.Of course,  in The Hous of Fame,  the influence of the Divina Commedia of the celebrated italian poet , Dante,  is also perceived.

Chaucer was immensely influenced by great Italian masters. The Italian influence on him is specifically felt in his two famous romances-The Knights Tale and Troilus and Criseyde . For the subject matter of these romances , his  indebtedness goes to Boccaccio, the celebrated Italian story-teller. Both of them deal with the romance of love and adventure , with the spirit of heroism and the sense of devotion. Of course , Chaucer is no imitation of Boccaccio,  and remains fresh and original all through . His artistic genius turns the simple tales of Boccaccio into the diverting and impulsive love poems of immense potency. He is found to learn from Boccaccio, but not blindly,  and to take from him what seems appropriate to his literary ventures . Of these two works,  again,  Troilus and Criseyde, written probably in 1380,reveals , in particular , Chaucer's poetical genius . His keenness , as a story-teller in verse , psychologist and metrical technician is here triumphantly demonstrated.  Chaucer seems to have used here his varied powers together in an absolute harmony.

The Italian influence on Chaucer is also evident in The Clerkes Tale, The Complaint to Pity and The Complaint of Mars.  These are more fanciful,  revealing Chaucer's genius as a story-teller as well as lyricist . Another poem, called The Complaint of Venus , is a translation from French. In The Legende of Good Women , which could not be finished by Chaucer, is found another masterly work of his Italian period. His inspiration here is the Italian legends of the noble and fair women who were martyr for love.The work is not allegorical and only the Prologue is actually an allegory . The poem,  too, is based on a vision which forms the Prologue in which the poet dreams to have received the stern instruction from the god of love to write , as a sort of penance , in praise of beautiful , faithful and loving women.  Chaucer's account include such well known women characters , as Cleopatra , Medea, Lucree, Ariadue , Philomela and others . Perhaps,  he got tired of heaping the same sort of praises on feminine virtues and left his collection of legends unfinished.

The English period of Chaucer , which covered only a few years,contains,  however, his greatest work-The Canterbury Tales. This work is the crowning piece of Chaucer's creative literary art. Written in different times of his life and ultimately left unfinished,  The Canterbury Tales proves a unique work in English literature for all times to come. Chaucer's creative mastery,which is manifested decisively in his sense if realism,  gift of wit and humour,art of characterisation and power of narration, is nowhere so diverting and triumphant as in The Canterbury Tales.The various strands of his rare genius are drawn together here. There can be hardly anything more perfect in conception and execution,  in the mingling of life and literature,  than what is perceived and enjoyed in the The Canterbury Tales- a collection of true-to-life pilgrims,  drawn from every class of the contemporary Englishmen. They, in course of their arduous journey,  entertain themselves by telling tales that are most appropriate to their individual characters and mental drives. Chaucer is a unique genius , and his literary achievement in all the periods deserve unquestioning commendation . He is a great master in his treatment of the French model, the Italian ideal, or English realism .

Chaucer's Literary Expansion :Three PeriodsPeriods

Middle English Period -Modern English Period

(I)French Period :Lyrical and allegorical poems

(ii)Italian Period : Allegorical poems and Romances.

(iii)English Period :Social ,realistic, humorous Comedy 

Give a brief account of Chaucer's main poetical achievements in his successive literary stages or periods

Green Land | September 06, 2016 | 0 comments

Three distinct periods or stages are discernible in Chaucer's poetical works , so vast and so varied . It is , however , not at all possible to ascribe any of his particular work to any specific period or stage . Some tales of The Canterbury Tales , for instance , were written by him in some earlier phase or time . But these are found grouped and arranged in the final stage .

These three Chaucerian periodss are the French , the Italian and the English . This division is based on the three distinct phases of Chaucer's literary career . But such a division is neither exact nor all fair . Chaucer works , attributed to the Italian period , thus , are marked with French influences . These works are liable to be construed as the works of his French period . This classification , made on the basis of distinct literary influences , is to be taken not too scrupulously .

