Page 75 - DENG405_BRITISH_POETRY

British Poetry

Notes merchants could receive good educations at this time, and there is reason to believe that, if Chaucer
did not attend one of the schools on Thames Street near his boyhood home, then he was at least well-
educated at home. Certainly his work showcases a passion for reading a huge range of literature,
classical and modern.
Chaucer first appears in public records in 1357 as a member of the house of Elizabeth, Countess of
Ulster. This was a conventional arrangement in which sons of middle-class households were placed
in royal service so that they could obtain a courtly education. Two years later, Chaucer served in the
army under Edward III and was captured during an unsuccessful offensive at Reims, although he
was later ransomed. Chaucer served under a number of diplomatic missions.

Self Assessment

Multiple Choice Questions:
1. The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in Middle English by
(a) Geoffrey Chaucer (b) William Shakespeare
(c) John Milton (d) John Keats
2. Chaucer drew from a rich variety of literature sources to create the
(a) Stories (b) Articles
(c) Tales (d) Nobel
3. The name of Geoffrey Chaucer is
(a) William Chaucer (b) Duke Chaucer
(c) Philippa Chaucer (d) John Chaucer
4. Chaucer first appears in public records in 1357 as a member of the house of
(a) Edward (b) Elizabeth
(c) Parliament (d) None of these
5. Chaucer first published work was
(a) The book of the country (b) Courtly love
(c) The book of the Duchess
By 1366 Chaucer had married Philippa Pan, who had been in service with the Countess of Ulster.
Chaucer married well for his position, for Philippa Chaucer received an annuity from the queen
consort of Edward III. Philippa’s sister Katherine de Roet was John of Gaunt’s mistress for twenty
years before becoming the Duke’s wife. Through this connection, John of Gaunt was Chaucer’s
“kinsman.” Chaucer himself secured an annuity as yeoman of the king and was listed as one of the
king’s esquires.

Write brief introduction to the author of Canterbury Tales.

Chaucer’s first published work was The Book of the Duchess, a poem of over 1,300 lines, supposed
to be an elegy for Blanche, Duchess of Lancaster, addressed to her widower, the Duke. For this first
of his important poems, which was published in 1370, Chaucer used the dream-vision form, a genre
made popular by the highly influential 13th-century French poem of courtly love, the Roman de la
Rose, which Chaucer translated into English. Throughout the following decade, Chaucer continued
with his diplomatic career, traveling to Italy for negotiations to open a Genoa port to Britain as well
as military negotiations with Milan. During his missions to Italy, Chaucer encountered the work of
Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio, which were later to have profound influence upon his own writing.
In 1374 Chaucer was appointed comptroller of the customs and subsidy of wool, skins, and tanned

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