write a brief essay on the age of chaucer

The Age of Chaucer: His Life, Works & their Significance

The 14th-century English literature is popularly known as the Age of Chaucer. This is because Geoffrey Chaucer was the greatest and most resourceful poet of his time, so much so that he was regarded as the founder of English verse by John Dryden (1631-1700).

Popularly known as the founder of modern English and the Father of English literature , it was because of Chaucer that the middle English became a respectable medium for literature. Besides coining various words such as bribe, femininity, plumage, etc, he also invented Rime Royal, a seven-line iambic pentameter stanza .

Professor John Livingston Lowes perfectly summarises the significance of Chaucer when he says:

“He had, to be sure, “no message”. But his sanity (“He is”, said Dryden, “a perpetual fountain of good sense”), his soundness, his freedom from sentimentality, his balance of humorous detachment and directness of vision, and above all his large humanity - those are qualities which “give us”, to use Arnold’s own criticism, “what we can rest on” ”.

Geoffrey Chaucer: Early Life and Influences

Chaucer (1340s - 1400) was a worldly man exposed to diverse people from different walks of life. He was born to a wealthy family of vintners - his grandfather (Robert Chaucer), step-grandfather (Richard), and father (John Chaucer) were all wine merchants. In fact, his father, John Chaucer was a customs officer responsible for collecting duty on wines at various southern ports, and had a significant place in London’s social life. As the son of an influential vintner, Chaucer was often exposed to men from overseas and their strange foreign stories since childhood. This early exposure is a crucial factor that makes Chaucer a distinctly better poet than his contemporaries Langland or Lydgate who were constrained by their limited education and opportunities. Langland’s passionate and violent attitude is in sharp contrast to Chaucer’s worldly and patient outlook that was shaped during his childhood. 

During his early years, London was Chaucer’s school. The bustling city was full of shipmen and pilgrims, and a highly cultured and cosmopolitan French society. 

Chaucer also worked as a page in the service of Elizabeth of Ulster, the wife of Edward III’s son Lionel. During his service, he was exposed to the courtly life. In 1359, he was a part of Edward’s invading army in France and was taken as a prisoner.  The king ransomed Chaucer and he returned to England in 1360. In the autumn of the same year, he was again in France. These events further enriched Chaucer’s experiences and contributed to a cosmopolitan mindset. 

In 1367, Chaucer received a pension as the groom or yeoman in the royal household and was described as “ dilectus vallectus noster ” or ‘our beloved yeoman’. Around this time he also married Philippa, sister to Katherine Swynford, who was once the wife of John of Gaunt and was in the Queen’s service. 

Impact of French Poetry on Chaucer

Roman de la Rose, Machaut, Guillaume de Lorris, and Jean de Meun

Chaucer’s earlier works reflected his experiences at the royal court. It is for such “ many a song and many a lecherous lay” that he apologises for during his last years. Most of his works during the early years were focused on winning the favours of ladies. It was during this period that Chaucer translated Roman de la Rose . This French poem was one of the most popular, significant, and influential works for both the English and the French. Undoubtedly, it influenced Chaucer too. Throughout his early poems, there is an evident influence of Guillaume de Lorris. However, in his Canterbury Tales, it is the satirical and realistic Jean de Meun whom Chaucer turns to for both methods and models.

French poetry, literature, and culture had a significant impact on Chaucer. He was particularly influenced by the works of Machaut. Most of his early works were heavily influenced by the French poet. The Book of the Duchess is one of Chaucer’s finest tributes to his French influence and learning.

The Death of Blanche the Duchess or The Book of the Duchess (composed around 1368-1372)

Duchess Blanche was the first wife of John of Gaunt who died in September 1369. It was her death that caused Chaucer to compose The Death of Blanche the Duchess or the Book of the Duchess . The poem showcases how dependent Chaucer was on the French and Latin models and how he heavily borrowed from Guillaume de Machaut , an influential French composer and poet . He adheres to the established conventions of the allegorical dream poem. However, at the same time, he also utilises it uniquely to highlight the pathos of his story. Chaucer was fascinated by dreams and attempted to use the strange events in dreams as his material in the Book of the Duchess. 

Even though the poem appears to be simple, it is a much more complex work that would have required thorough readings of Ovid’s Metamorphosis , Dit de la Fontaine Amoureuse and Le Jugement dou Roy de Behaingne by Machaut , and Paradys d’ Amours during composition. Chaucer blended these works masterfully and composed a poem that became distinctly his.

The Book of the Duchess is structurally flawed. The story becomes a little too lengthy before its climax which is abruptly concluded. Moreover, there are several repetitive elements such as the personification of Love and Nature, the dream convention, and a sleepless reader. 

Despite these shortcomings, the poem has remarkable merits. It showcases Chaucer's growing knowledge and experiences. The death of Duchess Blanch equips him with the personal experience that he distinctly infuses into an elegiac poem. The poem explores the profound grief of a husband who has lost his beloved wife. Chaucer elevates this grief through his lively description of the duchess - her sweet disposition, and femininity.

Till 1370, most of Chaucer’s works, although significant, were nothing more than promising. By this time, he had acquired a wealth of worldly knowledge and experience as a rich vintner’s son, a yeoman in the King’s court, and as a soldier in Edward III’s army. Besides these first-hand experiences, Chaucer also had formal learning of Latin that introduced him to Virgil, Ovid, and all the mediaeval Latin classics.

Chaucer's Life at Court

The years 1370-1380 were the most important in Chaucer’s life. During this time, he became the Esquire of the Royal Household . This was a particularly interesting position as it enabled Chaucer to meet and observe various influential men in culture. Being in the service of the King, he frequently came in contact with London’s men of importance, continental diplomats, and even rulers. Thus, Chaucer enjoyed a rich and diverse social circle. From this society and contacts, Chaucer inculcated a distinct knowledge of humanity that became a characteristic feature of his writing.

Employed as a royal esquire, Chaucer had to demonstrate proficiency in almost everything, or at least maintain such an impression. He was expected to be able to dance, sing, recite poetry, entertain, as well as conduct dignified and serious activities with equal efficiency. Most importantly, he was frequently at the service of ladies. His exposure to the royal female society helped him create numerous detailed and remarkable lifelike feminine portraits that were, unfortunately, lacking in most romantic heroines. He was not restricted to partial access to high society through just reading books or distant observations, instead, he was right in the middle of it. This experience reflects in his Book of the Duchess. His in-depth portrait of the lady Blanche is the most outstanding feature of his work. In his later works too, he continued to uniquely blend the conventional literary models with his personal knowledge and experience which had never been done before in romance.

The Italian Influence

Frequent travelling shaped Chaucer’s knowledge to a great extent. Between the years 1370 to 1378 , Chaucer visited France, Flanders, and Italy. While France was already familiar and important to him through previous trips and literature, Italy too made a lasting impact on Chaucer and his art. Even though the natural landscape was only a background in the Age of Chaucer, it was still an impactful factor in a poet’s life. In Italy, Chaucer enjoyed the breathtaking Italian landscape and cities that blended their Roman past with the present. Italy was a historically, architecturally, and culturally invigorating country that must have immensely excited and interested Chaucer as an artist. During Chaucer’s stay, Italy was politically unstable and frequently broke into violent disputes. The poet also met the most powerful Italian tyrant Bernabó Visconti who had married his niece Violanta to Lionel, son of Edward III.

Besides the trips to Italy, the literary works of Dante , Boccaccio , and Petrarch immensely influenced Chaucer who was proficient in Italian.

During the years 1374-1386 , Chaucer was the Controller of the Customs and Subsidies on wool, hides, and sheep-skins in London’s port. This job rewarded him with a pension from John of Gaunt, a pitcher of wine, and a rent-free house above Aldgate. He spent his tenure in frequent diplomatic and business travels. During this time, he also came in contact with the most powerful and influential men in London and came to know about the world through them. This knowledge was not just limited to England or the continent, but beyond it.

Chaucer was a well-read and well-travelled man who frequently met a variety of people who told him a variety of stories. All of these factors shaped his works. For instance, his conversations with the knights and their followers informed him about the ongoing affairs in Europe. 

While staying at Aldgate, Chaucer spent the rest of the time honing his craft. He read the works by French and Italian poets and attempted to adapt them into English verse. This resulted in some of his finest works - House of Fame , the Parliament of Fowls , and Troilus and Criseyde .

• The House of Fame

Composed around 1378-1386

Genre : Dream Vision

Metre : Octosyllabic

The House of Fame is one of Chaucer’s finest earlier works that showcases his attempt at incorporating the elements of both French and Italian poetry. Even though he was completely comfortable with French poetry, he had begun to explore Italian poetic sensibilities. Just like the Book of the Duchess, the poem is another dream vision. Interestingly, it is unclear why Chaucer wrote it, and is left incomplete. Nevertheless, it is one of the most charming and original works by the poet. 

The poem is influenced by the works of Ovid , Virgil , Macrobius , Alanus de Insulis , Froissart , Dante , and Boccaccio . Nevertheless, Chaucer uses these inspirations and makes his poem completely original. The invocations in Book II and Book III evidently imitate Dante’s Divine Comedy . However, since the poem has a drastically different subject matter, there is not much direct imitation. Influenced by Dante in the House of Fame, Chaucer goes beyond the conventional and dominant eroticism of French poetry. 

The Book is divided into three Books. In Book I , the poet narrates a dream he dreamt on the 10th of December. In his dream, the poet finds himself in a magnificent glass temple adorned with rich shrines, golden images, and ancient statues. He then gives an elaborate account of the Aeneid which becomes almost too lengthy for modern readers. The poem becomes extremely interesting with the arrival of the Eagle towards the end of Book I. 

Book II includes a lively and comical portrayal of the Eagle who talks to and pacifies a terrified Chaucer. This portrayal and dialogue is exceptionally distinct to Chaucer and his works. Chaucer arrives at the House of Fame and it is here that he is at his imaginative best. 

Book III of the poem vividly describes the House of Fame and how the poet encounters the figures of famous magicians, enchantresses, witches, scholars, and illusionists. He finally enters the hall of Lady Fame who is surrounded by people aspiring for fame. While she grants the wishes of some, she rejects the others. The poet is led outside the House of Fame and to the House of Rumour by a stranger. This house is 60 miles long and is made of twigs. It has several entrances and even has holes in its roof. Even though there are no doors at any of the entrances, It is extremely difficult to enter this house as it is constantly whirling. The Eagle arrives again to Chaucer’s rescue and places him inside the house. There, Chaucer is able to hear all sorts of rumours, gossip, and conversations about life, loss, love, sickness, victories, folktales, etc. The poem abruptly ends with Chaucer encountering a man of great authority and power.

Chaucer displays acute observation and attention to detail that successfully evoke excitement and bewilderment throughout the poem. Several elements such as the detailed and elaborate descriptions of the House of Fame and Rumour, and the lively and crisp conversation between the Eagle and Chaucer make House of Fame a distinct poem, a kind that had never been written in English before. 

Anelida and Arcite (1380-1386)

Anelida and Arcite - Chaucer's Original Manuscript

Popularly also known as the preface to the Knight’s Tale, Anelida and Arcite is an extremely short and incomplete poem. Its story is based on Boccaccio’s Teseide and is another example where Chaucer experimented and combined conventional French as well as Italian poetry. He attempts to frame a traditional French complaint poem within a heroic setting. Although complex, the rhyme scheme of the poem has a fluidity that marks an advancement and improvement in Chaucer’s poetic art.

Parliament of Fowls (Parliament of Foules)/ Parlement of Briddes/Assembly of Foules

Composed around 1380

Metre : Rhyme Royal - Chaucer introduced rhyme royal to English poetry.

The poem is among the earliest references to St. Valentine's day as an occasion for lovers.

Another dream vision by Chaucer, the Parliament of Fowls consists of many conventional elements and will even remind the readers of the Book of Duchess - the poet reading before falling asleep, the dream arising from the book’s subject matter, and the occasional appearance and disappearance of supernatural and natural elements. Just like his previous works, Chaucer uses several works by French, Italian, and Latin authors as his source material and utilises them distinctly in this poem. Despite all the borrowings, the Parliament of Fowls is fresh and unmistakably by Chaucer. 

The poem begins with Chaucer reading Cicero on the Dream of Scipio which deals with Scipio’s arrival in Africa and falling in love with Massinssa. At night, he dreams of his grandfather who shows him heaven and reveals how virtuous people will end up there. Eventually, as the night falls, the exhausted poet falls asleep and has a dream vision.

In the poet’s dream, Scipio’s grandfather leads him through the gates of a blissful place where there is perpetual May (spring), infinite greenery, and joy. As the poet roamed about, he came across Goddess Nature around whom birds were assembled in a particular order - the birds of prey were perched the highest, while the birds who ate seeds were at the lowest level. It is St. Valentine’s Day, and the birds are assembled to select their mates. This unique scenario in the poem is distinctly Chaucer’s original creativity. Even though the topic is not grand and noble, the poet treats it with an unprecedented freshness.

Goddess Nature asks the first male eagle to select his mate. The male eagle chooses the formel eagle perched elegantly on the Goddess’s arm and eloquently declares his love for her. However, two other male eagles declare their love for the same female eagle and begin to contest each other. This makes other birds impatient and their protesting cries fill the forest air. This whole scenario where the birds voice their impatience is particularly comical and something that had never been created in English poetry before. Chaucer masterfully imparts individuality and personality to each bird. The order of birds and their life-like portrait appears like an early version of The Nun's Priest's Tale. The status of birds can also be interpreted as the depiction of societal order. Chaucer was increasingly inclined to depict his contemporary society. This is evident in his critical treatment of the ideals of courtly love. He exhibits a mature detachment throughout the poem which was his distinct characteristic. 

The octosyllabic stanzas are replaced with more flexible seven-line decasyllabic stanzas. The poem is among the first of Chaucer’s works that adopted the rhyme royal rhyming stanzas.

The Parliament of Foules concludes with the Goddess Nature granting the female eagle a year to decide and choose one of the three eagles as her worthy mate.