The influence of French literature is remarkably patent in Chaucer's works all through . The Italian romances are found to inspire his story - telling in verse .  His acute observations on English social life and conduct are definitely discernible in his literary inspiration and success in the final phase of his literary career . as a matter of fact , a better appreciation of Chaucerian literature needs a close acquaintance with these three distinct influences .

To the French period of Chaucer belong some of his earlier works , which are mainly allegorical . Some of his love lyrics , marked with grace and tender sentiments. are the product of this period . Of course , most if these lyrics are at present no longer extant . The best known of such lyrics is the Romaunt of the Rose , a translation from the popular medieval love poem Roman de la Rose of France . The poem is rather long , and contains , in octo-syllable couplets , a graceful allegorical presentation of the whole course of love and reveals much of Chaucer"s originality . But there are controversies as to Chaucer's  exact personal contribution to the translation .

The most remarkable Chaucer's  works of the French period is The Boke of Blanche , the Duchesse , a courtly and aristocratic elegy , written about 1368-69 , to commemorate the death of Blanche , the first wife of Chaucer's patrin , John of Gaunt . This work is mainly allegorical , although it bears out decisively Chaucer's lyricism . The allegorical element of the poem carries a note of praise for beauty , signified by the late duchess . The longest of his early poems , this does nowhere appear abstract , although it has much of traditional elements-dream , mythology , fancy , and so on . It contains enough substance of reality in the character of the Duchess herself and in the deep grief for her death .

Two other important works , The Parlement of Foules and The Hous of Fame, generally attributed to Chaucer's Italian period , bear actually the French influence , and should be included in his French period . Both these poems are in the pattern of French allegorical poetry,  and stand out as Chaucer's significant contribution to English allegorical literature .

In the former work, the allegory is based on a parliament,  held by nature, in which different fowls participate .Big and mighty fowls are shown to dominate the entire deliberation.  The whole account is amusingly presented.  and allegories the working of the actual parliament , dominated by big bosses and influential people . Chaucer's allegory,  however, is something more than the characteristic medieval allegory,  like The Owl and the Nightingale , which is mainly moral in effect . His work has a social outlook and a genuinely comic spirit.In the other work,  the capricious ways, in which fame spreads,are signified allegorically. The poet shows here, through the image of different apartments in the house of fame, how fame passes through different phases in human life.

Both the poems,  built in the dream convention,  indicate Chaucer's highly realistic sense and his power to blend allegory with realism .Moreover, his enjoyable sense of wit and humour is well borne out in these works,  too. In fact,  they remain quite vigorous, engaging and original allegorical,  under the French influence , and are found to inspire the works of Spenser.Of course,  in The Hous of Fame,  the influence of the Divina Commedia of the celebrated italian poet , Dante,  is also perceived.

Chaucer was immensely influenced by great Italian masters. The Italian influence on him is specifically felt in his two famous romances-The Knights Tale and Troilus and Criseyde . For the subject matter of these romances , his  indebtedness goes to Boccaccio, the celebrated Italian story-teller. Both of them deal with the romance of love and adventure , with the spirit of heroism and the sense of devotion. Of course , Chaucer is no imitation of Boccaccio,  and remains fresh and original all through . His artistic genius turns the simple tales of Boccaccio into the diverting and impulsive love poems of immense potency. He is found to learn from Boccaccio, but not blindly,  and to take from him what seems appropriate to his literary ventures . Of these two works,  again,  Troilus and Criseyde, written probably in 1380,reveals , in particular , Chaucer's poetical genius . His keenness , as a story-teller in verse , psychologist and metrical technician is here triumphantly demonstrated.  Chaucer seems to have used here his varied powers together in an absolute harmony.

