Chaucerian Commentary Essay Research Paper Chaucerian Moral

Chaucerian Commentary Essay, Research Paper

Chaucerian Moral and Social Commentary in the Canterbury Tales

As the first great English poet, Geoffrey Chaucer has etched out a tradition of English literary brilliance. From stem to Stern, Chaucer s cheerful and diverse poetry stands apart from other British writers. Between colorful and humorous verse and tale, Chaucer creates a picture of man in his society. The Canterbury tales, Chaucer s defining work, integrates Chaucerian whit, paradox and color into a quilt of medieval social strata. Chaucer played not the part of the poet Baird but of the watchful investigator. The Canterbury Tales represent Chaucer s investigation into the social and moral contradictions of human individuals in medieval society.

Geoffrey Chaucer s 14th century existence created atmosphere, experience and opportunity that allowed Chaucer to delve into the character of the individual and examine the relationship between human ideals and human realities. Chaucer lived in a unique position through out his life that allowed him to bridge the wide canyon between the remote aristocracy and the sometimes volatile lower class. Chaucer was born into the upper middle class, a social strata that was mostly unacknowledged. The Medieval middle class was neither aristocracy nor Plebian; however, the middle class was increasingly important to medieval society and culture. As the son of a well to do wine merchant, Geoffrey Chaucer lived in close proximity with the lower classes, no doubt becoming quite familiar with the culture and attitudes of the commoners. Perhaps most vital to Chaucer s ascension into poetic greatness evolved because of his unusual access and acceptance into the upper world of aristocracy. As an adolescent, Chaucer was sent by his father to serve as a page to Lionel of Antwerp. This initiated Chaucer into the world of the nobility to which he became a distinguished honorary member. Chaucer worked in many critical posts for the aristocracy, parliament, and the royal family. Chaucer s service to the aristocracy provided him with an education and valuable contacts through out parliament and the royal court. It was Chaucer s amicable nature and sharp intelligence that made him a valuable asset to the upper class of England.

During Chaucer s era, England was far behind much of Europe not only in social theory but also in the literary movement of the early renaissance. For this reason Chaucer s earliest literary inspirations were French and Latin examples rather than British works. However it was Chaucer s move to Italy while in service to the British government that brought him in contact with the works of Italian masters, Dante and Boccaccio. It is these two Italian influences, which are most evident in the Canterbury Tales. Although Chaucer never completed his immense plans for the Canterbury Tales, the work illustrates the attitude of the medieval life for members of rural, urban, and noble communities of 14th century England.

Chaucer was way ahead of the common social theory of his time. Where as anyone below the aristocracy was considered unimportant, Chaucer recognized the color and necessity of the middle and lower classes. Through Chaucer s shrewd observation and clever description, the Canterbury Tales provide a picture of medieval life and the character of the medieval generation. Chaucer uses the images of the individual travelers in the Tales to paint a picture of his own society. Chaucer s philosophy best described as humanist, or liberal humanist; it places the individual above history, and esteems the human capacity not to be made but to make history. (Patterson, 1) This humanist theory is evident through out the tales in which it is Chaucer s characters spinning the wheels of action and adventure. Those who are naive or foolish enough to trust their lives to the fates find their strings pulled by their adversaries. Chaucer looked at the individual in his setting.

Chaucer s literature is diverse and satirical. His description of life is often influenced by his intimacy with the aristocracy, yet he still regards the common classes as a practical necessity. Chaucer is greatly known for his paradoxical illustrations, painting the differences between the ideal individual and the reality of the actual human being.

Chaucerian literature is characterized by emphasis on the individual. Through colorful and shrewd description Chaucer paints an image of each pilgrim in the Canterbury tales. It is through each individual that Chaucer attempts to represent the whole of society. Chaucer recognizes the need for each individual to unite into the whole society.

Chaucer frames the tales inside the purpose of a pilgrimage to Canterbury. The image of this pilgrimage is vital to the overall picture of the Canterbury tales. In one aspect the pilgrimage can be symbolic of a life journey in which an individual must travel through life to ultimately arrive at the gate of heaven. Chaucer image of the pilgrimage offers a unique perspective on the individual and community. Chaucer chose an ordinary occurrence to frame his tales. Medieval religious pilgrimages were very common for all members of society, from the miller to the King of England. However devout and religious the journey was supposed to be a medieval pilgrimage was often full of gaiety and adventure. The journey offered an escape from the obsess