• Troilus and Criseyde

Composed around 1382-1386

Genre : Epic poetry, Courtly romance

Metre : Rhyme Royal

Original Source : Filostrato by Boccaccio

Besides the Canterbury Tales, Troilus and Criseyde is one of the finest works belonging to the age of Chaucer. Chaucer’s journey to Italy significantly impacted and shaped his poetry. He returned with the manuscripts of Dante’s Divine Comedy and Boccaccio’s Filostrato , and must have also read Petrarch. It is Filostrato that became the source of one of his best works - Troilus and Criseyde. In this poem, Chaucer expanded Filostrato from 5,704 lines to 8,239. In this process, he granted its three main characters a distinct individuality and created his unique version that goes beyond the Italian source. Chaucer was intimately familiar with courtly love traditions as well as individualistic passions. This resulted in lifelike distinct characters of Pandarus, Troilus, and Criyseyde. In Boccaccio's Filostrato, these characters were portrayed well but were strictly conventional- Troilus was the idle, passionate spoilt young man with the sole aim of fulfilling his immediate desires; Pnadarus, Criseyde’s cousin was a similar young man whose main duty was to help Troilus get the woman he desired and be the confidant; Criseyde was a beautiful but faithless woman who was the beloved and the object of desire for Troilus. Undoubtedly, Boccaccio portrays these characters beautifully despite having little substance to work with. It is here that Chaucer saw scope and an opportunity to create his original work. 

While Boccaccio focused on the story, for Chaucer the characters take centre stage. In Troilus and Criseyde, Troilus, Criseyde, and Pandarus are no longer one-dimensional stock characters. Instead, they become multifaceted individuals. It is on the shoulders of the sophisticated and nuanced portrayal of these characters that Chaucer is able to compose a lengthy poem of more than 8000 lines. Troilus is no longer a frivolous character but is also portrayed as a warrior. Chaucer creates these individuals in a way that justifies the intense pity the poem evokes among the readers towards its end. 

Even though the chivalric code had become obsolete in the age of Chaucer, the poem still accepts the code and includes some of its elements - love being in the hands of destiny; absence of love in marriage; absolute fidelity; and secrecy of love. This is why Troilus pines for Criseyde. However, Chaucer never fails to convince us that behind these conventions is an individual man.

Similarly, Criseyde is not simply a beautiful, shallow, and faithless woman. It is through her sophisticated character that Chaucer achieves the prime of his creative power. Since her father Calchas had fled as a traitor, her state in Troy was extremely vulnerable and she was constantly anxious about the outside world. This was Criseyde’s state of mind when her uncle Pandarus comes to speak about Troilus’s love for her.  

Chaucer very successfully portrays Criseyde’s complex state of mind. She does not fall in love with Troilus immediately but is eventually moved by his devotion and masculinity. She is far from a shallow woman without any substance. Chaucer gloriously depicts all her shades - her pride in being Troilus’s chosen one in all of Troy, her vanity about being the most beautiful woman in Troy, her apprehension about losing her freedom to love, her anxiety and awareness of the prevalent gossip. The readers understand what leads Criseyde to accept Troilus’s love.

At the Greek camp, Criseyde is all alone in a foreign land. Even here, Chaucer effectively reveals the conflict and emotional struggles that Criseyde has to endure alone. Eventually, she gives in to Diomede. Chaucer carefully creates Criseyde’s character and constantly attempts to defend her actions throughout the poem. She has to face circumstances that can test even the strongest of characters. Being a woman of dependent, amorous, and timid nature, Criseyde stands no chance of enduring an isolated burden. However, Chaucer refuses to depict her as a conventional shallow, and shameless lover. 

The character of Pandarus too is not limited to simply being Troilus’s friend who helps him fulfil his desires. He is also Criseyde’s uncle, someone who should have protected her from such lovers’ advances instead of encouraging and advocating for them. Pandarus is a major cause of Criseyde's misfortune. He religiously follows the code of chivalry and devotes himself to Love. For twenty years he has been in unreciprocated love with a lady. Thus, when Troilus is in love, Pandarus is not only motivated to help his friend but is also bound by his service to Love. He becomes a confidant who understands the pain of unrequited love and thus pleads with Criseyde. 

In the case of Troilus and Criseyde, Chaucer was fascinated with the characters and it is through his masterful portrayal of Troilus, Criseyde, and Pandarus that the poem becomes one of his most celebrated works.

While Chaucer was composing Troilus and Criseyde, he was writing in the court of Richard II. Thus, some elements were particularly included to meet courtly demands. For instance, lengthy discussions on predestination in Book IV. 

Chaucer not only wanted to compose a poem rooted in traditional courtly love that had become irrelevant to most of his audience. He also wanted to mould his characters in a way that revealed their innermost emotions, vulnerability, and feelings. With Troilus and Creseyde, he pays homage to all the worldly pleasures but does not forget to highlight their ephemerality.

• The Legend of Good Women

Composed around 1385-87

Genre : Love-vision

Metre : Iambic Pentameter

After Troilus and Criseyde and before composing his magnum opus the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer wrote the Legend of Good Women. This incomplete poem was a transitional work in several ways. The poem is the last of Chaucer’s love visions and the very first work in English that used the iambic pentameter . By this time, Chaucer had become an adept poet who knew how to utilise conventional traditions and sources and create something distinctly his own. 

The prologue has two versions- the F and the G versions. In the prologue, Chaucer dreams of the God of Love and Lady Alceste. The God of Love chastises him for writing women in poor light in his Troilus and Criseyde and The Book Of Duchess. In both his works women cause the men great sorrow by not reciprocating their love and devotion. Lady Alceste tries to save Chaucer and orders him to write about women with unshakable devotion to love. The Prologue is one of Chaucer’s most intimate and finest works where he creates a mosaic of adaptations from French and Italian authors such as Froissart , Deschamps , Machaut , and Boccaccio . 

The poem includes nine sections and has the legends of ten virtuous women - Cleopatra , Thisbe , Dido , Hypsipyle and Medea , Lucretia , Ariadne , Philomela , Phyllis , and Hypermnestra (incomplete). All nine tales are about devoted women who were wronged and abandoned by men they loved.

• The Canterbury Tales

Composed around 1387-1392

As discussed before, Chaucer was a significant man in his society. He frequently received wardships and gifts from the royal household. In 1386, he left Aldgate, moved to Kent, and became a member of parliament. In 1389, he received the most powerful and responsible position of his life when he became the Clerkship of the King’s Works. It must be during this time that Chaucer thought about the Canterbury pilgrimage and began writing the Canterbury Tales. 

The idea of a pilgrimage was perfect as it provided the best setting to let Chaucer bring together diverse characters for a shared purpose. The pilgrim also allowed these people to lower their guards and strict conventional etiquette that they had to abide by in everyday social life. The Canterbury Tales gives us the privilege of access to 14th-century men and women. This access is not limited to a formal and frigid tapestry but becomes a lively portal to their individual personalities as they laugh and talk. 

Chaucer’s general plan for the Canterbury Tales was that each of the thirty pilgrims would tell two stories during their journey to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury, and two more stories during their homeward journey. The pilgrim with the best story would win supper at the Tabard Inn near London and the host, Harry Bailey was the master who would decide the winner. Thus, the initial plan included at least 120 stories. Nevertheless, Chaucer was unable to carry out his original plan.

The sequence of the stories in the Canterbury Tales is natural and chaotic just like life itself. As the Knight completes his story, it must be ideally the Monk’s turn to narrate his tale. However, the drunk Miller interrupts and begins with his story instead. This natural human interruption makes Chaucer’s work stand out from conventional mediaeval poetry of his age. Throughout the Canterbury Tales , the pilgrims are not limited to just stories but frequently erupt in banters and character-revealing commentaries.

The Canterbury Tales include almost all facets of English life and society. However, some sides, such as the peasant life, do not occupy any significant space in the poem. Peasant life in the fields was a significant part of mediaeval English society and is depicted in Piers Plowman and many other mediaeval poems. However, Chaucer skips this popular mediaeval element. Villagers who appear in the Canterbury Tales are aristocrats.

Throughout the poem, varied worlds collide - the grave and gay, supernatural and worldly, all amalgamate and create an outstanding world. Throughout the tales, Chaucer is continuously excellent at his craft. His genius lies in the combination of his remarkable poetic sensibilities and his acute understanding of men and women. While Chaucer exhibits a remarkable understanding of human character, he also demonstrates remarkable tolerance and distance. While his contemporaries like Gower, Langland, and Wyclif are driven to frequent emotional and violent outbursts at the mention of corrupt monks, friars, and idle beggars, Chaucer remains detached. He almost possesses a Shakespearean ability to accept life as glorious and as ugly as it was without any prejudice or resistance. 

All of the poet's phases and experiences as a vintner’s son, page, esquire, ambassador, controller of customs, clerk of works, and sub-forester culminate into the creation of his masterpiece, the work he is known the most for- the Canterbury Tales. There had been no side of the English society that Chaucer was unfamiliar with. Moreover, the exposure to French and English poetry honed his poetic artistry and enabled him to experiment with metres and poetic forms. Combining his personal diverse social experiences and a deep insight into human nature with a rich poetic knowledge, Chaucer became the poet who is rightfully the representative of the 14th century - the age of Chaucer.

List of Works by Geoffrey Chaucer

Major works by Geoffrey Chaucer include

• Translated Roman de la Rose as the Romaunt of the Rose
• The Book of the Duchess
• The Complaint unto Pity (lost)
• The Complaint to His Lady (lost)
• The Complaint of Mars
• The Complaint of Venus
• Anelida and Arcite
• Saint Cecelia
• The Parliament of Fowls
• Boece (Chaucer's translation of Boethius's The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius)
• Palamoun and Arcite (later used as the Knight's Tale)
• Treatise of the Astrolabe
• The Envoy to Bukton (The reader is urged to read the Wife of Bath
• Complaint to His Purse

Age of Chaucer: Citations

“A Brief Chronology of Chaucer’s Life and Times.” Chaucer.fas.harvard.edu, chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/pages/brief-chronology-chaucers-life-and-times-0.

Bennett, H. S.  Chaucer and Fifteenth-Century Verse and Prose . 1947. Clarendon Press. Oxford, 1990.

Daiches, David. A Critical History of English Literature. Allied Publishers, 1979.

Piero Boitani, and Jill Mann.  The Cambridge Companion to Chaucer . Cambridge, U.K. ; New York, Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Sanders, Andrew. The Short Oxford History of English Literature. Oxford ; New York, Oxford University Press, 2004.

Anglo Norman Period in English Literature

Anglo Norman history

Ango Saxon Literature

Age of Chaucer 14th century: Historical Background & Characteristics in Literature

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Table of Contents

Historical Background

All of this represented a transition from a feudal social setup toward a free society where men and women could exercise their individual whims and fancies without fear of reprimand.

Another significant event of the age was the Black Death  or plague that affected a third of the country’s population. This affected various social dynamics like limiting labour and employable bodies.

Characteristics

The East Midland dialect became the accepted form of standardized English. The language saw great achievement and expression in the masterpieces of Chaucer.

Curiosity and Criticism:

The age is known for its scathing criticism of the established order and religion. Church’s control over temporal affairs of common men was challenged during this period.

It had great criticisms of the Church as well as the celebration of the commoners. It is often regarded as the precursor to the Renaissance Movement of the Elizabethan age .

The formation of allegory was refined in this period. There was a return of alliteration which had been replaced with rhymes in the middle ages .

Spencer became the father of poetic diction as there was no poetic diction before this age. The poetry saw the amalgamation of religion, humanism and secular passions .

In it, he has been able to pen minute peculiarities and complexities of human nature. Chaucer uses seven lined stanza ABABBCC, known as the Chaucerian rhyme meter .

Age of Germination

Even though there were no novel s or drama  in his age, Chaucer’s work did plant the seeds for its development in the succeeding Elizabethan age. If ‘ The Canterbury Tales ’ had been in prose and divided into scenes and acts, it would have been the language’s first drama.

Literary Yog

The Age of Chaucer

Table of Contents

Definition of the age of Chaucer

The Age of Chaucer refers to the period of English history during the 14th and early 15th centuries, which is characterized by the works of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer. 

During the Age of Chaucer, England was undergoing significant social, economic, political, and cultural changes, which are reflected in Chaucer’s works. In the following paragraph, we are going to discuss them in a brief.

Overview of the socio-economic, political, and cultural context of the age of Chaucer

Socio-Economic Context: Medieval England was a feudal society with a strict class system, but during the Age of Chaucer, the rise of commerce and the growth of urban centers saw the emergence of a new merchant class. This shift in society challenged the traditional power structures and influenced the cultural and political landscape of the time.

The Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars fought between the House of Lancaster and the House of York for the throne of England, marked the political landscape of England during the Age of Chaucer. 

The Church also held great power and influence during this period, playing a key role in both political and cultural affairs.

In short, the socio-economic, political, and cultural context of the Age of Chaucer provided the backdrop for Chaucer’s works and helped to shape his unique perspective on medieval life. We discussed this in the Late Middle Ages . 

Chaucer and His works

Geoffrey Chaucer is considered the father of English poetry. He lived during the 14th and early 15th centuries. 

French culture heavily influenced English literature after the Norman Conquest of 1066 and therefore, the English literature in the Middle English period did not have much originality. 

The Norman Conquest had a significant impact on English literature, as it introduced French influence and led to a decline in the use of Old English.

The social conditions in England also changed after the Conquest, as the Normans and the English began to merge into a single nation. However, in the second half of the 14th century, English literature began to flourish under the guidance of Geoffrey Chaucer. Chaucer’s life experiences as a page, esquire, diplomat, soldier, official, and courtier gave him a unique perspective on life, which he expressed in his literature. His work helped to revive English literature and paved the way for the Renaissance.

Chaucer was a master of English literature, and his work helped to establish English as a language of literature. He was influenced by a wide range of sources, including French literature, Italian literature, and classical literature.

Chaucer’s Literary Stages

Chaucer’s literary genius is shaped by his practical life experiences and exposure to foreign literature, particularly from Italy and France, which he was exposed to through his travels abroad on diplomatic missions. Chaucer’s works  can be divided into three main periods: the French, the Italian, and the English. However, the division is not strict, as Chaucer’s works from each period often contain influences from the others. 