The Italian influence on Chaucer is also evident in The Clerkes Tale, The Complaint to Pity and The Complaint of Mars.  These are more fanciful,  revealing Chaucer's genius as a story-teller as well as lyricist . Another poem, called The Complaint of Venus , is a translation from French. In The Legende of Good Women , which could not be finished by Chaucer, is found another masterly work of his Italian period. His inspiration here is the Italian legends of the noble and fair women who were martyr for love.The work is not allegorical and only the Prologue is actually an allegory . The poem,  too, is based on a vision which forms the Prologue in which the poet dreams to have received the stern instruction from the god of love to write , as a sort of penance , in praise of beautiful , faithful and loving women.  Chaucer's account include such well known women characters , as Cleopatra , Medea, Lucree, Ariadue , Philomela and others . Perhaps,  he got tired of heaping the same sort of praises on feminine virtues and left his collection of legends unfinished.

The English period of Chaucer , which covered only a few years,contains,  however, his greatest work-The Canterbury Tales. This work is the crowning piece of Chaucer's creative literary art. Written in different times of his life and ultimately left unfinished,  The Canterbury Tales proves a unique work in English literature for all times to come. Chaucer's creative mastery,which is manifested decisively in his sense if realism,  gift of wit and humour,art of characterisation and power of narration, is nowhere so diverting and triumphant as in The Canterbury Tales.The various strands of his rare genius are drawn together here. There can be hardly anything more perfect in conception and execution,  in the mingling of life and literature,  than what is perceived and enjoyed in the The Canterbury Tales- a collection of true-to-life pilgrims,  drawn from every class of the contemporary Englishmen. They, in course of their arduous journey,  entertain themselves by telling tales that are most appropriate to their individual characters and mental drives. Chaucer is a unique genius , and his literary achievement in all the periods deserve unquestioning commendation . He is a great master in his treatment of the French model, the Italian ideal, or English realism .

Chaucer's Literary Expansion :Three PeriodsPeriods

Middle English Period -Modern English Period

(I)French Period :Lyrical and allegorical poems

(ii)Italian Period : Allegorical poems and Romances.

(iii)English Period :Social ,realistic, humorous Comedy 

THE AGE OF CHAUCER

With Chaucer is perceived the beginning of an era-a new epoch -in the history figure before the Renaissance and the greatest name among the English men of letters before Spenser and Shakespeare . But what is more , this is not all , for to him belongs the credit to usher in modern English literature . In various ways , Chaucer gave a new impulse and a new vitality to English literature , and raised an edifice of all gold over the rough stone of Anglo Saxon literature and the barren field of Anglo-Saxon literature and the barren field of Anglo-Norman. Chaucer's genius was versatile , as his life was varied and chequered. The variety of experiences, with which he was confronted in his personal life in various capacities -as a page, yeomen, soldier esquire, diplomat,courteir, official,Member of Parliament, and so on - was the source of his astounding and nobel literary inspiration. His multiplicity of involvements and occupations enabled him to grasp the numerous experience of life that include even his humble occupation as a page in the household of the countess of Ulster and captivity as a soldier during the seige of Rheims. The rare literary genius in him successfully transmitted all those experiences into his writings to create several lasting works of art. To the varied experiences of his life were added Chaucer's acquaintances with the literature of other countries, particularly of Italy and France, where he went on diplomatic mission. Guillaume de Machaut,Jean Clopinel and Guillaume de Lories of France abd Dante,Boccaccio and petrarch of Italy immensely inspired him.Of course,Chaucer's foreign preceptors had divergent influences on him. That was why Chaucer could produce so divergent and so commendable literary works in English.

