Chaucer Background.pdf

Geoffrey Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales

Overview of the Middle Ages

Time Periods

  • Old English: 700-1066
  • Middle English: 1066-1500

Influential Cultures

  • British Celts
  • Angles, Saxons, Jutes (from Germany)
  • Anglo-Saxon
  • Normans (from France)

Language Evolution

  • Celtic
  • Latin
  • Old English
  • Anglo Norman French
  • Middle English

Key Texts of the Period

  • The Dream of the Rood
  • Beowulf
  • Exeter Book (riddles)
  • Geoffrey of Monmouth's The History of the Kings of England
  • Marie de France's Lais
  • Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

Themes and Genres

  • Heroic
  • Elegiac
  • Courtly Romance
  • Mixed Genres

Chaucer's Life and Class Structures

Biographical Context

  • Birth and Upbringing: c. 1340-1400 into the burgeoning bourgeois class; son of a merchant.
  • Education: Demonstrated proficiency in Latin, French, and Italian languages.
  • Marriage and Connections: Married to a lady-in-waiting to the queen; linked to John of Gaunt, leading to connections with English nobility.
  • Career: Held various court positions as a soldier, courtier, diplomat, and government official; traveled abroad, influencing his literary works.

Class Structures in The Canterbury Tales

  • Three Estates Represented: Nobility, Clergy, and Commoners.
    • Focus on the rising mercantile class emphasizing class conflict.
  • Language Choice: Writing in English reflects Chaucer's awareness of societal changes.
  • Narrative Voice: Chaucer’s narrator is portrayed as non-descript, contrasting with Chaucer’s own shrewdness in navigating class dynamics and the political landscape.

Structure of The Canterbury Tales

Narrative Frame

  • Pilgrims: 29 characters undertaking a journey.
  • Story Format: Each pilgrim tells 4 tales (2 per journey, 2 on return), totaling 116 tales intended but only 23 completed.
  • Components: Consists of a General Prologue, individual prologues to tales, the tales themselves, and includes Parson’s Tale and a Retraction.

Influences and Manuscripts

Sources and Literary Influences

  • Dante: The Divine Comedy (1265-1321), uses the journey device.
  • Boccaccio: The Decameron (1313-1375), features a frame narrative structure.
  • Similar Texts: Works of Ovid, Boethius, the Bible, St. Jerome, and Petrarch also influenced Chaucer’s narratives.

Manuscript Preservation

  • Over 80 manuscript copies exist, many are fragmentary.
  • Notable Manuscript: The Ellesmere manuscript (early 15th century), regarded as one of the most famous.

Illustrations in Manuscripts

  • Images from the Ellesmere Manuscript depict characters like the Knight, Miller, and the Friar to represent Chaucer's varied cast.

Analysis of the General Prologue

  • Opening Lines: "Whan that aprill with his shoures soote…" - sets a pastoral and vibrant tone indicating social movement towards pilgrimage.
  • Themes Introduced: The natural world inspires pilgrimage, symbolizing renewal and spiritual seeking across the land.
  • Character Motivations: A desire to seek divine favor, represented by the holy martyr, reflects the intertwining of spiritual journeys with personal quests.

The Wife’s Description in the Prologue

  • Attributes: A businesswoman, charitable, religious, bold-looking, respectable, well-versed in love.

Considerations for Analysis

  • Narrative Attitude: Analysis of how Chaucer’s narrator perceives and presents the Wife’s character.
  • Themes: Explore arguments regarding women’s rights and the implications of her representation in a male-authored text.
  • Critical Questions: Is the Wife a feminist or a stereotype? What is the significance of her voice relative to Chaucer's role as the author?