The French Period

The French period encompasses some of his earlier allegorical works and lyrics, including love poems which are lost and a translation of the French poem Roman de la Rose. It is a long love poem in octosyllabic couplets. 

Additionally, “The Complaint of Venus” is a translation from French, illustrating Chaucer’s broad linguistic influences.

Among his allegorical works are The Boke of Blanche, an elegy for Blanche of Lancaster, and The Parliament of Foules and The House of Fame, which blend realism with allegory and exhibit wit and humor. 

The Book of the Duchess, written in 1369 to commemorate the death of Blanche of Lancaster, who was the first wife of John of Gaunt, Chaucer’s literary patron. The poem is an elegy and eulogy for Blanche. It praises her qualities and consoles John for his loss. The poem is an elegy in the style of courtly, aristocratic poetry and uses octosyllabic couplets.

The poem uses the medieval literary convention of a dream framework. The poet dreams he meets a man in black mourning the death of a graceful, beautiful lady he loved. This allegory allows Chaucer to eulogize Blanche’s virtues and lament her death.

The work combines dream and reality, lyricism and symbolism, elegy and allegory. Blanche is represented symbolically as the ideal of womanhood, but her character and virtues are real. Her life allegorizes feminine ideals while her death provides the elegy.

Chaucer shows his skill in versification through the octosyllabic couplets used throughout the poem.

In The Book of the Duchess, Chaucer displays his ability to balance fanciful allegory with realism and naturalness. While the poem is meant to teach about idealized beauty, the allegory doesn’t overwhelm the realism. The writing maintains interest and avoids dullness, even though the elegiac tone is subtle.)

The Italian Period

In the Italian period, Chaucer was inspired by Italian writers he met while traveling, like Dante and Boccaccio.  

The Parlement of Foules and The House of Fame, which, although often attributed to Chaucer’s Italian period. However, these poems still have French allegorical elements and contribute significantly to English allegorical literature. The House of Fame reflects a touch of Dante’s “Divina Commedia,” yet maintains a distinctive French pattern and lively mood.

Chaucer’s The Parlement of Foules is an allegorical work that blends realism with allegory. It presents a parliament of different types of birds – both large predatory birds and small common birds. It shows Chaucer’s ability to skillfully combine fanciful allegorical elements with realistic details and natural characterization. 

The Parlement of Foules uses a fictional parliament of birds to allegorically portray how actual parliaments were dominated by powerful figures. The House of Fame uses the fanciful idea of a House of Fame to allegorically show how fame can spread in unpredictable, capricious ways throughout a person’s life. Both of these allegorical works by Chaucer mix in realistic elements and demonstrate his wit, humor, and skill in blending allegory with realism. Even when using allegory, Chaucer injected originality and real-world observations. These two poems were influential on later writers like Spenser, showing Chaucer’s important contributions to English allegorical literature.

The Italian influence is also seen in some other, more fanciful works like The Clerk’s Tale, The Complaint to Pity, and The Complaint of Mars. These pieces showcase his prowess as both a storyteller and a lyricist, exhibiting more fanciful elements. 

Italian writer Boccaccio influenced two of Chaucer’s most famous works, The Knight’s Tale and Troilus and Criseyde . Though Chaucer used Boccaccio’s plots as a basis, Chaucer exhibits his originality by transforming the mere adventurous events of Boccaccio’s tales into highly impulsive love poems in the English language. 

Troilus and Criseyde is one of Chaucer’s most famous works, drawn from Homer’s story of the Trojan War. Chaucer’s source was Boccaccio’s Italian romance Il Filostrato. This poem from Chaucer’s Italian period shows the influence of Italian literature.

The story tells the tragic love between Troilus, a Trojan prince, and Criseyde, daughter of a Trojan priest. Their love blooms, but Criseyde is sent to the Greek camp and betrays Troilus for the Greek hero Diomede. Heartbroken, Troilus dies in battle.

Chaucer turns Boccaccio’s romance into a great English love poem structured in four books. He vividly narrates the course of the lovers’ tragic relationship in spontaneous, melodious verse.

Written likely in the 1380s, Troilus and Criseyde is seen as a masterpiece of Chaucerian literature. It demonstrates his skills in storytelling, characterization, description, introspection, and versification, elevating the romance into great poetry. Chaucer’s humor, realism and irony also come through. The poem is considered a forerunner of the Renaissance and a flowering of medieval poetry.

Moreover, Chaucer’s romances are better than earlier medieval metrical romances in a few key ways:

More substance – Chaucer’s poems have more literary and thematic weight and complexity compared to the simpler adventures and themes in previous romances.

Greater compactness – His poems are more tightly constructed and economical in their storytelling. Earlier romances often had rambling, diffuse plots.

More amplitude – Chaucer’s works have greater breadth and scope in their themes and character development. They tackle more universal human concerns.

Furthermore, Chaucer also explored deeper meaning through his poetic romances. He examines the complexity of love, desire, the tension between duty, honor, and individual passion

Another major work in this period is The Legend of Good Women , an unfinished work, based on Italian legends of noblewomen who died for love.  It is a collection of legends about faithful and virtuous women from classical sources.

The poem has a Prologue and Tales structure like The Canterbury Tales. The allegorical Prologue describes the poet dreaming he meets Cupid, who reprimands him for writing against women, especially in Troilus and Criseyde. As penance, Cupid requires him to write legends praising good women.

Inspired by Italian legends of noble and virtuous women who suffered for love. This work is not a thoroughly allegorical work, but the Prologue is allegorical. The poem is framed by a vision in which the god of love instructs the poet to write in praise of faithful and loving women as a form of penance. 

Chaucer’s depiction includes well-known female characters such as Cleopatra, Medea, Lucree, Ariadne, and Philomela. While the collection remains unfinished, Chaucer’s storytelling abilities, character development, appreciation for nature, wit, and humor enrich the work. 

The text showcases his strengths as a storyteller, character creator, and sensuous, melodic poet with a love of nature.)

Chaucer got tired of telling similar stories about praising women and left the work incomplete. But The Legend of Good Women still displays his skills in storytelling, characterization, descriptive power and melodious versification, especially in the charming Prologue.

The English Period

Despite influences from French and Italian literature, his originality always shines through.Chaucer incorporated observations on English life, culture, and manners into his works, and this served as an important source of literary inspiration and success for him. This is what we see in his masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales .

The Canterbury Tales is Chaucer’s crowning achievement. Chaucer began work on the Tales in 1387, and continued to work on it until his death in 1400. The Tales are a collection of stories told by a group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury Cathedral. The stories are a varied and colorful mix of genres, including romance, comedy, tragedy, and satire.

In The Canterbury Tales , Chaucer’s creative mastery is showcased through his keen sense of realism, his ability to weave humor, his skill in characterization, and his talent for storytelling. 

Realism – The pilgrims and their stories are grounded in detailed observations of 14th century English life. The pilgrims come from an array of social classes, occupations, and walks of life. This allows Chaucer to portray the diversity of medieval society.

Chaucer skillfully portrays the full spectrum of life – different people, professions, and social classes and their stories deal with recognizable human experiences. The pilgrims’ vivid and detailed portraits in the General Prologue give a lively glimpse into the types of real people in each social group of 14th century English society.

Chaucer also deeply explores why people act and think the way they do – their motivations, flaws, and desires. He delves into human nature by vividly portraying characters from all walks of life.

Chaucer first introduces each pilgrim in the General Prologue portraits, bringing 14th century England to life with humor and vivid details. He then has the pilgrims interact and tell tales suited to their characters.

Humor – The Tales are filled with Chaucer’s humor, and entertaining storytelling. This makes the collection enjoyable to read while also bringing out insightful truths. Irony and sly humor run through the tales as he skewers human weaknesses. His wit is on display in memorable characters like the Pardoner.

Chaucer brought wit, humor, and comic spirit to English poetry in an age that lacked lightness.

Chaucer was able to infuse The Canterbury Tales with constant humor and wit. One way was through his very funny and exaggerated descriptions of the pilgrims. For example, he describes the Monk as fat as a swan, joking about his love of food. He makes the Prioress seem very pretentious about her manners.

Another source of comedy is the irony Chaucer uses to hint at corruption, like with the Pardoner who exploits people for money. Chaucer calls him a “gentle harlot” – an ironic joke about his character.

Chaucer also finds humor in incongruities between how people seem versus how they truly are. That allows him to poke fun at social and religious hypocrisy.

The liveliness of the language makes the tales very entertaining. Chaucer blended wit, irony, and humor effortlessly to capture the comedy of human nature and society. He could provoke laughter while also offering social commentary.

Chaucer pioneered English literary comedy through the hilarious and ironic portraits, interactions, and stories of The Canterbury Tales. His comic spirit flows through the work and makes it delightfully funny even today.

His natural comic spirit was original for his time and paved the way for later English humorists. Comedy permeates The Canterbury Tales and makes it delightfully entertaining.

Storytelling – The framing device of the pilgrimage and storytelling contest allows Chaucer to craft compelling, highly varied stories in different tones and genres. He’s a masterful storyteller across multiple tales.

These strengths all reinforce each other in this work to showcase the height of his literary artistry.

Chaucer’s Development of Literary Expansion-Three Periods

(i) French Period- Lyrical and Allegorical poems

(ii) Italian Period- Allegorical poems and romances

(iii) English Period- Social, realistic, humorous comedy.

Chaucer as a writer and poet 

His art of characterisation

Chaucer was innovative in portraying characters as unique individuals rather than just types. Chaucer was the first literary master to penetrate into the mystery of individuality, and that his characters are not merely a band of men and women, but some individuals with certain special characteristics, moods and tendencies. 

Chaucer’s characters feel like real people rather than just archetypes. For example, the Wife of Bath is larger than life, vividly portrayed as a strong-willed, working woman. The Pardoner is portrayed as corrupt and hypocritical in a complex way. 

For instance, Chaucer portrays the Knight and the Squire in a very realistic and vivid manner in the General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales.

For the Knight, Chaucer gives specific details about his clothes, armor, and battles he has fought in to paint a realistic picture of a 14th century knight. We learn he fought in Alexandria and Prussia, showing his worldliness. His tunic is stained from armor, reflecting his military experience.

The Squire is portrayed as a lusty young bachelor through details like his fashionable short gown with long, wide sleeves and his singing and composing love songs. Chaucer describes his curly hair and youthful complexion. We get a sense of his energetic nature from how he rides a horse and can carve meat at dinner.

Both portraits feel authentic because Chaucer includes concrete details on their appearance, backgrounds, and mannerisms based on his astute observation of people of their social classes. He uses realistic details to bring the Knight and Squire to life as specific individuals. We imagine them as real people because of the lifelike way Chaucer depicts them.

Chaucer gives little details to make each pilgrim seem like a real person. For example, the Prioress is very proper at dinner, never dropping any food from her lips. The Monk loves rich foods and wine more than he should. The Parson sincerely cares for people’s souls.

Chaucer’s characters feel real because he uses little ironic jokes or comments to hint at their personalities. Like calling the Summoner, who exploited people, a “gentle harlot.”

The pilgrims jump off the page because we get vivid images of their appearance, clothes, and mannerisms from Chaucer’s descriptions. He paints a full picture not just with facts but with tone and humor.

In short, Chaucer could make fictional people totally convincing as real humans. Every pilgrim in The Canterbury Tales has a distinct personality revealed through Chaucer’s brilliant small details, irony, and humor. This shows his genius for characterization.

His power of storytelling

Chaucer is the first great English story-teller in verse. He employed verse as a vehicle of story-telling, which is a notable contribution to English literature. He pioneered English narrative poetry with his long verse tales like Troilus and Criseyde . He popularized storytelling in verse, moving away from just courtly lyrics. His vivid descriptions, humor, and plotting make him an engaging storyteller.

His technical command over versification

Chaucer introduced innovative verse techniques like heroic verse, rhyme royal stanza, and decasyllabic couplets. This expanded the rhythmic and rhyming possibilities in English poetry. Chaucer is credited with renovating the octo-syllabic lines used in the works of his predecessors, and with importing and introducing the pattern of versification from France. His metrical innovations alone are enough to earn him the title of “father of English poetry.”

Making poetry more common:

By writing in the London dialect of middle class England, Chaucer made poetry more accessible. Earlier court poetry was written in French and Latin, distancing it from the masses. Chaucer helped shape English into a respected literary language.

Chaucer focuses on universal human experiences and psychology in a sympathetic way. He avoids high morality and allegory, instead portraying humanity in all its complexity. This humanistic approach was ahead of much medieval literature.

Chaucer’s achievements put him centuries ahead of other English writers of his day. His work shaped English literature profoundly for the future.

Importance of Chaucer’s contributions to the development of English Poetry   and Novel

While writing in English, Chaucer used vernacular English. It helped to establish the language as a literary medium and paved the way for the development of English literature. Chaucer’s works, including  The Canterbury Tales , are written in Middle English. 

Chaucer’s use of rhyme and meter, his use of character and dialogue, and his ability to tell complex stories with humor and insight have all had a profound impact on the development of English poetry.

Chaucer’s works also had a significant impact on the development of the English novel. The first story that a group of pilgrims will tell is probably The Canterbury Tales. Its use of character, dialogue, and storytelling has influenced the development of English novels. It establishes a tradition of dramatic storytelling in England.

In conclusion, Chaucer’s contributions to the development of English poetry and drama are significant. Chaucer continues to be studied and celebrated for his contributions to the development of English poetry and drama, and his works remain an important part of the English.

Other Poets of Fourteenth Century

Even though Chaucer’s writings were the most important, there were other significant works from that period. These works might not be as great as Chaucer’s, but they still contributed to the growth of English literature and the preparation for the Renaissance.

One of these authors is William Langland, known for his work “Piers Plowman.” Piers Plowman is an allegorical poem that uses a dream frame to explore religious, ethical, social and economic issues of the day. The main character Piers represents moral virtues of truth, work and love. 

Piers Plowman is an allegorical poem in several ways:

The entire narrative is presented as a series of dream visions or allegorical journeys rather than realistic events. The poem is about a series of visions experienced by the dreamer (the poet himself) during sleep. This was a common medieval literary technique to explore moral themes.

