Chaucer: The First English Poet
Hundreds of years before Chaucer, French poetry and its imitations dominated English literature. Chaucer was the first English poet who broke away from the mode and framework of French poetry and created vivid pictures of English society in London dialect.
Chaucer's era was in the process of Britain's transition from feudal society to capitalist society. His life and poems reflect the changes of that era. In his poems, Chaucer changed the tradition of praising God and monarch and boldly turned his eyes to all levels of society. In his sharp and elegant works, there are many kinds of English society in the14th century, especially the energetic images and demands of the emerging citizen class, thus shaping a delicate, popular and humanistic literary image, and Chaucer has also become a fashion leading the Renaissance literary world.
Chaucer has made outstanding achievements in the field of English, and his works have established his unshakable position as the "father of English poetry". It is true that Chaucer has worked hard to establish the status of English all his life, and his contribution to the English language is unparalleled. If English is the first language in the world today, which contains historical and cultural factors, it should be attributed to Chaucer's great contribution to it 600 years ago. Chaucer is the representative work of English literary school in14th century, and he created an optimistic and humorous writing style. As a literary form of this story genre, it can be said that it is unique, and the subsequent English poetry creation has followed the basic form pioneered by Chaucer. Chaucer doesn't pretend to be a poet and linguist, but he is a pioneer of thought and a master of language after all. In Britain in the14th century, he stepped onto the stage of cultural focus.
From 1355 to 1372, Chaucer traveled between France and Italy for quite a long time, where the human geography and the revival of classical culture before Britain strongly attracted young British gentlemen. He first translated the legend of the rose into English. On this basis, he created The Duchess's Book, Hall of Fame, Bird Parliament and other works with the dream technique used in The Legend of Roses.
Among them, The Duchess's Book (about 1369) is Chaucer's first important work. The duchess was the wife of Chaucer's protector, the Duke of Lancaster, who died of the Black Death that swept Europe. Chaucer mourned the lady. In the book, Chaucer tells his story in the first person. He fell asleep while reading the ancient Ovid's Metamorphosis. In his dream, he became a charming black knight, lamenting the unfortunate death of his beautiful and gentle lover. It was the goddess of fate who took his lover. Although this dream technique is commonly used in medieval literature, Chaucer is more familiar with it when translating French rose legends, and he should show the poet's originality in the duchess's theme.
Other works, such as Hall of Fame and Parliament of Birds, also adopt the method of classic reading and dreaming, which is slightly lacking in content and artistry, indicating that Chaucer was deeply influenced by medieval creative techniques. It can also be seen that he is still vague at this time and dare not say his thoughts clearly. Most of his poems are "Wang poems" commonly used by predecessors.
Chaucer's most outstanding work is Troy and Clerides, which has a higher status than Canterbury Tales for a long time. The story originated from/kloc-Troy of Rome written by a French poet in the 20th century. Later, two Italian writers continued to write the story of Troilus and Cresida, which became a popular work. Chaucer's creation is mainly based on the blueprint of Italian writer Boccaccio. Chaucer made a new creation of this old story. In his works, he highlighted the background of the times, the naturalness in characterization, especially the sense of humor and psychological analysis, thus forming Chaucer's creative characteristics. ?
Chaucer's frame structure is mainly embodied in The Canterbury Tales, which originated from the East, and it has a great influence on the original European literary structure theory. Canterbury Tales is Chaucer's masterpiece, which has been written for a long time, ranging from 1387 to 1400. According to Chaucer's plan, this book contains 120 stories, which will be told all the way on the pilgrimage. Chaucer died in 1400 because he changed his mind halfway, and because Chaucer was in trouble during his writing. This Canterbury Tales has only been completed for 20 years.
Canterbury Tales tells the story of 365,438+0 British people who went to Canterbury and worshipped a saint in a small hotel on the south bank of the Thames in London. On the pilgrimage, in order to reduce loneliness, the hotel owner suggested telling stories. One told 24 stories, but two or three didn't finish.
The pilgrims in Canterbury Tales come from all walks of life, not a group. Among them are knights, monks, nuns, abbots, dervishes, businessmen, sailors, lawyers, doctors, landlords, millers, housekeepers, shopkeepers, kitchen buyers, farmers, chefs, officers, priests who sell atonement books, etc. Apart from members of the royal family and nobles and slaves with high status, they can be said to come from all walks of life and major industries in Britain at that time, which constituted the epitome of British society. This is exactly what the author wants to achieve.
Therefore, Chaucer's creation has distinct characteristics: first, every story can match the personality and identity of the storyteller. Knight, for example, tells a series of twists and turns caused by two young knights falling in love with a girl at the same time. His story is full of emotion and empathy, which is beyond reproach. Second, many stories are used to ridicule or attack people in the same industry, which makes the story full of wit and humor inside and outside. For example, the mill tells the story of a carpenter wearing a green headscarf. As soon as the noble housekeeper couldn't hear it well, because he used to be a carpenter, he immediately told a story about a miller who was a thief, and he himself was also accused by the stories of two Cambridge college students. Third, every story has an orderly speech and postscript, and each has its own opinions.
Canterbury Tales depicts the sentient beings who advocate freedom, long for love and have various shortcomings to the maximum extent. His wonderful writing will forever engrave the present situation of English society in the Renaissance on a page of history.