Under the French influence Chaucer wrote some of his earlier works, rather lyrical and allegorical. His love -lyrics, possibly his first works, works at present not extant. His earliest work was the translation of a long love poem in French - Roman de la Rose. But the authenticity of Chaucer's full contribution to in not free from doubts. Among his allegorical works mention may be made of The Boke of the Blanche of Lancaster, the first wife to John of Gaunt,his literary patron. It is a courtly and aristocratic elegy in octo-syllebic couplets. The poem is also an allegory and contains an instruction for beauty as symbolished in the deceased duchess. The Parlement of Foules and The Hous of Fame are also two allegorical works of Chaucer. They reveal, once again, his power to blend realism with allegory and exhibit his fine sence of wit and humour. The former poem presents a parliament of different birds- big birds of prey as also small,common birds. The other work,left unfinished, relates allegorically the caprices of fame. The Italian influence on Chaucer is felt in his two famous romances. His indebtedness goes to Boccaccio for both of them.These are knightes Tale and TroilusandCriseyde. In bot these works,the thrill of chivalrousand adventurous life and the tenderness of a warm and true love are dealt with all through. Through Chaucer was indebted to Boccaccio for the plot of his poems,his originality is remarkably perceived all through and the mere adventurous events of Boccaccio's tales are found transformed by him into highly impulsive love poems in the English language.These poems are, no doubt,romances, but they stand on a muxh higher footing than themetrical romances of the pre-Chaucerian medieval age.

The Legende of  Good Women, though left unfinished by Chaucer , is another remarkable production.  It is not a thoroughly allegorical work , for the Prologue is here only allegorical. The work bears out amply Chaucer's story-telling power, art of characterisation,  love of nature and poetical sensuousness and melody . The crowning piece of Chaucer's literary genius is certainly The Canterbury Tales. He began that ambitious literary project about 1387, in which year his wife possibly died. He continued to work on it till his own death,  thirteen years later, but left it unfinished . The Canterbury Tales, as a piece of literary work, is an unforgettable creation in English literature.  Chaucer will be remembered ever, at least for it, if not for anything else .In its plan,  conception,  execution and matter of wit and humour , The Canterbury Tales remains an unassailable literary work.Chaucer is found to have demonstrated here amply his power to reflect life in its variety , illuminate what is basically humdrum and probe deep into the motives and action of different men and women , engaged in diverse professions.

Chaucer's literary production is vast,  gigantic , comprehensive and impressive. It is not merely profile in bulk,  but also unique in his creative power and originally.  In fact , when his literary production is studied against the background of his age , none , but Shakespeare, seems to have surpassed his creative originality and novelty .

Chaucer's greatest is, perhaps,  most significantly manifested in his art of characterisation. Non before him is found to have treated human beings individually.  In the works , preceding Chaucer , different men and women are not found to have any individual entity.  They are only known as shoemakers , inn-keepers,  priests , princes and so on. But Chaucer is the first literary master to penetrate into the mystery of individuality . His works present not merely a band of men and women,  but some individuals with certain special characteristics,  moods and tendencies.

Again, Chaucer stands triumphantly in his power of description. His description and narrative gifts truly possess rare qualities . He, in fact,  remains the first great English story-teller in verse. The employment of verse,  as a vehicle of Story-telling , is certainly Chaucer's most notable contribution . The modern age of English literature is greatly indebted to him in this respect .What is more remarkable and o original in Chaucer is his perception of the fun of life and his wonderful sense of humour. Humour with him is always invigorating and delightful. Chaucer is found to have moved here much more forward than his age and his predecessors . In his great works, like The Hous of Fame, The Parlement of Foules and The Canterbury Tales may certainly be claimed as the first great English humorist .

As a poet, his eminence depends much upon his technical command over versification . His mastery is manifested in the striking originality effected by him in versification.  It is almost impossible to exaggerate the part that Chaucer has played as the maker of English versification.  The octo-syllabic lines, used in the works of his predecessors , finds a total renovation in Chaucer.  Not Only that, he is also found to have aptly imported and introduced the pattern of versification from France. Indeed,  Chaucer's metrical innovations alone are enough to earn him the title of' father of English poetry, ' bestowed on him by Dryden . The use of the line of five stresses , called the pentameter , was possibly first introduced by him in onr of his earliest translations,  An A.B.C in The Parlement of Foules, The intricate structure of France ballad forms is found cut down and simplified by him to produce a seven-line stanza, called rhyme-royal.  That proves to be the successful medium in such long narrative poems,  as Troilus and Criseyde.  Finally the rhyming pentameter or heroic verse,  which is the metre of the greatest English poetry of all times , owes its origin in England to Chaucer's use of decasyllables.