The characters are mostly allegorical figures rather than realistic people. For example, the title character Piers is not a real plowman but represents moral virtues. Other characters like Lady Meed and the seven deadly sins are allegories for abstract concepts. The episodes and adventures encountered in the poem allegorically represent struggles of morality, ethics, and religion rather than literal events. For example, the poem also includes episodes like “The Marriage of Lady Meed” and “The Confession of the Seven Deadly Sins,” which discuss various moral and social themes.

The poem uses allegory to explore greater truths about human nature and society in a symbolic, metaphorical manner rather than a direct realistic portrayal. The allegories allow layered meanings related to faith, corruption, reform, etc.

“Piers Plowman” is unique for its time. It combines sociology, satire, and allegory, even though it might lack artistic beauty. The text analyzes Piers Plowman as a vivid picture of medieval life, a satire on social and church corruption, and a Christian allegory about the struggle between good and evil. Langland advocates for church reform and a more egalitarian society.

Though not an artistic masterpiece like Chaucer’s work, Piers Plowman is valued for its social significance and critique of the times. Langland’s use of allegory and satire influenced later writers such as John Bunyan. 

Chaucer and Langland

Chaucer and Langland were both important writers of their time, but they had some notable differences. 

Here are the key differences between Chaucer and Langland in simple language:

Chaucer was like an artist who created stories to entertain and bring joy to life. On the other hand, Langland was more of a serious thinker who aimed to teach important lessons through his work.

Chaucer found joy in observing and portraying the funny and interesting aspects of human society and behavior. He was a humorist who used wit and humor to highlight the quirks of people. Langland, on the contrary, was a critical thinker and moralist who pointed out and condemned moral flaws and wrote to teach lessons. He was a satirist who didn’t spare criticism even for those in high positions.

Chaucer’s writings are like precious gems of humor, with a gentle and enjoyable teasing of human imperfections. Langland, however, was a harsh satirist who focused on delivering serious messages and lacked the entertaining touch of Chaucer’s humor.

Chaucer had superior literary artistry compared to Langland’s allegorical style. Chaucer’s works were enjoyable and covered many aspects of life, whereas Langland’s writing was serious and focused on morals.

Chaucer aimed to please readers with his wit and humor, but Langland wanted to reform society with his biting satire.

John Barbour 

Barbour was a contemporary of William Langland, but unlike him, Barbour was Scottish and wrote patriotic poetry rather than religious allegories.

His principal work, “The Bruce,” is considered a national epic for the Scottish people, much like “Chanson de Roland” is for the French.

The epic poem written between 1373-1378, which chronicles Robert Bruce’s heroic battles to secure Scottish independence from England. The poem vividly describes Bruce’s experiences, struggles, courage, and determination, particularly focusing on the significant battle of Bannockburn where Scotland achieved independence.

While based on historical events, “The Bruce” also contains fictional elements that add to its poetic and popular appeal. It blends history and fiction to create a national epic celebrating Bruce’s struggles and Scotland’s fight for freedom.

Despite his strong patriotism, Barbour remains fair to the English in his writing. His poetic style is simple, catchy, and suitable for a wide audience. While Barbour lacked Chaucer’s artistic mastery, his direct style suited his role as a patriotic national poet. 

John Gower  

Gower was an important writer in medieval English literature, although not as famous as Chaucer. Gower lived from 1325 to 1408, which means contemporary of Chaucer. However, Gower’s writing style was more like the Middle Ages, and he wasn’t as advanced as Chaucer.

He wrote major works in French, Latin and English, showing his mastery of all three languages. Gower’s first important work was in French, called “Speculum Hominis” or “Mirror de l’Homme.” It was like a long sermon about the sins of the time. His next work, “Vox Clamantis,” was in Latin. It was an allegory about a peasant uprising in 1381 and criticized the disorder and corruption in society.

His last significant work, “Confessio Amantis,” was in English. It contains over 100 stories of love drawn from various sources like the Bible and Ovid.

The frame story involves the poet confessing tales of love to the priest Genius on the advice of the goddess Venus. Unlike his earlier works, this one didn’t focus on moral instructions or social behavior. Instead, Gower wanted to tell stories about love.

Although Gower’s work was well planned, it lacked originality and Chaucer’s finesse. There were too many distractions and moral lessons that made it feel a bit mechanical. Gower’s writing style was simple and straightforward, but he didn’t have the same skills as Chaucer in creating characters or using humor.

Despite this, Gower’s storytelling ability was unique. He managed to combine many stories in an interesting way and his language was polished. Chaucer even referred to him as “Moral Gower” in one of his own works. 

Chaucer’s Successors and Imitators

The english chaucerians.

Chaucer’s influence on English poetry was very strong even after he died. After Chaucer, other poets tried to write like him and follow his style, but they were not as good as Chaucer.

(i) Lydgate

One of these poets was Lydgate. He wrote a lot of poems, but he wasn’t as talented as Chaucer. Lydgate’s long narrative poems were mostly adaptations of French romances, imitating Chaucer’s storytelling approach but without the same mastery.

He wrote long poems like “The Story of Thebes” and “The Troy Book,” which were based on French stories, imitating Chaucer’s storytelling approach but without the same mastery. He also wrote “The Fall of Princes” and “The Temple of Glass,” which were allegorical stories.

Lydgate also wrote a long poem called “The Pilgrimage of the Life of Man,” which was like a translation of a French work. Lydgate also wrote shorter poems, like fables, such as “The Churl and the Bird” and “The Horse, the Sheep and the Goose,” which were influenced by Aesop’s fables and Chaucer’s style.

However, his storytelling and character descriptions were not as impressive, and his poems didn’t have the same rhythm and structure as Chaucer’s.

However, people in his time still liked his poems because he wrote in a simple way about different stories that people liked. He continued the tradition of telling stories in poems, which was popular at that time. He didn’t write as well as Chaucer, but he still added to the collection of stories in English literature.

Thomas Hoccleve

Thomas Hoccleve was another follower of Chaucer’s literary style along with John Lydgate, but he also could not match Chaucer’s talents.

Thomas Hoccleve was a companion to another writer named John Lydgate. Hoccleve also tried to write like Chaucer, although he wasn’t very successful at it.

Hoccleve is best known for his long poem The Regement of Princes, which is a long poem with about 5500 verses.

In this poem, Hoccleve pays tribute to Chaucer and Gower and talks about different things like politics, ethics, and religion. He probably wrote this to please Prince Henry.

The Regement of Princes showed Hoccleve’s attempt at Chaucerian storytelling, but his verses were often tedious rather than engaging. His didactic tone was more reminiscent of Gower’s moralism than Chaucer’s artistry. The work lacked literary value.

Hoccleve also wrote other things, like two stories he got from a French book called Gesta Romanorum. These stories are “The Emperor Jereslauu’s Wife” and “Jonathas.” He also wrote a good poem called “Ars Sciendi Mori.”

Overall, Hoccleve imitated Chaucer like Lydgate did, but failed to exhibit the same poetic gifts as his master. His merits as a writer were limited.

Other Authors

There were other writers in this group too, like Benedict Burgh, George Ashby, John Walton, and Henry Bradshaw. They mainly wrote poems to teach lessons. Their mostly didactic verses showed the decline in artistry among Chaucer’s imitators.

Two writers, George Ripley and Thomas Norton, stood out because they wrote about alchemy in different and interesting ways but but lacked poetic quality.

Several notable anonymous poems of the time exhibited some Chaucerian traits and artistry, like The Table of Beryn, La Belle Dame Sans Merci, The Cuckoo and the Nightingale.

There are two other poems, “The Assembly of Ladies” and “The Flower and the Leaf,” which might have been written by a woman. Allegorical works like The Assembly of Ladies and The Flower and the Leaf showed some literary merit through their humor, language and allegorical style.

Stephen Hawes

Stephen Hawes was the last important English English Chaucerian poet. He lived at the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century, a time when the style of poetry from Chaucer’s tradition was becoming old-fashioned. He is the last follower of that tradition in a time when new kinds of literature were emerging.

His most significant work is “The Pastime of Pleasure,” written around 1505-6. This poem is both allegorical and didactic poem. He admitted his indebtedness to Chaucer, Gower and Lydgate in his work. 

The poem is quite long, with about 5800 lines, and is divided into forty-five parts. It’s written in a special rhyme pattern. Hawes wanted to teach readers through his poetry, like Gower and Lydgate did.

Another notable allegorical poem by Hawes is “The Example of Virtue”. This poem tells the story of a person’s life from youth to old age.

Hawes also wrote “The Conversion of Swearess”. In this poem, Christ urges rulers to stop swearing oaths. The poem’s structure is innovative with shaped verses that increased and decreased in syllables.

Hawes wrote more works, like “A Joyful Meditation to all England of the Coronation of Henry the Eighth” (1509) and “The Comfort of Lovers” (date unknown).  

Hawes followed the medieval literary style of digressions, debates, allegory and moralism.

He used allegory and symbolism, which can remind us a little of later poet Spenser’s style. He mainly used a type of rhyme called the Chaucerian stanza, which has seven lines. Sometimes his rhyming is like Chaucer’s, but not always perfectly balanced.

The Scottish Chaucerians

Chaucer’s influence in literature wasn’t limited to England; it also reached Scotland and played a role in the rise of Scottish poetry during the 15th century. This helped spark a golden age of Scottish poetry.

Scottish poets like King James I, Henryson, Dunbar, and Douglas were more successful imitators of Chaucer than English poets like Lydgate, Hoccleve, and Hawes. The Scottish poets exhibited better poetic gifts.

Blind Harry wrote the poem Wallace, which was inspired by patriotism and the legendary Scottish hero William Wallace. It used a 10-syllable meter similar to Chaucer.

The glory of Scottish poetry in this period lies with the Scottish “Chaucerians” who followed Chaucer’s style and ideals. Their poetry was medieval in its inspiration, rather than looking forward to the Renaissance. 

James I of Scotland (1394-1437) was a Scottish king and the first major Scottish poet to show the influence of Chaucer.

He is believed to have written a poem called “The King’s Quair” or “The King’s Book,” which shows inspiration from the writings of Geoffrey Chaucer.

“The King’s Quair” is a dream allegory relating James I’s personal experience of falling in love with Joan Beaufort while imprisoned in England for 19 years. It It echoes the style and themes of Chaucer’s Romance of the Rose and “The Knight’s Tale.” At the age of eleven, he was captured and imprisoned by the English for nineteen years. While in captivity, he fell in love with John Beaufort, and the poem narrates this romantic episode.

The poem has two parts – the first on the author’s misfortunes and struggles, the second on his happiness in love. It utilizes the medieval dream vision and has some appealing storytelling qualities.

“The King’s Quair” is a beautiful romance in verse that follows the Chaucerian poetic tradition with its tone, meter, and subject matter.. It tells a story using verse and incorporates a dream allegory, which adds to its interest.

Some minor poems like Peblis to the Play are also attributed to James I, but his authorship is doubtful. The King’s Quair remains his major work and contribution as a Scottish Chaucerian poet.

Robert Henryson

Robert Henryson was a a Scottish schoolmaster and poet who was influenced by Chaucer’s style of writing. He worked as a schoolmaster, and while not much is known about his life, his poetry reflects the impact of Chaucer’s influence.

He was influenced by Chaucer and wrote a sequel to Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde called The Testament of Cresseid. The poem tells the sad ending of Cresseid’s life as she dies from leprosy, unaware that Troylus had given her alms when she was a beggar. The poem is filled with tragedy and evoking pity in a style similar to Chaucer’s.

Henryson’s longest and most popular work is Morall Fabillis of Esope, a collection of fables influenced by Aesop. It includes the humorous poem The Town Mouse and the Field Mouse, which showcases Henryson’s wit and storytelling gifts reminiscent of Chaucer.

Henryson also wrote a number of shorter poems on reflective topics and allegories with didactic aims. One notable shorter poem is Robene and Makyne, a well-crafted pastoral dialogue that helped establish the pastoral tradition that would flourish in the Elizabethan era.

William Dunbar

William Dunbar (1460-1520) is considered the greatest of the Scottish Chaucerians. He started as a Franciscan and later became the poet-laureate of the king’s court. Dunbar wrote around 100 poems showcasing his originality and mastery of diverse subjects and techniques.

“The Goldyn Targe” is an allegorical work where the poet tries to resist the arrows of beauty using the shield of gold of reason. “The Thrissil and the Rois” is a dream-poem symbolizing the marriage between James IV and Margaret Tudor, representing the union of England and Scotland.

Dunbar showed his realism, wit, and technical skill in poems like The Dance of the Sevin Deidlie Synnis and his satires attacking societal ills.

Dunbar followed Chaucer’s narrative style in “The Freiries Berwick,” which deals with the theme of a deceitful wife. He used a similar approach in “The Tretis of the Tua Mariit Wemen and the Wedo,” echoing Chaucer’s “The Wife of Bath” with greater freedom.

Dunbar’s satirical power is evident in “The Tidings from the Session,” where he criticizes law courts, and in “Satire on Edinburgh,” where he denounces the city’s condition. “The Lament for the Makaris” reflects on the fleeting nature of human achievements.

Dunbar elevated and renewed medieval poetic forms by injecting vitality, wit, and satire. His body of work demonstrates the success of the Chaucerian tradition taking root in Scotland, earning him the title of “Scottish Chaucer.”

Gavin Douglas

Gavin (Gawain) Douglas was an important figure among the Scottish poets influenced by Chaucer. He was also a churchman and a bishop. Despite being involved in politics, he dedicated some of his time to writing poetry. He was a devoted follower of Chaucer and paid tribute to him in his writings. He was also a patriotic Scot.

His major works include the allegorical poems “The Palice of Honour” and “King Hart”. The former was modeled after Chaucer’s “House of Fame” and exhibits Douglas’s Chaucerian style. It tells of a dream where the poet visits a magnificent palace and engages in various learned discussions.

Another notable work is “King Hart,” which is also allegorical and considered better constructed than his earlier efforts. It reflects Chaucer’s influence more skillfully.

Douglas is particularly known for translating Virgil’s “Aeneid” into Scottish dialect. His translation showcases his scholarship, literary sense, and mastery of verse. He added personal touches through prologues to each book, discussing his own experiences and his homeland. His translation was a significant achievement in bringing classical literature to English.

