Geoffrey Chaucer (an English Poet)

Geoffrey Chaucers The Canterbury Tales (1387-1400), regarded as a classic of

English literature, tells the tale of English people on a pilgrimage to Saint
Thomas Beckets shrine at Canterbury. The pilgrims emerge as complex
characters through the stories they tell. Self-contained within the larger plot of the
work, these tales influenced the development of the modern short story.

Birth 1343?
Death October 25, 1400
Place of Birth London, England (?)
Known for Increasing the prestige of English as a literary language,
through his contributions to early English literature Introducing rhyme
royal, a seven-line stanza in iambic pentameter, to English poetry
Milestones
1357 Served as a page to Elizabeth, Countess of Ulster
1359 Went to France with King Edward III's army and was soon after taken prisoner. He was ransomed in
1360.
1367 Appointed to a position in the king's service
1369? Wrote the elegy The Book of the Duchess following the death of Blanche, Duchess of Lancaster
1370s-1380s Wrote the unfinished poem The House of Fame and the love poems The Parlement of Foules and
controller of customs for
London
1387-1400 Wrote The
Canterbury Tales, a
collection of 24 stories
told during a pilgrimage
to the shrine of Thomas
Becket in Canterbury
1389-1391 Served as
clerk of the king's works
Did You Know By
writing in English at a
time when other poets were using French and Latin, Chaucer influenced the recognition of English as a literary
language. In the 1360s and 1370s, Chaucer went on numerous diplomatic missions to Europe. Chaucer was elected to
Parliament in 1386 and served for one year. Chaucer is buried in the Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey.
Reporters: AleahHidaya H. Rakhim
Sittie Carima L. Rengia

February 20, 2014

Troilus and Criseyde

1374-1386 Served as