Essay on Geoffrey Chaucer - 1158 Words

Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London, the son of a successful wine merchant. After probably spending many of his childhood days in Londons Vintry, his father did not send him to apprenticeship school, but rather to the aristocratic house of the countess of Ulster. There he trained as a page and learned the mannerisms and skills of the ruling class. After that in1359-60 Chaucer serves in the war in France.1360 Chaucer, captured by the French, is ransomed (for 16 pounds). (Benson, L.D pg 1).Chaucer then married Philippa Roet in 1366. Also in the same year Chaucers father died. The next year was a great time in any mans life, Chaucer had his son Thomas. In 1380, Lewis, Chaucers second son was born. Twenty years later the great Geoffrey†¦show more content†¦The Pardoner: An effeminate and shamelessly immoral man, the Pardoner is intensely self-loathing yet devoted to his task of defrauding people of their money by making them believe that they have sinned and need to buy pardons . His tale is an allegory about three rioters who find death through their avarice. The Pardoner uses this tale as an attempt to sell false relics to the travelers. The Miller: A large man with an imposing physique, the Miller is rude and contemptuous of his fellow travelers. His tale is a comic story of a devious student who contrives to have an affair with the wife of a dimwitted carpenter. As you can see his characters are or sound like real people. There has been a major debate on if Chaucer wrote about real people and real things going on at his time. If you take the Wife of the Bath Tale; First, she argues from scripture and experience that marriage is no bad thing, and that successive marriages for those who are widowed are perfectly in order. Arguments against marriage can be countered, the Wife shows, by demonstrating how Biblical teaching is far from clear in some places, while others give support for polygamy. She shows how St. Paul, in I Corinthians, claims only to advise his readers and expressly states that this advice is no binding commandment. Elsewhere the Wife notes Biblical precedent for polygamy, beginning with the obscure Lamech,Show MoreRelatedEssay on Geoffrey Chaucer778 Words   |  4 PagesGeoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer was a poet, a writer, and of course a diplomat. Geoffrey Chaucer was born in the early hours of 1340s to John Chaucer, a vintner and assistant to the kings butler. As a boy, he was a leaf to the Countess of Ulster. (Lombardi) Chaucer was the most famous for writing his unfinished Canterbury tales. (Geoffrey Chaucer) He was born in London, only problem is, the exact date and place are unknown. From his writings Chaucer emerges as poet of love, both worldly and heavenlyRead MoreThe Wife Of Bath, By Geoffrey Chaucer1091 Words   |  5 Pagesdominated society. â€Å"Millions are condemned to a stiller doom than mine, and millions are in silent revolt against their lot.† As Charlotte Brontà « and many other authors have found, it is seemingly unfair that these roles are the way they are. Geoffrey Chaucer also explores this reality with his creation of the Wife of Bath’s Tale. Although her thoughts may have been a bit different from Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s, the character portrayed in this tale explores the duality of both challenging and upholding the patriarchyRead MoreThe Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer1582 Words   |  7 Pages Geoffrey Chaucer wrote the Canterbury tales a collection of short tales in the 14th century. The compilation of stories are told by different characters within the narrative as part of a game proposed by the host. Each individual must tell two stories on their journey and two stories on their way back. Each story tells some aspects of English life during the time and often added satire like qualities to the English life. In particular Chaucer often tells stories with elements of the relationshipRead MoreThe Wife Of Bath, By Geoffrey Chaucer880 Words   |  4 Pagessocial philosophies. These women are guided by desires, independence, and progress notions. These conflicting depictions of social and individual concepts, within female characters, illustrates feministic divergences within specific writings of Geoffrey Chaucer, the Pearl Poet, and Margery Kempe. In Chaucer’s frame story The Canterbury Tales, the account of â€Å"The Wife of Bath† demonstrates a mixture of feminine ideas. The prologue of to the tale shows a complexity of medieval female characteristicsRead MoreThe Canterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer2127 Words   |  9 PagesIt is unknown when Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, but it is assumed that he wrote it in 1387. There are many different aspects and themes throughout this paper that are very prominent. One theme that is very important is the importance of company. This entire tale is about twenty-nine pilgrims who all tell tales while on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury. The importance of company is that this is a pilgrimage that requires companions and friendship. ThoughRead MoreThe Canterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer2664 Words   |  11 PagesThe Canterbury Tales The Canterbury Tales was written by Geoffrey Chaucer in 1392, during the medieval period in Europe. Three important aspects, his family’s ties to the court, his schooling and working for royalty (XI), and his love for reading and learning (XII) all combined and enabled him to create his greatest work, The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer includes many different characters, pilgrims, all from very unique walks of life. Although there are not as many women included as men, their storiesRead MoreThe Canterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer2648 Words   |  11 PagesThe Canterbury Tales was written by Geoffrey Chaucer in 1392, during the medieval period in Europe. Three important aspects, his family’s ties to the court, his schooling and working for royalty (XI), and his love for reading and learning (XII) all combined and enabled him to create his greatest work, The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer includes many different characters, pilgrims, all from very unique walks of life. Although there are not as many women included as men, their stories give some extraordinaryRead MoreThe Canterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer1073 Words   |  5 PagesIn The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer introduced and described a variety of fictional characters that lived in the Middle Ages. It was the time period that European civilians were governed by a system called feudalism. Where kings were the head of the system and everyone was categorized in social classes. In the prologue of The Canterbury Tales the first character introduced was the knight. Geoffrey Chaucer depicts the knight correctly by characterizing him as a chivalrous and honorable man,Read MoreGeoffrey Chaucer s Impact On Literature1231 Words   |  5 PagesGeoffrey Chaucer’s Impact on Literature: English poet Geoffrey Chaucer is acclaimed to be one of the best and most influential poets in history. Geoffrey Chaucer wrote several famous literary works in what is called middle English. Geoffrey Chaucer was born in 1340 in London, England. Over the course of Chaucer’s life, he entered and exited several different social classes. He began to write his most known pieces when he became a public servant to Countess Elizabeth of Ulster in 1357. He diedRead MoreThe Wife Of Bath, By Geoffrey Chaucer1251 Words   |  6 PagesBath, emphasizing â€Å"The Prologue of the Wife of Bath’s Tale† and the â€Å"The Prologue† in Geoffrey Chaucer s Canterbury Tales, is an example of the Middle English concept that male authors reflect misogynistic ideals of society onto female characters.With the Wife of Bath, she is a fictional character, as told by Chaucer, going on a Pilgrimage, with constant ridicule for her sexuality and multiple marriages. Chaucer portrays her as a previously battered wife who uses her sexual promiscuity as a way of