Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400)

Middle English Poems. G. Chaucer.

The 14^th century was very hard time for England. The Country was waging the Hundred Year’s War with France. It was started in1337 by the English King Edward the II because the French lords wanted to seize Flanders (Belgium) which was England’s wool market. As the King needed money for the war Parliament voted for the poll tax. This and the policy of the Catholic priests angered the peasants and a revolt, called peasant’s Revolt, took place in 1381.

At the same time England suffered from three epidemics of the plague. Half of the country’s population died from it.

During this stormy century the English nation was being formed; English became the spoken language of the country; English literature was born.

The scholastic literature of the Church ranked high, but a new spirit was marked by an optimism unknown to the Middle Ages. It was best reflected in the works by G.Chaucer, the last poet of the Middle Ages and the first poet who paved the way for English realistic literature, free of the influence of the Church.

G. Chaucer` s great skill was as a teller of tales, and is called the father of English poetry. He drew on the moral, religious and philosophical beliefs of the day and yet created poetry from the spoken language. His writing was full of comedy blended with tragedy as well as wonderfully realistic descriptions of characters and nature.

The Canterbury Tales, begun in 1386, consists of stories told by some of the 30 pilgrims who set off from the Tabard Inn in Southwark, London, to visit the shrine St. Thomas a` Becket, the Archbichop of Canterbury murdered in his own cathedral in 1770. The aim was to tell four stories: 2 on the way, 2 on the way back. The teller of the best story would be given a free dinner by the cheerful host of the Tabard. The book is about a group of pilgrims of different occupations and personalities. In fact, the collection is incomplete and only 24 stories are told (planned 120).Chaucer painted a vivid picture of English society, as it was in his days; each of his characters was given as an individual, typical of his country and his time. Some of the famous stories are The Knight`s Tale, The Miller`s Tale, The Wife of Bath`s Tale. The language of the book is Middle English.

Chaucer`s main works also include The Book of the Duchess, an elegy (элегия) (a poem written to show sorrow for the dead) for the beautiful first wife of his patron, John of Gaunt.

The House of Fame, a lighthearted dreamvision, in which the poet is carried off by an eagle to learn whether those in the service of love are happy or not. In the poem, Chaucer parodies the conventions of medieval courtly (изысканный) love.

Troilus and Criseyde, a long love narrative, based on Boccaccio`s work, full of humour and poetic beauty. Chaucer was much influenced, particularly at the beginning of his literary career, by the literature of France. He translated the Roman de la Rosa. Almost a manual for courtly love. He also found inspiration from the Italian writers Petrarch, Boccaccio and Dante as well as the Latin writers Vergil and Ovid.

2.2 First English Plays: drama, comedy, interlude.

The 15^th century is known in English literature as the century of folklore. Many songs, called ballads, were composed then by the common people of the country. The ballads were songs in verses of 4 lines, called quatrains; the 2^nd and the 4^th lines of the verse rhymed. Among them were historical, legendary, humorous and lyrical ballads. A favourite legendary hero of the English people is Robin Hood. Some historians say that there really was such a person as Robin Hood, but that is not certain.

With the establishment of the first printing press in England in1476 by William Caxton literature entered a new era. Caxton brought a printing press from Flanders, set up at Westminster in the shadow of the old Abbey and set to work to produce the first book in English. ”Canterbury Tales” was among the books he printed, together with many other translations from Latin and French.

With Caxton`s press printing books there was a new emphasis on learning, and many writers were among its exponents. These men were grammarians, teachers, and translators.

Lecture 2

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