Chaucer, Geoffrey: The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales
To Chaucer's final period, in which he achieved his fullest artistic power, belongs his masterpiece,
The pilgrims' tales include a variety of medieval genres from the humorous fabliau to the serious homily, and they vividly indicate medieval attitudes and customs in such areas as love, marriage, and religion. Through Chaucer's superb powers of characterization the pilgrims—such as the earthy wife of Bath, the gentle knight, the worldly prioress, the evil summoner—come intensely alive. Chaucer was a master storyteller and craftsman, but because of a change in the language after 1400, his metrical technique was not fully appreciated until the 18th cent. Only in Scotland in the 15th and 16th cent. did his imitators understand his versification.
Sections in this article:
- Introduction
- The Canterbury Tales
- Italian Period
- Early Works
- Life and Career
- Bibliography
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