Concetti Chiave
- Geoffrey Chaucer, born around 1343, was part of the urban middle class with family ties to wine merchants in London.
- Chaucer's early connections with the royal family allowed him to engage with high society and contemporary ideas.
- He held various roles, including a diplomatic agent and eventually Clerk of the King's Works, reflecting his political involvement.
- Chaucer's literary works are categorized into three periods: French, Italian, and English, each showcasing his evolving style.
- "Canterbury Tales," considered his masterpiece, was written during the English period and remained unfinished at his death in 1399.
Geoffrey Chaucer was born around 1343. He came of the urban middle class and his father was a wine merchant in London, as also his father had been before him. Chaucer grew up in close contact with the royal family and in 1357 was in the service of the Duke of Clarence, third son of Edward III. This association meant that Chaucer was connected to highest levels of society and thus to the new ideas of the time. Geoffrey followed the King’s son to war and was taken prisoner in France. In 1360 the king himself paid the ransom to have Chaucer come back to England. When the Duke and then the King died, the forth son of Edward III, John of Gaunt, virtually ruled the country towards the rising of the bourgeoisie. In this period Chaucer became a diplomatic agent of the crown and was travelling very often to and from the continent. When he went to Italy in 1372-73 he became interested in Dante, Petrarca e Boccaccio and began to read Virgilio in Latin. In 1374 he began to work in the office of Controller of the Customs and Subsidy of Wools, Skins and Leather at the Port of London and spent the following years as a bourgeois well rooted in politics. In 1377-78 he travelled for brief missions to Flanders and France. When Gaunt went to Spain in 1386, Chaucer lost his job and remained without a substantial income. After a few difficult years Gaunt returned to England after Richard II took the power in 1389, and Chaucer was appointed Clerk of the King’s Works and then member of the commission in charge of the restoration of the banks of the Thames. In 1399 Chaucer died at Westminster where he was living and was the first poet to be buried in the Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey.
Main Works
Geoffrey Chaucer poems can be divided into three periods.
The French period includes poems that were developed following French features and style such as “The Boke of the Duchesse” and “The Romaunt of the Rose”.
The Italian period contains poems that reveal a greater sensibleness and better skills in the handling of the verses. For example, “The House of Fame”, “The legend of the Good Women” and “Troylus and Criseyde” belong to this period.
Chaucer’s masterpiece “Canterbury Tales” belongs to the final English period. It was written about 1387 but remained unfinished.
Domande da interrogazione
- Chi era Geoffrey Chaucer e quale fu il suo background familiare?
- Quali furono le principali influenze letterarie di Chaucer durante i suoi viaggi?
- Quali furono le principali occupazioni di Chaucer nel corso della sua vita?
- Quali sono le principali opere di Chaucer e come sono suddivise?
Geoffrey Chaucer nacque intorno al 1343 in una famiglia della classe media urbana; suo padre era un mercante di vino a Londra. Cresciuto a stretto contatto con la famiglia reale, entrò al servizio del Duca di Clarence nel 1357.
Durante i suoi viaggi, specialmente in Italia nel 1372-73, Chaucer si interessò a Dante, Petrarca e Boccaccio, e iniziò a leggere Virgilio in latino, influenzando così il suo stile letterario.
Chaucer lavorò come agente diplomatico della corona, Controller of the Customs and Subsidy of Wools, Skins and Leather al Porto di Londra, e successivamente come Clerk of the King’s Works e membro della commissione per la restaurazione delle rive del Tamigi.
Le opere di Chaucer si dividono in tre periodi: il periodo francese con opere come “The Boke of the Duchesse”, il periodo italiano con “The House of Fame” e “Troylus and Criseyde”, e il periodo inglese con il suo capolavoro “Canterbury Tales”.
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