Douglas contributed to the diversity of the Scottish Chaucerian tradition through his range of allegory, translation, and descriptive verse. His success in absorbing Chaucer’s style while asserting his own distinct voice and Scottish themes was significant. Along with Henryson and Dunbar, Douglas helped accomplish a golden age of Scottish poetry within the medieval Chaucerian frame.

Popular Songs and Ballads

Popular songs and ballads emerged in the transition from medieval to Renaissance literature in both England and Scotland. They have anonymous authorship and imprecise dates, so a comprehensive account is difficult.

Ballads are simple, lyrical narrative poems that tell a brief story in rhythmic, melodious verses. Their popularity, simple style, melodious verse, and themes of heroism, adventure and love echo medieval romances.

The earliest ballad is the fragmentary Canute Song. It is about a king named Canute. He was in a boat with his queen and friends, and he asked them to sing with him. This was probably the first time a ballad was created in English. This ballad had a different rhythm from the old poems, and the stage for many more ballads to come.

Many popular ballads center on Robin Hood legends. Robin Hood was a hero who helped the poor and fought against bad people. Though their dates are uncertain, some of these ballads are quite old, while others seem to be from a newer time. They show the adventures of Robin Hood and his friends.

There are even ballads about other heroes and adventures, like one called “The Maid Freed from the Gallows.” This ballad talks about the power of true love. Some ballads are based on bigger stories, like “Hynd Horn” and “Sir Orfeo.” They have a bit of epic grandeur or intense emotions.

Chevy Chase

Chevy Chase is a famous ballad that tells an exciting story about the conflict between England and Scotland. 

It tells the story of a clash between Percy of Northumberland and Douglas of Scotland. Percy wants to hunt in Douglas’s land to challenge him and start a fight. The ballad talks about the intense battle between them. Douglas is killed, and Percy feels sad for his brave enemy. The ballad shows how bravery turns into noble behavior.

Chevy Chase exemplifies the qualities of an epic ballad, echoing works like The Battle of Maldon and The Song at Brunanburh in its martial subject matter and chivalrous ethos. 

It has an epic directness and simplicity in narrating the details of warfare. Chevy Chase proved deeply inspiring for later English balladeers and holds great significance in the ballad tradition.

The Nut Brown Maid

The Nut Brown Maid is another popular early English ballad, though not a border ballad like Chevy Chase. 

The poem tells us about a girl, a baron’s daughter, who loves a squire deeply. Even though he tries to avoid her, she stays loyal to him. Eventually, she gets her happy ending – the squire, who is actually a noble lord in disguise, agrees to marry her. Unlike Chevy Chase, this story has a joyful ending.

It is a song of love rather than war, with more intricate versification than Chevy Chase.  The ballad has a cultivated, dramatic, spontaneous lyrical style.

Its narrative method is unique – relating the story through a lyrical dialogue between the lady and gentleman.

Though simple, the native inspirational ballads like The Nut Brown Maid enriched English poetry and led toward the Renaissance style.

The Nut Brown Maid exemplifies a different strain of early English balladry focused on romantic love and using more sophisticated poetic techniques than the martial border ballads.

I'm a PhD research scholar & MPhil degree holder from DU, Assam and also a budding blogger. I have cracked CBSE NET (July 2018), NE-SLET (July 2018), and UGC-NTA-NET (June 2019).

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Age of Chaucer: Political, Social, Economic and Religious condition.

The age of Chaucer was an age of transition period that brought many changes in political, economic, social, and religious conditions during the 14th century or the age of Chaucer.

A ge of Chaucer: Political Condition

The Hundred Years’ War (1337- 1453): Historically the age of Chaucer was one of the most turbulent periods in British history. It witnessed a long succession of conflicts between France and England, which are collectively known as the Hundred Years’ War. During the reign of Edward III, England won glorious victories in the Battle of Caen in 1346 and Poitiers’s battle in 1356. This gave her self-confidence and fanned the patriotism of her people. Most of the English conquests were achieved by knights and nobles, but the most important part was played by the humble bowmen. The lowly arches well supported the aristocracy and rubbed shoulder with a shoulder on the battlefield. It struck at the power and privilege of the aristocracy. It brought a note of democracy to society and washed off the age-old barrier between the upper and the middle class. It resulted in the ascendancy of the middle classes in national life.

Age of Chaucer: Social Condition

T he black death (1346-1353 ) and the Peasants’ Revolt (1381): Chaucer’s age was an age of discontent and unrest. The Hundred Years War, no doubt, made England a united nation and a colonial power, but it also imposed unheard-of hardship upon the people. The prolonged conflict resulted in an increased burden for the people and pleasantry groaned under the heels of crushing taxation. The matters were made worse by the Great Plague known as the Black Death (1346-1353) , which swept over England when Chaucer was only nine years old. It decimated the population of England. It is estimated that about half of the people died within no time.

Labour was scarce, there was no demand, and prices of agricultural products fell rapidly. The price of labour rose, and the price of bread fell. Efforts were made to control wages by legislation. Wage earners tried to evade legislation by migrating to distant corners of the country. The result was instability, indiscipline, and lawlessness. The discontent of the people was universal. While people were starving and wallowing in deplorable misery, the king and his courtiers were leading a life of gaiety and luxury. The extravagance and corruption of the king and his court were fully explained by War Tyler, Jack Straw, and John & Ball, under whose leadership the people rose in open revolt against the king and his tyranny. The peasant revolt of 1381 burst like a volcano and shook the very foundation of English society.

Rise of Modern Spirit : The Decay of Feudalism: The peasant revolt did much to weaken the feudal system and to give self-confidence to the people. Agriculture no longer remained profitable, and this marked the beginning of the end of the Feudal systems. This revolt was suppressed by the courage and good judgment of the boy king Richard II exerted a lasting influence on the temper of the lower classes. People were asserting their right to free thought and independent judgment.

In other words, the democratic spirit was growing. Now a dissatisfied serf could buy his freedom and pay money rent for his farm. Many of the peasants kept sheep, and by the sale of the sheep’s wool could amass coins enough to buy their freedom. A serf could become a freeman by establishing a legal residence in a town. Men who could do better on their land than in working for the lord of the manor, purchased their freedom, while others offered themselves wholly for hire. Thus the peasant’s revolt succeeded to a great extent, in its purpose. The serfs no longer remained slaves tied to their barons and their strips. This resulted in the gradual weakening of the Feudal System. The authority of the king was weakened while that of the Parliament grew apace.

C ondition of women: Women were considered inferior to men. Most of the women of the lower society were illiterate. Women of aristocratic families enjoyed pelf and power only by marriage. Child marriage was also in vogue among wealthy persons. Dowry was in practice and girls were often sold. Changes also came in men’s dresses they became fond of jewels and preferred jewels in their outfits. Both men and women of fashion wore enormous headdresses of fantastic scale like horns, turbans, and towers.

Age of Chaucer: Religious condition

Corruption in the Church: the Lollard movement – In the age of Chaucer the church became a place of corruption, profligacy, and materialism. Most of the clergymen, instead of devoting their time and energy to religious meditation, had given themselves up to wine, wealth, and women. The monk, the Friar, the Pardoner, and the summoner had given up their religious life of piety and holiness and brought information into the church. The dissatisfaction of the people with this state of affairs was intense and several spirited souls could not but raise their voices against this sorry state of affairs John Wycliff the ‘morning star of Reformation and poets like Langland and Gower freely denounced the growing corruption in the church and through their teaching sought to revive the real Christianity. Wycliffe’s followers, known as Lollards, went about the country, preaching his ideals. That was called the Lillard movement and it shook the prestige and power of the Pope. They also lost their power to elect the members of the church.

Economical condition

Trade and commerce: The age of Chaucer witnessed the rise of prosperous merchants and tradesmen. They carried out splendid business with European countries and were laying the foundation of England’s industrial prosperity. Small traders and handicraftsmen grew into power and began to behave like aldermen and well-to-do citizens. The importance and self-consciousness of the smaller tradesmen and handicraftsmen increased with that of the great merchants. Thus this new and prosperous merchant class weakened the Feudal system as foreign trade and power were passed into its hands from the Feudal Lords.

Thus the age of Chaucer is a singularly Modern age. It is an age of intense social, political, religious, and literary activity. It is the meeting ground of the medieval and the modern, the Renaissance and the reformation, the old and the new, and the religious and the secular. In short, it is a remarkable age, an age in which men like Chaucercan make their mark.

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The Age of Geoffrey Chaucer

Chaucer’s age was a period between the middle of the 14th century and the early 15th century characterized by significant social, political, and cultural upheavals..

In English literature, Geoffrey Chaucer’s age has been regarded as one of the most transformative periods ever. It was a period between the middle of the 14th century and the early 15th century characterised by significant social, political, and cultural upheavals, which profoundly influenced Chaucer’s writings and the development of the English language.

Historical Context

The late Middle Ages are generally regarded as Chaucer's era. The socio-political landscape of this period was characterised by the Hundred Years' War between England and France, the Black Death, and the Peasants' Revolt. Chaucer's writings were deeply influenced by these events, which not only characterised the age but also marked the period.

Chaucer's Life and Works

Geoffrey Chaucer, often referred to as the "Father of English Literature," was a pivotal figure in the development of the English literary tradition. His works provide a vivid snapshot of 14th-century England, combining wit, humour, and keen observation. Let's explore some of his most influential works:

"The Canterbury Tales"

Undoubtedly Chaucer's magnum opus, "The Canterbury Tales" stands as one of the cornerstones of English literature. The work is a collection of stories narrated by a diverse group of pilgrims travelling to Saint Thomas Becket's shrine in Canterbury. The premise is a storytelling contest to pass the time.

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• > A Short History of Modern English Literature
• > THE AGE OF CHAUCER (1350–1400)

Book contents

• Frontmatter
• CHAPTER I THE AGE OF CHAUCER (1350–1400)
• CHAPTER II THE CLOSE OF THE MIDDLE AGES (1400–1560)
• CHAPTER III THE AGE OF ELIZABETH (1560–1620)
• CHAPTER IV THE DECLINE (1620–1660)
• CHAPTER V THE AGE OF DRYDEN (1660–1700)
• CHAPTER VI THE AGE OF ANNE (1700–1740)
• CHAPTER VII THE AGE OF JOHNSON (1740–1780)
• CHAPTER VIII THE AGE OF WORDSWORTH (1780–1815)
• CHAPTER IX THE AGE OF BYRON (1815–1840)
• CHAPTER X THE EARLY VICTORIAN AGE (1840–1870)
• CHAPTER XI THE AGE OF TENNYSON
• BIOGRAPHICAL LIST
• BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

CHAPTER I - THE AGE OF CHAUCER (1350–1400)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 November 2011

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• THE AGE OF CHAUCER (1350–1400)
• Edmund Gosse
• Book: A Short History of Modern English Literature
• Online publication: 05 November 2011
• Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139061544.002

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What did Geoffrey Chaucer do for a living?

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Geoffrey Chaucer

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• History of Parliament Online - Geoffrey Chaucer
• Poetry Foundation - Biography of Geoffrey Chaucer
• Poets.org - Geoffrey Chaucer
• History Learning Site - Biography of Geoffrey Chaucer
• World History Encyclopedia - Geoffrey Chaucer
• Humanities LibreTexts - Geoffrey Chaucer (1343–1400)
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• Pressbook - Geoffrey Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales
• Official Site The Chaucer Heritage Trust
• University of Glasgow - The World of Chaucer
• Harvard's Geoffrey Chaucer Website - Life of Chaucer
• Geoffrey Chaucer - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
• Table Of Contents

Geoffrey Chaucer is today one of the most highly regarded English poets, but during his lifetime his writing was largely subsidiary to his role in public affairs in 14th-century England. He undertook diplomatic missions to the European continent for several kings, and he served as a clerk for the maintenance of royal buildings.

Geoffrey Chaucer is considered one of the first great English poets. He is the author of such works as The Parlement of Foules , Troilus and Criseyde , and The Canterbury Tales . Humorous and profound, his writings show him to be an acute observer of his time with a deft command of many literary genres.

Written at the end of his life, The Canterbury Tales is Geoffrey Chaucer’s best-known work. It is a collection of 24 stories told by a group of 30 pilgrims who travel from Southwark to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Thomas Beckett . Chaucer did not complete the work before he died.

Geoffrey Chaucer (born c. 1342/43, London?, England—died October 25, 1400, London) was the outstanding English poet before Shakespeare and “the first finder of our language.” His The Canterbury Tales ranks as one of the greatest poetic works in English. He also contributed importantly in the second half of the 14th century to the management of public affairs as a courtier, diplomat, and civil servant. In that career he was trusted and aided by three successive kings— Edward III , Richard II , and Henry IV . But it is his avocation—the writing of poetry—for which he is remembered.

Perhaps the chief characteristics of Chaucer’s works are their variety in subject matter, genre , tone, and style and in the complexities presented concerning the human pursuit of a sensible existence. Yet his writings also consistently reflect an all-pervasive humour combined with serious and tolerant consideration of important philosophical questions. From his writings Chaucer emerges as poet of love, both earthly and divine, whose presentations range from lustful cuckoldry to spiritual union with God. Thereby, they regularly lead the reader to speculation about man’s relation both to his fellows and to his Maker, while simultaneously providing delightfully entertaining views of the frailties and follies, as well as the nobility, of mankind.

Chaucer’s forebears for at least four generations were middle-class English people whose connection with London and the court had steadily increased. John Chaucer, his father, was an important London vintner and a deputy to the king’s butler; in 1338 he was a member of Edward III’s expedition to Antwerp, in Flanders , now part of Belgium, and he owned property in Ipswich , in the county of Suffolk, and in London. He died in 1366 or 1367 at age 53. The name Chaucer is derived from the French word chaussier , meaning a maker of footwear. The family’s financial success derived from wine and leather.

Although c. 1340 is customarily given as Chaucer’s birth date, 1342 or 1343 is probably a closer guess. No information exists concerning his early education, although doubtless he would have been as fluent in French as in the Middle English of his time. He also became competent in Latin and Italian. His writings show his close familiarity with many important books of his time and of earlier times.