Indeed , Chaucer is not only , as Keats has called him, 'one just great meterist.'He is also

'an absolute master of rhyme, that essentially artificial device , to which only the great poets succeeded in giving a resemblance of inevitability.

But what is more about Chaucer is his application of the common dialect of London and its neighbourhood as his poetic diction.  This is known as the King's English which became , owing largely to his own work,  the sole literary language throughout England.

The Chaucerian literary world is not antique,  but modern.  This has an absolutely modern environment  in an old setting . His genius has put fresh and formative spirits into old things and turned gross into gold.  Albert is quite right in his observation,

Chaucer is, indeed ,a genius,  he stands alone,  and for nearly two hundred years none have claim equality with him

In the language of David Daiches with Chaucer,  the English language and English literature grew at a bound to full maturity . 

Why would you call Chaucer the father of English poetry?

Green Land | September 05, 2016 | 0 comments

With Chaucer is perceived the beginning of an era-a new epoch -in the history figure before the Renaissance and the greatest name among the English men of letters before Spenser and Shakespeare . But what is more , this is not all , for to him belongs the credit to usher in modern English literature . In various ways , Chaucer gave a new impulse and a new vitality to English literature , and raised an edifice of all gold over the rough stone of Anglo Saxon literature and the barren field of Anglo-Saxon literature and the barren field of Anglo-Norman. Chaucer's genius was versatile , as his life was varied and chequered. The variety of experiences, with which he was confronted in his personal life in various capacities -as a page, yeomen, soldier esquire, diplomat,courteir, official,Member of Parliament, and so on - was the source of his astounding and nobel literary inspiration. His multiplicity of involvements and occupations enabled him to grasp the numerous experience of life that include even his humble occupation as a page in the household of the countess of Ulster and captivity as a soldier during the seige of Rheims. The rare literary genius in him successfully transmitted all those experiences into his writings to create several lasting works of art. To the varied experiences of his life were added Chaucer's acquaintances with the literature of other countries, particularly of Italy and France, where he went on diplomatic mission. Guillaume de Machaut,Jean Clopinel and Guillaume de Lories of France abd Dante,Boccaccio and petrarch of Italy immensely inspired him.Of course,Chaucer's foreign preceptors had divergent influences on him. That was why Chaucer could produce so divergent and so commendable literary works in English.

Under the French influence Chaucer wrote some of his earlier works, rather lyrical and allegorical. His love -lyrics, possibly his first works, works at present not extant. His earliest work was the translation of a long love poem in French - Roman de la Rose. But the authenticity of Chaucer's full contribution to in not free from doubts. Among his allegorical works mention may be made of The Boke of the Blanche of Lancaster, the first wife to John of Gaunt,his literary patron. It is a courtly and aristocratic elegy in octo-syllebic couplets. The poem is also an allegory and contains an instruction for beauty as symbolished in the deceased duchess. The Parlement of Foules and The Hous of Fame are also two allegorical works of Chaucer. They reveal, once again, his power to blend realism with allegory and exhibit his fine sence of wit and humour. The former poem presents a parliament of different birds- big birds of prey as also small,common birds. The other work,left unfinished, relates allegorically the caprices of fame. The Italian influence on Chaucer is felt in his two famous romances. His indebtedness goes to Boccaccio for both of them.These are knightes Tale and TroilusandCriseyde. In bot these works,the thrill of chivalrousand adventurous life and the tenderness of a warm and true love are dealt with all through. Through Chaucer was indebted to Boccaccio for the plot of his poems,his originality is remarkably perceived all through and the mere adventurous events of Boccaccio's tales are found transformed by him into highly impulsive love poems in the English language.These poems are, no doubt,romances, but they stand on a muxh higher footing than themetrical romances of the pre-Chaucerian medieval age.

