Jan 01 2009
Geoffrey Chaucer- the man, his times, his work
Like most writers in English, before Shakespeare, not much information is available about Chaucer. It is thought that his father must have worked in some trade related to shoemaking, hence the name-Chaucer but nothing definite is known. The era in which Chaucer wrote was turbulent. There was war between England and France, the church was in a state of turmoil, the standard of health was falling and so was the morale of the people. There was moral degradation in the hitherto “Holy” ranks and people were growing sceptic.
Perhaps, it is this scepticism that is reflected in Chaucer’s work too. Perhaps his characters from “The Canterbury Tales” would today be considered stereotypes. But we have to bear it in mind that Chaucer wrote at a time when this kind of a writing style had not even been conceived of. He is considered “the father of English poetry” and also as “the father of English novels”. It can even be said that the two great genres of English- Poetry and Novel- gained form because of him and this is no mean achievement!
The Canterbury Tales –The Novel:
29 travellers, from different walks of life, come together with one purpose- a pilgrimage to Canterbury. Each of the travellers has to narrate 4 stories- two on the way to Canterbury and two on the way back. What a marvellous plot! What a creative premise to bring together totally unrelated people from a vast spectrum of society onto a single platform! Even before the author begins, we know there will be a lot of variety. The description of each of the characters is a story unto itself. Though Chaucer did not complete his work- not all of the characters get a chance to speak-yet, the narrative is competently rendered. The stories that he brings out speak of human emotions, failings and grandeur, things that are relevant even today. As a novelist he successfully guides us through the narrative, never letting the pace slacken, each bit well inter-linked with the other.
The Canterbury Tales –The Poem:
The beautiful lyrical quality of the poem, the carefully selected words, the amazing imagery- all make the Canterbury Tales a reader’s delight. We fall into the rhythm of the narrative right from the beginning.
“Whan that Auerylle with his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote
And bathed euery veyne in swich lycour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour”
The description is sheer poetry. He looks at April, not as a prose writer but as a poet. He speaks of the showers, the leaves, the dry earth, now touched by rain, the scenery- all with immense lyrical excellence
The obvious reason to call this a poetry, though, would be the rhyme and metre of the poem.
Readers, unfamiliar with Middle English, might feel that his words do not rhyme. But we have to remember that our modern pronunciation is very different from Chaucer’s times.
Conclusion
The work is a commentary on the society of Chaucer’s times. The characters, though crudely described and stereotyped, do succeed in drawing a picture in our mind. As each person is described and the as every story is narrated, we can almost see the narrative in our mind’s eye. Witty, sarcastic and cynical, Chaucer spares no one. His portrayal of human weaknesses does not seem to age, they seem to hold true even today. The method may have changed but the emotions behind them remain the same.
Chaucer, with his Canterbury tales did not just leave behind a work of literature; he left behind a storehouse of knowledge, a lesson in History, a reference material for Middle English and an essay on human nature.
