poetry, for despite his roughness, and the bleak atmosphere o f
much o f his work, he has written the greatest poem in English
devoted to the Christian way o f life.
But modern poetry begins with one o f the most prominent
persons o f the Middle English period - Geoffrey Chaucer, a
diplomat, soldier and scholar.
Geoffrey Chaucer
(1340 - 1400)
Geoffrey Chaucer is listed by most scholars as one o f the
three greatest poets in English literature (along with William
Shakespeare and John Milton). He was born in London. His
father, John Chaucer, was a wine merchant. In 1357 Geoffrey
was listec! as a page in the household ofthe wife o f Prince Lionel,
a son o f Edward III. His service in that household indicates that
his family had sufficient social status for him to receive a courtly
education. Throughout the rest o f his lifetime, Chaucer was in
some way connected with members o f the royal family. In 1366
Chaucer married Philippa Roet, a lady-in-waiting to the Queen.
Chaucer rose socially through his marriage. In 1368 he became
one o f the King’s esquires, which in those days meant that he
worked iri the administrative department of the King’s government.
One o f his duties was to act as a government envoy on foreign
diplomatic missions. Chaucer’s diplomatic missions took him first
to France and later to Italy.
Chaucer's poetry is generally divided into three periods.
The French period. While in France Geoffrey Chaucer
came in contact with French literature, his earliest poems were
written in imitation o f the French romances. He translated from
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