The Legende of  Good Women, though left unfinished by Chaucer , is another remarkable production.  It is not a thoroughly allegorical work , for the Prologue is here only allegorical. The work bears out amply Chaucer's story-telling power, art of characterisation,  love of nature and poetical sensuousness and melody . The crowning piece of Chaucer's literary genius is certainly The Canterbury Tales. He began that ambitious literary project about 1387, in which year his wife possibly died. He continued to work on it till his own death,  thirteen years later, but left it unfinished . The Canterbury Tales, as a piece of literary work, is an unforgettable creation in English literature.  Chaucer will be remembered ever, at least for it, if not for anything else .In its plan,  conception,  execution and matter of wit and humour , The Canterbury Tales remains an unassailable literary work.Chaucer is found to have demonstrated here amply his power to reflect life in its variety , illuminate what is basically humdrum and probe deep into the motives and action of different men and women , engaged in diverse professions.

Chaucer's literary production is vast,  gigantic , comprehensive and impressive. It is not merely profile in bulk,  but also unique in his creative power and originally.  In fact , when his literary production is studied against the background of his age , none , but Shakespeare, seems to have surpassed his creative originality and novelty .

Chaucer's greatest is, perhaps,  most significantly manifested in his art of characterisation. Non before him is found to have treated human beings individually.  In the works , preceding Chaucer , different men and women are not found to have any individual entity.  They are only known as shoemakers , inn-keepers,  priests , princes and so on. But Chaucer is the first literary master to penetrate into the mystery of individuality . His works present not merely a band of men and women,  but some individuals with certain special characteristics,  moods and tendencies.

Again, Chaucer stands triumphantly in his power of description. His description and narrative gifts truly possess rare qualities . He, in fact,  remains the first great English story-teller in verse. The employment of verse,  as a vehicle of Story-telling , is certainly Chaucer's most notable contribution . The modern age of English literature is greatly indebted to him in this respect .What is more remarkable and o original in Chaucer is his perception of the fun of life and his wonderful sense of humour. Humour with him is always invigorating and delightful. Chaucer is found to have moved here much more forward than his age and his predecessors . In his great works, like The Hous of Fame, The Parlement of Foules and The Canterbury Tales may certainly be claimed as the first great English humorist .

As a poet, his eminence depends much upon his technical command over versification . His mastery is manifested in the striking originality effected by him in versification.  It is almost impossible to exaggerate the part that Chaucer has played as the maker of English versification.  The octo-syllabic lines, used in the works of his predecessors , finds a total renovation in Chaucer.  Not Only that, he is also found to have aptly imported and introduced the pattern of versification from France. Indeed,  Chaucer's metrical innovations alone are enough to earn him the title of' father of English poetry, ' bestowed on him by Dryden . The use of the line of five stresses , called the pentameter , was possibly first introduced by him in onr of his earliest translations,  An A.B.C in The Parlement of Foules, The intricate structure of France ballad forms is found cut down and simplified by him to produce a seven-line stanza, called rhyme-royal.  That proves to be the successful medium in such long narrative poems,  as Troilus and Criseyde.  Finally the rhyming pentameter or heroic verse,  which is the metre of the greatest English poetry of all times , owes its origin in England to Chaucer's use of decasyllables.

Indeed , Chaucer is not only , as Keats has called him, 'one just great meterist.'He is also

'an absolute master of rhyme, that essentially artificial device , to which only the great poets succeeded in giving a resemblance of inevitability.

But what is more about Chaucer is his application of the common dialect of London and its neighbourhood as his poetic diction.  This is known as the King's English which became , owing largely to his own work,  the sole literary language throughout England.

The Chaucerian literary world is not antique,  but modern.  This has an absolutely modern environment  in an old setting . His genius has put fresh and formative spirits into old things and turned gross into gold.  Albert is quite right in his observation,

Chaucer is, indeed ,a genius,  he stands alone,  and for nearly two hundred years none have claim equality with him

In the language of David Daiches with Chaucer,  the English language and English literature grew at a bound to full maturity . 

THE AGE OF CHAUCER