Chaucer first appears in the records in 1357, as a member of the household of Elizabeth, countess of Ulster, wife of Lionel, third son of Edward III. Geoffrey’s father presumably had been able to place him among the group of young men and women serving in that royal household, a customary arrangement whereby families who could do so provided their children with opportunity for the necessary courtly education and connections to advance their careers. By 1359 Chaucer was a member of Edward III ’s army in France and was captured during the unsuccessful siege of Reims. The king contributed to his ransom, and Chaucer served as messenger from Calais to England during the peace negotiations of 1360. Chaucer does not appear in any contemporary record during 1361–65. He was probably in the king’s service, but he may have been studying law—not unusual preparation for public service, then as now—since a 16th-century report implies that, while so engaged, he was fined for beating a Franciscan friar in a London street. On February 22, 1366, the king of Navarre issued a certificate of safe-conduct for Chaucer, three companions, and their servants to enter Spain. This occasion is the first of a number of diplomatic missions to the continent of Europe over the succeeding 10 years, and the wording of the document suggests that here Chaucer served as “chief of mission.”

By 1366 Chaucer had married. Probably his wife was Philippa Pan, who had been in the service of the countess of Ulster and entered the service of Philippa of Hainaut, queen consort of Edward III, when Elizabeth died in 1363. In 1366 Philippa Chaucer received an annuity, and later annuities were frequently paid to her through her husband. These and other facts indicate that Chaucer married well.

In 1367 Chaucer received an annuity for life as yeoman of the king, and in the next year he was listed among the king’s esquires . Such officers lived at court and performed staff duties of considerable importance. In 1368 Chaucer was abroad on a diplomatic mission, and in 1369 he was on military service in France. Also in 1369 he and his wife were official mourners for the death of Queen Philippa. Obviously, Chaucer’s career was prospering, and his first important poem— Book of the Duchess —seems further evidence of his connection with persons in high places.

That poem of more than 1,300 lines, probably written in late 1369 or early 1370, is an elegy for Blanche, duchess of Lancaster, John of Gaunt’s first wife, who died of plague in September 1369. Chaucer’s close relationship with John , which continued through most of his life, may have commenced as early as Christmas 1357 when they, both about the same age, were present at the countess of Ulster’s residence in Yorkshire. For this first of his important poems, 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 . Chaucer translated that poem, at least in part, probably as one of his first literary efforts, and he borrowed from it throughout his poetic career. The Duchess is also indebted to contemporary French poetry and to Ovid , Chaucer’s favourite Roman poet. Nothing in these borrowings, however, will account for his originality in combining dream-vision with elegy and eulogy of Blanche with consolation for John. Also noteworthy here—as it increasingly became in his later poetry—is the tactful and subtle use of a first-person narrator , who both is and is not the poet himself. The device had obvious advantages for the minor courtier delivering such a poem orally before the high-ranking court group. In addition, the Duchess foreshadows Chaucer’s skill at presenting the rhythms of natural conversation within the confines of Middle English verse and at creating realistic characters within courtly poetic conventions. Also, Chaucer here begins, with the Black Knight’s account of his love for Good Fair White, his career as a love poet, examining in late medieval fashion the important philosophic and religious questions concerning the human condition as they relate to both temporal and eternal aspects of love.

Historical Background of The Age of Chaucer

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The poetry of Chaucer and his contemporaries is best understood in the context of the transition in European society from declining feudalism to an emerging money economy characterized by the rise of the middle classes. Although the English people still largely lived in small, self-sufficient villages, the very fact that Chaucer was an urban poet already suggests a change. Here we need to remember that unlike France, England had broken out of the feudal system rather early.

We could begin by taking a preliminary look at the growing importance and wealth of towns because of trade and commerce. Because of the lucrative wool trade, agricultural land was being converted at many places into pasture for rearing sheep. This required fewer farm-hands, giving rise to a gradual exodus of labor from country to town, from farming to the craft-gilds. Of course, such processes of social transformation do not take place abruptly: in the reign of Henry VIII, Thomas More continues to attack the ‘enclosure’ system, that is, the conversion of arable land into pasture. But at least three historical events can be identified which accelerated change: the Hundred Years’ War, the Black Death and the Peasants’ Revolt.

In a sense the Hundred Years’ War between England and France (beginning in 1337) is rooted in the feudal structure of European society. The modern nation-state comes into being in the transition from medieval to Renaissance Europe. Before that, through matrimonial alliances Kings were feudal lords of laid and property in foreign countries and often laid claim to their thrones. The basic cause of dispute between England and France was thus the English possessions on French soil. War with France and Scotland brought honor to the English monarchy but drained the resources of the Crown, making the barons more powerful. In the changing situation, the barons often included the magnates and comparatively recent merchant princes. After the deposition and murder of the weak and willful king, Edward II, Edward III decided to recover prestige through foreign campaigns, and for some time, succeeded in catching the popular imagination. Flanders, the biggest customer for English wool, appealed for aid to Edward in their conflict with the King of France. Edward’s alliances against France in the Netherlands and the Rhineland (Germany) were matched by the counter-alliances of Philip VI, the French monarch. The immediate pretext of the protracted Hundred Years’ War was Edward’s claim to the. French throne through his mother, Isabella, challenging that of Philip VI. It is ironic that the same Philip had been crowned in 1327 and Edward had done homage to him for Gascony in 1329.

A series of victories bolstered English pride in the mid-fourteenth century. The victory at Crecy (1346), where English yeomen archers and Welsh knifemen routed French chivalry was immediately followed by the Crushing defeat of the Scots at Neville’s Cross. Military glory and patriotic fanaticism that accompanied these successes reached a peak in the triumph of the Black Prince, son of Edward, over the French near Poitiers (1356), where the French king was taken prisoner. The peace of Bretagne in 1360 made Edward ruler of one-third of France, but the financial burden of the war began to tell on England. The intervention in Spain proved to be unwise, since despite the Black Prince’s last victory against Spain at Najera (13671, the war dragged on, and reverses mounted upon reverses until finally England was left with only a foothold around Calais and a weakened navy.

Ultimately what the Hundred Years’ War did was to change the old code of chivalry: Shakespeare brings this out ironically in his history plays (the second tetralogy from Richard II to Henry V). Edward I and Edward III in a sense created the modern infantry. The yeoman archer, the development of a local militia at home and something akin to modern conscription gave the English soldiers a definite edge over the French, The situation on the battlefield contributed to the emergence of democratic forces in England. The sense of a people’s will, representing the rise of the English people with all their proud defiance, presents a sharp contrast to the French peasants’ situation, and adds new life to the poetry of Chaucer. More immediately, the looting and pillage of France by English soldiers, that Chaucer must have witnessed in his French campaigns, may well have resulted in his sympathy for the helpless.

The war, which had brought prosperity to various classes in England because of the rich booty and high wages for soldiers, suffered a severe check from the Black Death (1348-49), a deadly form of the highly infectious bubonic plague carried across Europe by black rats. Because of insanitary conditions, it affected towns more than villages, and the poor died everywhere like flies. Probably one-third of England’s population perished in the plague. Abating towards the end of 1349, the epidemic revived in 1361, 1362 and 1369, continuing to break out sporadically until the late seventeenth century, when medical science improved and the black rat was driven out by the brown rat, which did not carry the disease.

The high mortality at once increased the demand for labor on the farm and weakened the obligations of feudal tenure. This situation found a parallel among the clergy. Many livings (ecclesiastical posts) fell vacant, and the clergy often supported the laborers’ demand for higher wages. It is thus not surprising that Chaucer’s Franklin was a freeholder and that even his Plowman had acquired a new freedom enabling him to offer his services to others. The devastation, however, failed to dampen the martial ardor of the king and his barons. Even as the Black Death was raging, Edward III developed his Order of the Garter which became the model for all later chivalric orders.

It was thus a time of political unrest and uncertainty: we must not forget that two kings, Edward III and Richard II, were deposed and murdered in the fourteenth century. The Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 has to be seen in this background. But first let us have some idea of the condition of the poor in England. In 1381, more than half the people did not possess the privileges that had been guaranteed to every ‘freeman’ by the Magna Carta (1215) in the reign of King John. The serf and the villein had the status of livestock in the master’s household, although the above-mentioned factors had started to push them out of bondage to the comparative freedom of crafts in towns. In theory the-laborers had an elected representative, the Reeve, supposedly to counterbalance the Steward or Bailiff. But as the wealth of the towns often drew away an absentee landlord, the Reeve as substitute became a feared enemy of the people, as in the portraits of Chaucer and Langland. The poor had to pay fines for marriage or sending a son to school, and the inhuman heriot or mortuary tax exacted at death-bed was responsible for much resentment.

The immediate provocation for the revolt was the Poll Tax or head tax. The financial burden of the wars forced the government to ask Parliament to allow heavy taxes. But since such taxes usually affected the propertied classes which dominated Parliament, in 1380, taxes were levied on even the poorest. The sudden outbreak of rebellion under the leadership of Wat Tyler resulted in the peasants, accustomed to levies for French campaigns, attacking London, destroying property and putting the Archbishop of Canterbury lo death. The uprising collapsed equally suddenly, partly because of the shrewdness and courage of King Richard II, who promptly went back on his promises as soon as the rebels had dispersed. Although the movement failed, it was for the first time that the poor peasant had fought for his basic right of freedom; there was very little looting in the Revolt. Despite a brief reference to it in The Nun’s Priest’s Tale, Chaucer concerns himself with the sufferings of individual poor men and not the poor in bulk. For the portrayal of the rural proletariat as opposed to the prosperous farmer class which also grew at that time, we have to go to Langland.

What was the situation in the towns? Apart from London, all English towns were smaller than those of industrialized Flanders and northern Italy. A medium-sized English town would have only 3,000 or 4,000 inhabitants, and town and country flowed into one another. They were fortified by walls since there were no policemen in the modern sense. Their social and economic life was dominated by the merchants and the gilds. The merchant gilds were the most powerful and important; the craft gilds took second place. Parish gilds were also organized for charitable work. Often engaged in rivalry and competition-in the thirteen-eighties there was virtually a war between the older food-trade gilds and the newer cloth gilds-the gilds were easily identified by their distinctive liveries. They also competed with each other to put up on Feast days the colorful pageantry of Miracles and Moralities, drama based on the Bible and saints’ lives.

While working at the Custom-House and living over the Aldgate Tower, Chaucer came to know and love this colorful London life. He would have noticed churches as well as taverns around him: we may note in passing that the pilgrimage to the Canterbury Cathedral (in The Canterbury Tales) begins at the Tabard Inn. London was a busy town of about 40,000 people with a certain openness about its markets and shops. Apart from churches and splendid houses of noblemen, the ordinary citizens’ and artisans’ dwellings had an equally arresting variety. Most of them were of timber and plaster with only side-gables of masonry to prevent the spreading of fires. The ground floor was generally open to the street and outside stairs seem to have been common: There was little comfort or privacy, and instead of glass, the windows had wooden shutters. Since such shutters and weak walls made eavesdropping and housebreaking easy, and streets were unlit, wanderers at night were severely punished. Furniture was kept at the barest minimum. There was generally only one bedroom; for most of the household, the house meant simply the hall. But the common life of the hall was declining among the upper classes with increasing wealth and material comfort. The energy and excitement of London was primarily outdoors, in the street, which was the scene of royal processions and tournaments, the Mayor’s annual ride as well as crime and riot.

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The Canterbury Tales as a social commentary of the age

Literature mirrors the tendencies of the period in which it was written. In addition to that, there is inevitably a leading writer who becomes the representative of his time gives expression to its achievements and expectations, its success or deprivation in his literary works.

Chauce r has also presented the achievements and expectations, success or deprivation of his time through his poem “The Canterbury Tales” . Through the characters of all the classes, Chaucer portrays the vast range of contemporary society by making each character tell their own story. In this way, Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales” is not only the best social commentary of the age but also an authentic picture of fourteenth-century England.

Table of Contents

Medieval Chivalry in “The Canterbury Tales”

An important characteristic of the Age of Chaucer is the Chivalric spirit. The qualities that include the Chivalric spirit are bravery, integrity, justice, being respectful to a lady and protecting her, etc. The Knight of “The Canterbury Tales” truly represents the chivalric spirit as he fought Fifteen Wars to defend his faith or religion. But during the age of Chaucer, the concept of chivalry is slowly changing. Chaucer presents the declining spirit of chivalry of the medieval period through the character of the Knight which was a combination of courage, love, and religion, on the other hand, Chaucer represented the growing spirit of chivalry through the character of the Squire, who was a man of free and easy. He has as much preference for pleasure as for the spirit of chivalry. 

The representation of the religious conditions of the age in Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales”

Chaucer has presented the religious conditions of 14th century England through ecclesiastical characters like The Monk, The Pardoner, the Clerk of Oxford, etc. Chaucer demonstrates the idiocies, the excessive desire for wealth, and all in all, the impious behaviors of these religious men. These religious men are not only the most materialists but also deceitful, unethical, and corrupt. For example The Prioress. The Prioress cares more about manners than sentiments and moderation. During Chaucer’s time, nuns were not allowed to have any kind of pets, but the prioress has a pet dog on whom she showered a lot of love and even fed them flesh and bread. The Prioress is also very fond of jewelry. The rosary that she has is too embellished and her brooch is also made of gold. So The Prioress of “ The Canterbury Tales ” truthfully represents the prioress of 14th century England.

Chaucer satirically presents another ecclesiastical character “ The Monk” . The Monk does not focus much on his religious work; instead, he is very fond of good food and expensive clothes. The Monk never fasts or refuses expensive things like gold pin and supple boots. So like The Prioress, The Monk is also a truthful representation of his class.  

The representation of the political conditions of the age in Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales” 

Through the stories of the characters, Chaucer faithfully reveals the political conditions of the period. The Clerk and The Nun’s Priest mention the ‘Great Rising’ or ‘The Peasant Revolt’ in their respective tales. Another major event that happened in the period is the “The Black Death” and the reference to this major happening appears in Chaucer’s character portrayal of the Physician. Through the character of the “Poor Parson”, Chaucer refers to another important movement of the time “The Lollard Movement” . This was a religious movement initiated by John Wycliffe to reform the irregularities of the church. In “The Canterbury Tales”, like John Wycliffe, Poor Parson believed in living more meaningfully rather than affluently. 

The Rise of the Merchant Class during 14th century England: 

The Age of Chaucer witnessed the growth of the wealthy and flourishing merchants and tradesmen . They conveyed successful trading with neighboring nations and were setting the strong base of England’s industrial prosperity. Chaucer does mention the growth of business and merchants in the Middle English period. His characters from the merchant class are the type of characters who were slowly gaining wealth and prosperity.  The Merchant’s “Flaundryss bever hat” indicating affluence and flashy fashion, depicted him as a prosperous trader. Chaucer says that The Haberdasher, the Carpenter, the Weaver, and the Dyer were all well dressed and their equipment were also very costly. Chaucer also states that the merchant class was no longer detested by the nobility. 

The representation of the medical profession in Chaucer’s ‘The Canterbury Tales” 

Chaucer’s depiction of the character Doctor of Physic is adequately exemplary of the exercise of medicine in his time. During the Age of Chaucer, it is very important for a physician to have knowledge of astronomy. Because physicians believed that all physical ailments depend on the positions of the stars and planets. For this reason, Doctor of Physic was also committed to astrology. His accumulation of fortune during the time of pestilence and his love for gold reveal his greedy nature. 

Conclusion: 

In the end, we can say that “The Canterbury Tales” gives us a rather realistic and substantial depiction of the socio-political conditions predominant in the Middle English Period. All the characters that Chaucer has presented in “The Canterbury Tales” represent different sections of society. Chaucer has not shown the reality in the poem as fragments but has shown it as a whole and for this reason; we can call “ The Canterbury Tales” a complete social commentary of the age and a realistic picture of fourteenth-century England.

• Critical Appreciation of Tennyson’s “Break, Break Break”
• Tennyson as a representative poet of Victorian age
• Short note on elegy
• Justify the title Pride and Prejudice
• The use of irony in Austen’s Pride and Prejudice

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The Age of Chaucer Subject : Classics in English Poetry Background to the Age of Chaucer

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Studies in the Age of Chaucer

In this Issue

• Volume 38, 2016

Studies in the Age of Chaucer is the yearbook of the New Chaucer Society. It publishes articles on the writing of Chaucer and his contemporaries, their antecedents and successors, and their intellectual and social contexts. More generally, articles explore the culture and writing of later medieval Britain (1200-1500). SAC also includes an annotated bibliography and reviews of Chaucer-related publications.

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Viewing issue, table of contents.

• “A berd! A berd!”: Chaucer’s Miller and the Poetics of the Pun
• Jennifer Bryan
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0000

• Vital Property in The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale
• Jeanne Provost
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0001
• Secular Consolation in Chaucer’s Complaint of Mars
• Megan Murton
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0002
• “Kek kek”: Translating Birds in Chaucer’s Parliament of Fowls
• Michael J. Warren
• pp. 109-132
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0003
• Hoccleve’s Poetics of Matter
• Taylor Cowdery
• pp. 133-164
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0004
• Noise, Soundplay, and Langland’s Poetics of Lolling in the Time of Wyclif
• Adin E. Lears
• pp. 165-200
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0005
• “ut legi”: Sir John Mandeville’s Audience and Three Late Medieval English Travelers to Italy and Jerusalem
• Anthony Bale
• pp. 201-237
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0006
• John Shirley, John Lydgate, and the Motives of Compilation
• A. S. G. Edwards
• pp. 245-254
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0011
• John Shirley’s Early Bureaucratic Career
• Kathryn Veeman
• pp. 255-263
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0013
• Shirley, Trinity College Cambridge MS R.3.20, and the Circumstances of Lydgate’s Temple of Glass : Coterie Verse over Time
• Julia Boffey
• pp. 265-273
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0007
• “Je maviseray”: Chaucer’s Anelida, Shirley’s Chaucer, Shirley’s Readers
• pp. 275-285
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0010
• Minding Shirley’s French
• Stephanie Downes
• pp. 287-297
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0009
• The Earl of Suffolk’s French Poems and Shirley’s Virtual Coteries
• R. D. Perry
• pp. 299-308
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0012
• Beyond Reformation? An Essay on William Langland’s “Piers Plowman” and the End of Constantinian Christianity by David Aers (review)
• Nancy Bradley Warren
• pp. 309-312
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0014
• Chaucer, Gower, and the Vernacular Rising: Poetry and the Problem of the Populace after 1381 by Lynn Arner (review)
• Jenni Nuttall
• pp. 312-315
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0015
• Otherworlds: Fantasy and History in Medieval Literature by Aisling Byrne (review)
• Helen Fulton
• pp. 315-319
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0016
• Tellers, Tales, and Translation in Chaucer’s "Canterbury Tales" by Warren Ginsberg (review)
• Kara Gaston
• pp. 319-322
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0017
• Doctors in English: A Study of the Wycliffite Gospel Commentaries by Anne Hudson (review)
• Michael P. Kuczynski
• pp. 323-326
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0018
• The Medieval New: Ambivalence in an Age of Innovation by Patricia Claire Ingham (review)
• Jordan Kirk
• pp. 327-330
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0019
• The Art of Vision: Ekphrasis in Medieval Literature and Culture ed. by Andrew James Johnston, Ethan Knapp, Margitta Rouse (review)
• Karla Taylor
• pp. 330-334
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0020
• In Light of Another’s Word: European Ethnography in the Middle Ages by Shirin A. Khanmohamadi (review)
• Matthew Boyd Goldie
• pp. 334-338
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0021
• Romancing Treason: The Literature of the Wars of the Roses by Megan Leitch (review)
• Matthew Giancarlo
• pp. 338-341
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0022
• Tropologies: Ethics and Invention in England, c. 1350–1600 by Ryan McDermott (review)
• pp. 342-346
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0023
• Relics and Writing in Late Medieval England by Robyn Malo (review)
• Ellen K. Rentz
• pp. 346-349
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0024
• Imagining the Parish in Late Medieval England by Ellen K. Rentz (review)
• Nicole R. Rice
• pp. 350-353
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0025
• Desire in the "Canterbury Tales" by Elizabeth Scala (review)
• Masha Raskolnikov
• pp. 354-357
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0026
• Shakespeare’s Medieval Craft: Remnants of the Mysteries on the London Stage by Kurt A. Schreyer (review)
• Peggy Knapp
• pp. 357-361
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0027
• Feeling Like Saints: Lollard Writings after Wyclif by Fiona Somerset (review)
• Ian Christopher Levy
• pp. 361-365
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0028
• The Queen’s Dumbshows: John Lydgate and the Making of Early Theater by Claire Sponsler (review)
• Jonathan Stavsky
• pp. 365-369
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0029
• Fictions of Evidence: Witnessing, Literature, and Community in the Late Middle Ages by Jamie K. Taylor (review)
• Kathleen Smith
• pp. 369-373
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0030
• Reading Women in Late Medieval Europe: Anne of Bohemia and Chaucer’s Female Audience by Alfred Thomas (review)
• Sue Niebrzydowski
• pp. 373-377
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0031
• Approaches to Teaching Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales.” ed. by Peter W. Travis, Frank Grady (review)
• David Raybin
• pp. 377-381
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0032
• Chaucer and the Death of the Political Animal by Jameson S. Workman (review)
• pp. 381-384
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0033
• An Annotated Chaucer Bibliography, 2014
• Stephanie Amsel
• pp. 387-450
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0035
• pp. 455-460
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0037
• Introduction
• Megan Cook , Elizaveta Strakhov
• pp. 241-244
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0008
• Books Received
• pp. 385-386
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sac.2016.0034

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Literary English

History of English Literature | Anglo-Saxon to Modern Era

History of English Literature starts with the emergence of English language. Like any other language, English Language has gone through different periods of evolution. It evolved over centuries and made a very rapid transformation in its form. English literature that we have in the Modern Era is very different from the Chaucerian Period or before this. How it transformed over the time and what terms were allotted to different periods: We will have a detailed study period wise. The main literary periods of ‘history of English literature’ are as follows:

Name of Literary Eras in History of English Literature:

Pre-chaucerian period (500-1340).

• The Age of Chaucer (1340-1400)
• From Chaucer to Tottel’s Miscellany (1400-1557)
• The Renaissance-The Age of Shakespeare (1557–1625)
• Puritan Age-The Age of Milton (1625-1660)

The Age of Dryden (1660-1700)

• Augustan literature-The Age of Pope (1700–1745)
• The Age of Johnson (1745-1798)

The Age of Wordsworth (1798-1837)

• Victorian literature (1837–1901)
• The Present Age (1901-present)

Pre-Chaucerian literature is the literature written before the period of Chaucer. This period has a significant place in the history of English literature. The two major periods, the literature of this time comprises of are, Anglo Saxon and Anglo Norman.

(I) Anglo-Saxon Period (450–1066)

History of English literature normally starts with Anglo-Saxon period. The English Literature written during Anglo-Saxon period is the Old English Literature. This literary period was 600 years. Old English Literature includes works of diverse genres like chronicles,  sermons, heroic poetry, translations of Bible, hagiography, legal writings, riddles, and many more. 400 total manuscripts that have survived from this period and are of special interest.  (1) The compilation of the manuscripts of poetry from the Anglo-Saxon period is in these four major manuscripts: the Exeter Book, the Junius Manuscript, the Vercelli Book, and the Beowulf manuscript. The most notable manuscript from prose is Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which is a historical record. (2) Prominent writers from this literary period include Alfred the Great, Aldhelm, Alcuin, Aelfric Bata, Aelfric of Canterbury, Bede, Cynewuf, Caedmon, Wulfstan, etc. In addition, Hygeburg, who was a female writer and a nun, is the first Englishwoman known to compose a complete literary writing.

(II) Anglo-Norman Period (1066-1340)

Anglo-Norman literature is the literature written at the time of Anglo-Norman period. It is in the Anglo-Norman language. This language took form during the time 1066–1204, when the England and Duchy of Normandy came together to make the Anglo-Norman empire. The literature of this time was rich in writing the legends and lives of saints. It also included epic poetry, romance poetry, lyric poetry, fables, Fabliaux, writings on history, hagiography, religious tales, Didactic literature, drama, satire, etc. The most famous manuscripts from this period include Brut, The Owl and the Nightingale, The Ormulum, Arthur and Merlin, Tristan and Iseult, La gageure, Anglo-Norman Sermon, Voyage de Saint Brandan, Piers Plowman, Roman de Renart, etc. Prominent writers from this literary period include; Layamon, Robert Biket, Geoffrey of Monmouth, Béroul, Thomas, Nicole Bozon, etc. The Age of Chaucer (1340-1400)

The Age of Chaucer is considered a period of major development in history of English Literature. It was the start of new English language and literature. Geoffrey Chaucer was a poet and an author of English language. In his brief life of 57 years, he contributed significantly in the development of English. For this reason, his has the title of “Father of English Literature”. The Canterbury Tales is his most prominent wok. The age of Chaucer faced various religious, social, political challenges. The churches, which used to have authority, were corrupted and people were starting to go against the commands of the church. People started to think more openly and without the restrictions of church and hence their writing style changed too. The theme of writings was moving from romance and fables to more humanistic. There were no dramas or novels written in that time. Prose and poetry were getting more importance.

The most famous works from the age of Chaucer include The Book of the Duchess, The House of Fame, The Legend of Good Women, and Troilus and Criseyde. Chaucer’s book, Treatise on the Astrolabe, has technical writing which shows that he was good at science too as he was in English literature. (5) Other main authors of the age of Chaucer are, William Langland, John Gower, Giovanni Boccaccio and John Trevisa. (6) These are the other major works of Chaucer’s period: Piers Plowman, Confessio Amantis, Decameron, Vox Clamantis, The Knight’s Tale, Famous Women, etc. Though the Age of Chaucer was a short period, it made a great impact on English literature and changed its direction. It laid the basis of modern English language and literature.

From Chaucer to Tottel’s Miscellany

After the death of Chaucer, the conditions in England became very unfavourable. There were political conflicts and war. Thus, the 15th century does not have much literary productiveness. Some poets who tried to imitate Chaucer’s style produced some manuscripts but because those were imitative, they did not hold a much permanent value. From these people, the most prominent were Thomas Occleve and John Lydgate, who wrote The Governail of Princes and Stories of Thebes However, the poet, William Dunbar’s ‘Dance of the Seven Deadly Sins’ is very original with humour, vigour and homely pathos. In prose, there was more work done. Reginald Pecock’s ‘Bloke of Faith’ proved to be a landmark in English prose. One great thing that happened during this period was the establishment of the first English printing press. William Caxton did it at Westminster in 1476.

Other important works that started at a later time of this period include English New Testament, the complete English Bible of Miles Coverdale, Pastime of Pleasure, etc. Sir Thomas More’s Utopia is typical and thorough writing of this period. It was translated from Latin in 1551 and it described an ideal society.  At the end of this period, stand out two names, Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. They have the honour of bringing love-poetry and Sonnet to English literature. Surrey was also the first writer to use ten-syllable verse, which also has the name of blank verse. In 1557, Tottel’s Miscellany, a compilation of miscellaneous English poems, came out. Almost half of the poems in this collection were of Wyatt and Surrey. Tottel’s Miscellany, published just a year before Elizabeth’s period, marked the dawn of a new era, as it was . (1)

The Age of Shakespeare (1577-1625) or The Renaissance in History of English Literature

The age of Shakespeare started with the start of Elizabeth’s reign in 1558. It ends with the death of James I. in 1625. This period is the golden age in history of English literature because of the productiveness of it. This period brought massive changes in the history of English literature. The Age of Shakespeare is divided into two periods: The Age of Elizabeth and The Jacobean Age.

(I) The Age of Elizabeth (1558-1603)

With the reign of Elizabeth, the English literature started to flourish. The first publication, which marked the start of this golden age, was Shepheardes Calender by Edmund Spenser in 1579. In the first half of the Elizabeth era, there was a composition of little verses of any value. Spenser was the most celebrated poet of this era and he was called the poet’s poet. He had a remarkable influence on the poetry that followed after him. Elizabethan literature was also the golden age of drama too as Shakespeare was present there. Shakespeare plays were in a range of different genres. Those included tragedies like Hamlet or Othello etc, comedies like As You Like It, historic plays like Richard III, etc.  Other writers of Elizabethan literature include Sir Philip Sidney, Thomas Campion, Sackville, Norton, Thomas Kyd, etc. Famous literary works of this era include The Faerie Queene, Astrophel and Stella, The Defence of Poetry, Gorboduc, The Spanish Tragedy etc.

(II) The Jacobean Age (1603-1625)

The Jacobean Age was the era of James I . The literature written during this period is Jacobean Literature. Shakespeare wrote some of his prominent plays during this period. Those plays include King Lear (1605), Macbeth (1606), and The Tempest (1610).  Jacobean literature, as compared to the Elizabethan literature, was dark. It is because Shakespeare wrote his so-called problem plays like All is Well that Ends Well and famous tragedies in this era. John Webster, who was a dramatist, often portrayed the problem of evil in his dramas. This period’s comedy consisted of the bitter satire from Ben Jonson and the diverse writings from John Fletcher and Francis Beaumont. Popular works of this time include Volpone, Bartholomew Fair, The Knight of the Burning Pestle, The White Devil, The Changelin, etc. King James Bible was the most prominent prose work of Jacobean Literature.

The Age of Milton or Puritan Age (1625-1660)

In the age of Milton, Puritanism grew as a moral and social force. Puritans were the ancestors of Wycliffe and Lollards. They had very strict opinions regarding life and behaviour of people. The works of Puritan age are mostly sombre in character. There is a sense of sadness, gloom and pessimism, as there was political and religious confusion, and King Charles I was also killed. This era is also known as the Late Renaissance. Poetry was the main focus of this era and the most contribution made in this period was by John Milton. Milton was the last greatest poet of the Renaissance period. He published many writings before 1660. These works include L’Allegro, Il Penseroso, Comus and Lycidas. There were other poets too: The Metaphysical Poets and Cavalier Poets. The metaphysical poets were the people of learning. These poets include John Donne, George Herbert, Richard Crashaw, Andrew Marvell, Thomas Traherne, Henry Vaughan, etc.

The Cavalier poets were supporters of King Charles I during the English Civil War. These poets include Robert Herrick, Richard Lovelace, Thomas Carew and Sir John Suckling. Cavalier poets used “classical and allegory allusions”. Roman authors like Horace, Cicero and Ovid influenced these poets. Metaphysical poetry was spiritual. Metaphysical poets wrote poetry with “far-fetched or unusual similes or metaphors”. The famous works of age of Milton include Songs and Sonnets, The Hesperides and Noble Numbers, The Sun Rising, Colasterion, Tetrachordon, etc.

The second name of Age of Dryden is the Restoration Age because of the restoration of monarchy in England. This era started when Charles II returned to the throne. Because people had spent a lot of time restricted in Puritan period, after it there was an immense reaction against it. Moderation and decency started dissipating. Faithlessness, betrayal and recklessness became fashionable, and the people who still had some goodness were laughed at. All of this had a definite impact on literature of the Restoration era. Literature became intellectual rather than imaginative or emotional. Though it was often brilliant, it was a bit hard and insensitive. Even poetry became prosaic and was lacking imagination. Examples of which include Sodom from Earl of Rochester, The Country Wife by William Wycherley, Two Treatises on Government by Locke, etc.

Apart from this, there were still people like Dryden who saved this era. Dryden was the main influential poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who represented this period.  His most prominent work is the mock-heroic MacFlecknoe. More works from him include the two great doctrinal poems, Religio Laid and The Hind and the Panther, Love Triumphant or Nature Will Prevail, The Wild Gallant, etc. Other notable writers from this time are John Bunyan, Edmund Waller, Sir John Denham, Samuel Butler, Jeremy Collier, John Gay, etc. Prominent works from this time include Hudibras, The Wild Gallant, Grace Abounding, The Pilgrim’s Progress, The Life and Death of Mr. Badman, The Holy War, etc. John Milton published his most appreciated piece of writing Paradise Lost during this era.

The start of novel writing was also during this era. Aphra Behn, the female author of Oroonoko, is considered to be the first novelist in England.

The Age of Pope or Augustan Literature (170–1750)

Alexander Pope is the most prominent poet of this era and that is why it is The Age of Pope. It also has the name of “the Age of Enlightenment” or “Age of Reason” as judgement of everything was on rational and scientific grounds. Moderation was standard behaviour, and anything extravagant was not very acceptable. The writers of this age stayed close to the style of ancient writers, and that for them was good writing. This era was also the Classical Age of poetry. It was poetry of criticism and argument. Writers wrote it for the interest of society and there was no use of imagination or love of nature expressed. However, as the era progressed, great poets like Pope came forward and wrote everlasting poems. Examples of which are, The melancholy of James Thomson, ‘The Seasons’ Edward Young’s ‘Night Thoughts’. Mock-heroic poetry was also very prominent. Alexander Pope’s ‘Rape of the Lock’ and ‘The Dunciad’ are still greatest examples of mock-heroic poetry.

In drama, George Lillo and Richard Steele composed very high moral forms of tragedy. In those, the characters were entirely middle class or working class. Opera was also becoming popular in England at this time. In prose, ‘The Spectator’ of Joseph Addison and Richard Steele dominated the initial period. It was a British periodical essay containing 2500 words each. There was more work on novels too. Daniel Defoe’s novels Roxana, Moll Flanders and Robinson Crusoe are of importance. Other authors of this era include Jonathan Swift, Samuel Richardson, Henry Fielding, Tobias Smollett, etc. Other important works of this period include Roderick Random, Gulliver’s Travels, A Modest Proposal, the Drapier Letters, Pamela; or Virtue Rewarded, Joseph Andrews, Shamela, Clarissa, Tom Jones, etc.

The Age of Johnson (1750-1798)

Age of Johnson is the name of this era because of the prominent work of Samuel Johnson in this era. Johnson was an English writer who provided long-lasting contributions to English literature. He was a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. “A Dictionary of the English Language” by Johnson was published in 1755 after nine years of writing. Literary people describe it as “one of the greatest single achievements of scholarship”. Richard Brinsley Sheridan is another name of this era who went on to become the most prominent playwright of this time. His famous works that were instant success include The Rivals and The School for Scandal. Other emerging Irish authors of this age include Oliver Goldsmith and Laurence Sterne. Their works include The Vicar of Wakefield, The Deserted Village The Good-Natur’d Man, She Stoops to Conquer, etc. Also written in this era was Frances Burney’s Evelina, which was one of the first ‘novels of manners’.

The genre of “sentimental novel” or “novel of sensibility” formed during this period. This era observes the intellectual and emotional perceptions of sensibility, sentiment, and sentimentalism. Sentimentalism began as a fashion in both prose and poetry fiction in the 18th century. That is why “The Age of Sensibility” is another name of this period. Most prominent sentimental novels from this age include Vicar of Wakefield, Tristram Shandy, The Man of Feeling, etc. The genre of Gothic fiction emerged too by Horace Walpole’s novel “The Castle of Otranto”. It combines components of romance and horror. Ann Radcliffe presented the dark figure of the gothic villain. This figure later advanced into the Byronic hero. The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann is an example of this genre.

This era also has the name of the Romantic Era in the history of English literature. William Wordsworth was an English Romantic poet. He, in collaboration with Samuel Taylor Coleridge helped to mark the start of the Romantic Age in English literature, by jointly publishing “Lyrical Ballads” in 1798. That is why the period starting from that year is called the Age of Wordsworth. This age was big on Romanticism. It was an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement. Other early Romantic poets include the initiate of the Romantic Movement Robert Burns, the painter William Blake, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Southey, the journalist Thomas de Quincey, etc. The most prominent romantic writings of this early generation include “Rime of the Ancient Mariner“,  “Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey“, “Resolution and Independence“, “Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood” and The Prelude, which is an autobiographical epic.

This age was a riot against classical rules of literary composition. It was also a rebel against the dominion of intellect and reason and was in support of imagination and wonder. The Romantic poets of the second generation include Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Felicia Hemans and John Keats. Their works include Ode to the West Wind, To a Skylark, Adonaïs, Ode to a Nightingale, Ode on a Grecian Urn, To Autumn, etc. Romanticism influenced novels too. One of the most celebrated novelists of this period was Sir Walter Scott. His historical romances inspired painters, composers, and writers all through Europe. Waverley is his first historical novel. Another novelist, Jane Austen’s story line in novels is fundamentally comic. Her most celebrated works are Pride and Prejudice and Emma. Another famous novel of this period is Frankenstein by the author Mary Shelley.

Victorian Literature (1837–1901)

Victorian literature is the literature that evolved in the period of Queen Victoria. The literature of this era was a mix of romanticism and realism. This age is great in both poetry and prose. The greatest poet of the Victorian period was Alfred Lord Tennyson. Alfred’s poetry was romantic and reflected the age perfectly with its mixture of social conviction and religious confusion. S. Eliot described him as “the greatest master of metrics as well as melancholia”. Tennyson’s famous works include poetry of short lyrics Break, Break, Break, and The Charge of the Light Brigade, Tears, Idle Tears and Crossing the Bar. He also wrote blank verse poetry including Ulysses, Idylls of the King, and Tithonus. Other famous poets of Victorian age were Robert Browning and his wife, Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Dramatic monologues were Browning’s specialty. W.S. Gilbert was famous in this era too and was the writer of comic verses. His most celebrated work is his fourteen comic operas.

America also produced two greatest poets of the 19th century, Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman. The novels of this era were also doing great. Children’s literature, like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, came about too. Charles Dickens became the most famous novelist from this era. His famous works include Bleak House, Oliver Twist, etc. Thomas Hardy was a realist and a prominent figure of this era, and is famously known for his The Mayor of Caster Bridge. Other writers of Victorian’s age include William Makepeace Thackeray, The Brontë sisters, Emily, Charlotte and Anne, Elizabeth Gaskell, Anthony Trollope, H.G. Wells, Robert Louis Stevenson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry James etc. Notable works of this time are The Princess Casamassima, The Time Machine, Kidnapped, Jane Eyre, Sherlock Holmes, Dorothy, Leaves of Grass, etc.

The Present Age in History of English Literature (1901-present)

The present age is also the age of Modernism in the history of English literature. A major literary movement, Modernism, started with the dawn of the twentieth-century. Irish writers played an important part in this period. The most important Irish writers of this age are James Joyce and Samuel Beckett. Modernist writers from America include T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, William Faulkner, etc. Modernists from Britain Include Joseph Conrad, E.M. Forster, Dorothy Richardson, Virginia Woolf, D.H. Lawrence, etc. The modernist authors wanted to break the traditional ways of writing and experiment with other literary forms of expression to make it new. Thomas Hardy was the major poet in the initial years of the twentieth-century. He was not a modernist but played the role of a transitional figure between the ages of Victorian and Modernism. Henry James was another important transitional figure. Sister Carrie was the first most celebrated novel of this period. It was published by Theodore Dreisser in 1900.

Major poetry from this age includes The Tower by Nobel Prize winner W.B. Yeats, “Prufock”, “The Wasteland”, “The Cantos”, etc. Important prose includes The Playboy of the Western World, Hay Fever, Ulysses, The Old Wives’ Tale, A Room with a View, The Man who was Thursday, The Rock, etc. Radio drama also started in the Twentieth-century. In the closing years of Twentieth-century, the literary genre of science fiction became significant. Prominent writers of this genre include Sir Arthur C. Clarke, Adams, Robert Heinlein, Doris Lessing, Margaret Atwood, Ian Banks, etc. 2001: A Space of Odyssey and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy are the prominent examples of this genre.

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• Life of Chaucer

For a brief chronology of Chaucer's life and times, click here .

Geoffrey Chaucer led a busy official life, as an esquire of the royal court, as the comptroller of the customs for the port of London, as a participant in important diplomatic missions, and in a variety of other official duties. All this is richly recorded in literally hundreds of documents (see Martin Crow and Clair C. Olson,  Chaucer Life Records  (Austin, 1966)). But such documents tell us little about Chaucer the man and poet. Nor does Chaucer himself tell us all that much. He is a lively presence in his works, and every reader comes to feel that he knows Chaucer very well. Perhaps we do. There is a certain consistency in the character of Chaucer as he appears in his works, and occasional biographical passages, such as this from The House of Fame , seem to ring true:         "Wherfore, as I seyde, ywys,         Jupiter considereth this,         And also, beau sir, other thynges:         That is, that thou hast no tydynges         Of Loves folk yf they be glade,         Ne of noght elles that God made;         And noght oonly fro fer contree         That ther no tydynge cometh to thee,         But of thy verray neyghebores,         That duellen almost at thy dores,         Thou herist neyther that ne this;         For when thy labour doon al ys,         And hast mad alle thy rekenynges,         In stede of reste and newe thynges         Thou goost hom to thy hous anoon,         And, also domb as any stoon,         Thou sittest at another book         Tyl fully daswed ys thy look;         And lyvest thus as an heremyte,         Although thyn abstynence ys lyte."         (House of Fame, 641-60) This has the ring of truth, and yet we can never be sure how much is true and how much a role that Chaucer adopts for his poetic self. The only non-fictionalized scrap of autobiography that we have from Chaucer is the record of his deposition in the Scrope-Grosvener Trial . It reveals Chaucer as a curious and sociable character, rather like the man who scurried about meeting and talking to all the nine and twenty pilgrims that gathered at the Tabard. By the 1380's Chaucer had earned wide admiration for his work, and a number of contemporaries mention Chaucer and his poetry. Naturally enough, they describe Chaucer's works rather than Chaucer the man. A biography of Chaucer therefore depends on some extrapolation and the exercise of good judgement, not always apparent in works of this genre. For a good brief life of Chaucer see that by Martin Crow and Virginia Leland in The Riverside Chaucer , pp. xv-xxvi, and, slightly altered, in The Canterbury Tales Complete pp. xiii-xxv. For an excellent full treatment see Derek A. Pearsall,  The Life of Geoffrey Chaucer: A critical biography   (Oxford, 1992) [PR 1905.P43 1992].       For a bibliography of critical and scholarly works on Chaucer's life, click here .

• A Brief Chronology of Chaucer's Life and Times

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