a power point about Chaucer. the father of English literature

1. Geoffrey Chaucer
The Father of English Literature

2. Part 1:
His Life

3. Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer
Portrait of Chaucer from the 17th century
Born 1343 A.D
London, England
Died 25 October 1400 (aged 56–57)
Resting place Westminster Abbey, London
Occupation Author, poet, philosopher
, diplomat
Spouse(s) Philippa Roet
Children Elizabeth Chaucer
Thomas Chaucer
Parents John Chaucer

4. His father seems to have been pretty well off; he sold wine to bars and
taverns
she inherited twenty-four shops in London from her uncle
The plague struck England when Chaucer was about five years old
In 1343(14 years old) became a page in the house of the Countess of
Urlster

5. in 1359 he was captured by the French at the
siege of Reims during the the Hundred Years’
War while serving in English army; ransomed
King Edward III a year later.
As a royal messenger Chaucer was frequently
sent to the continent on secret business for
the King.
he became acquainted with the works of the
great Italian authors: Boccaccio, Dante, Petrarch

6. Other Jobs Chaucer Held…and Learned From...
Controller of Customs on Wools, Skins and Hides for
the Port of London
Here he would meet many types of businessmen, sailors,
travelers city folk and common laborers
Clerk of the King’s Works
In charge of construction and repairs affecting the royal
residences; here he would meet many guildsmen as well as
court officials

7. Deputy Forester of the King’s Forests
Away from the city, he met peasants, foresters, local clergy and
other country folk
Representative of the Shire of Kent in Parliament
Here he met the rich, the influential and the upper middle class
as well as the higher ranking church officials

8. Chaucer was one of the first writers to be buried in
the Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey.

9. Part 2 :
His works

10. • Before Chaucer English was not fashionable.
• He wrote in the vernacular or everyday language.
• Since most literature and science was still written in Latin, Chaucer
wrote his stories in Middle English (now Modern English).
• The popularity of Chaucer's works written in the London dialect of
Middle English gave rise to this dialect
Why he is a father of English literature?

11. Chaucer's first major work:
The Book of Duchess

12. Elegy for “blanche of Lancaster”
Died in 1369
She was the wife of “john Gaunt” (son of Edward lll of England)
Dream Vision
In octosyllabic couplets(A stanza in which each of the two lines contains
eight syllables.)

13. The Canterbury Tales, his famous work

14. But why go to Canterbury?

15. One Answer: Religion
Canterbury has always been an important
religious center in England.
Religion played an important part in medieval life.

16. Also, Canterbury was a Pilgrimage Site

17. Describe them by:
Their job
The type and color of their clothing
Their “accessories” (jewelry, pets, other portables)
The way they act
Their income
Their “secrets”
Their status in society as a whole
The way they speak / their slang or accent
Their mode of transportation

18. CanterburyTales
• General Prologue,
• The Knight's Tale,
• The Miller's Tale,
• The Reeve's Tale,
• The Cook's Tale
• The Man of Law's Tale
• The Shipman's Tale,
• The Prioress's Tale,
• Sir Thopas' Tale,
• The Tale of Melibee,
• The Monk's Tale,
• The Nun's Priest's Tale
• The Physician's Tale,
• The Pardoner's Tale
• The Wife of Bath's Tale,
• The Friar's Tale,
• The Summoner's Tale
• The Clerk's Tale,
• The Merchant's Tale
• The Squire's Tale,
• The Franklin's Tale
• The Second Nun's Tale,
• The Canon's Yeoman's Tale
• The Manciple's Tale
• The Parson's Tale

19. The
knight’s
Tale

20. The Tale
of
Melibee

21. The house of fame

22. Written in octosyllabic couplets
It is a dialogue between an
eagle and Chaucer
Eagle is a medieval symbol of
contemplation
The manuscript abruptly end

23. Troilus and Criseyde

24. It is one of the masterpieces of world literature
Chaucer’s greatest sustained narrative and his only
complete long poem
Boccaccio’s Il Filostrato is probably Chaucer’s source
It is a love story set against the background of the
Trojan war
Troilus falls in love with Criseyda, a lovely widow
She became of mistress of Diomede

25. The Legend of
Good Women

26. A series of narratives about
faithful women deceived by
men
Such women include Dido,
Lucretia, Cleopatre, and Medea
High-spirited prologue

27. The Parliament of
Fowls

28. 700 lines
Dream vision
Written in rhyme Royal(a
Stanza of seven 10-syllable
lines,rhyming ABABBCC,
popularized by chucer
It’s the first refrence to
St.Valentine’s Day

29. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Chaucer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Canterbury_Tales
http://www.litencyc.com/glossaryMZ.php
http://spiritoftheages.com/Warwick_Goble_-
_''The_Complete_Poetical_Works_of_Geoffrey_Chaucer''_(1912).htm#
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxqAwT5IpL8&hd=1
http://www.famousauthors.org/geoffrey-chaucer
Sources: