Chaucer's poetic creation can be divided into three periods: ① the period of French influence (1359 ~ 1372): he mainly translated and imitated the works of French poets, created The Book of the Duchess (1369), and translated the French medieval narrative poem The Legend of the Rose in London dialect. ② The period of Italian influence (1372 ~ 1386): The poet was exposed to the progressive thought of bourgeois humanism. The works of this period, such as The Hundred Birds Conference, Troilus and Criseyde (c. 1385), and The Story of a Good Woman, reflect the author's creative attitude and humanistic viewpoint facing the reality of life. (3) Mature period (1386 ~ 14): Chaucer was engaged in the creation of Canterbury Tales in the last 15 years. He reached the peak of his creation in both content and skill. Heroic couplet, which was initiated by him, was widely adopted by later English poets and was known as "the father of English poetry".
Chaucer's early works were influenced by Italian and French literature. He introduced knight legends, lyric poems and animal fables from French literature into English literature. His early work Trollos and Clayside (1385) has vivid and delicate characters and witty language.
since 1377, Chaucer has made many trips to the European continent and has been exposed to the works of Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio. The anti-feudal and anti-religious spirit and humanistic thoughts of these writers have profoundly changed Chaucer's creative thoughts and began to turn to realism. Troles and Comisside, a narrative poem adapted from a long poem by Boccaccio, abandoned the tradition of dreams and fables and replaced it with a description of characters and life details in real society. This is Chaucer's first realistic work.
Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales(1387-14) in the last fifteen years of his life. This is his most outstanding work.
Chaucer's broad vision, profound observation and varied writing techniques truly reflected the life of different social classes, created the realistic tradition of English literature, and influenced Shakespeare and Dickens.
Canterbury Tales is a novel by Chaucer, an English writer. The work depicts a group of pilgrims gathering in a small hotel in London, ready to make a pilgrimage to Canterbury. The shopkeeper suggested that pilgrims tell two stories on their way back and forth to see who told the best story. The story collection includes 23 stories, among which the most wonderful stories are: the love tragedy story told by the knight, the knight story told by Mrs. Bath, the fable story told by the atonement ticket seller, the animal fable story told by the priest, the family dispute story told by the businessman, and the touching love and generosity story told by the farmer. The works widely reflect the British social life in the embryonic period of capitalism, expose the corruption of the church, the greed and hypocrisy of priests, condemn the asceticism that stifles human nature, and affirm the secular love life.
The Tales of Canterbury has made great artistic achievements, far exceeding the previous contemporary English literary works, and it is the first model of realism in the history of English literature. The works combine humor and satire, and have a strong comedy color. Most of the stories are written in rhymed verse, which has an influence on later English literature. The characters are vivid and the language is lively. Chaucer wrote in the vibrant London dialect, which also laid the foundation for the English literary language. His heroic couplet was widely adopted by later English poets, so Chaucer was known as "the father of English poetry".
Geoffrey Chaucer's works
geoffrey chaucer (134-14), a famous English writer in the Middle Ages, was born into a family of wine merchants. In 1359, he went on an expedition to France with Edward III's troops, was captured by the French army, and was redeemed in gold soon. Chaucer was a king's aide, sent to many European countries, visited Italy twice, and discovered the works of Dante, Boccaccio and Petrarch, which played a great role in his literary creation. Masterpieces: The Canterbury Tales, other works, The Duchess's Book, The House of Fame, The Parliament of Fowles, The Legend of Good Women and troilus and Kristida. Chaucer died in London on October 25th, 14 and was buried in the "Poet's Corner" in Westminster Abbey. The cause of Chaucer's death is unknown, and it may be murder. terry jones, a British expert in medieval studies, once published a book, Who Murdered Chaucer? 》。
Chaucer was the first to write in the London dialect, and he created "heroic two-line style", which had a great influence on the development of English national language and literature, so he was called "the father of English poetry".