Scarica Geoffrey Chaucer - The Canterbury Tales e più Sintesi del corso in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! Geoffrey Chaucer. Geoffrey Chaucer was born about 1343, he followed Edward III’s son to war in France and he was taken prisoner by the king. He belonged to the middle class, he grew up in contact with the royal family and he also travelled to England, France and even in Italy, where he was interested in Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio and thanks to Virgilio he extended his reading in Latin. He became a Member of Parliament, he was trusted by the Crown and he was an informed participator in politic. In 1386 he was dismissed from everything. In this period Chaucer starts to write his masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales. He died in 1400 in his house at Westminster. The father of English literature. Chaucer’s considered the first major secular poet, the language that he used became standard English. In his masterpiece he gave a portrait of the English society. His work is divided into three periods: The French period, which includes poems modelled on French romance style and subjects. The Italian period, that shows a greater maturity of perception and the manipulation of the meters. The English period, marked by realism, which includes The Canterbury Tales. THE MEDIEVAL NARRATIVE POET. A narrative poem tells a story in verse and contains narrative elements. In the Middle Ages the collections of stories were popular because they have subject of entrainment and instruction. That introduced a narration showing the molar views, it gives a view of all the characters looking at their lifestyle, psychology and experiences. The Canterbury Tales is an example, that’s a long poem framed by a “General Prologue”. THE CANTERBURY TALES. PLOT. The Canterbury Tales is set in spring and tells the story of thirty people who are going on a pilgrimage. They are traveling to Canterbury to Thomas Becket. The host suggests that every pilgrim should tell two stories while going to Canterbury and two coming back. STRUCTURE AND STYLE. That’s a long narrative poem which I used rhyming couplets made by pentameters. The “General Prologue” introduced every pilgrim. Every tales is preceded by a prologue or followed by an epilogue. Chaucer reports pilgrims by himself and he tells us what he thinks and sees. SETTING. The pilgrimage provides a dynamic frame without an order of events. Canterbury rappresents the celestial city and the journey becomes an allegory of the human life. The work remained unfinished, so Canterbury is not reached. CHARACTERS. Chaucer gave us a portrait of English society. In the “General Prologue” he mixed male and female characters, the new factory was an individualization, it means that the characters exits because they have reaction and are in movements. The description vary in length, point of view and tone. Chaucer described tools, clothes and personal qualities and the name of every pilgrims refer to their profession and suggest a society in which work conditioned the personality. THEMES. The main themes is the journey in form of pilgrimage. In the opening lines springtime is definited like a rebirth so the pilgrimage is set in the calendar of seasons. The horizon appears like a
