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Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

Faculdade de Letras

Introdução às Literaturas de Língua Inglesa

Geoffrey Chaucer and the creation of the English language

and its literature

Professor: Marcel Lima

Alumni: Thalita de Carvalho Pereira

Belo Horizonte/MG

2011

8/7/2019 Geoffrey Chaucer and the Creation of the English Language

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Geoffrey Chaucer and the creation of the English language and literature

In this essay I will outline the influence of Geoffrey Chaucer in the development

of the English language as we know it today and its literature.

Geoffrey Chaucer is believed to have been born around 1340. He was the son

of John Chaucer, a wine trader, but he had access to aristocracy life by working

as a professional courtier and marrying in the family of John of Gaunts. His

work gave him the opportunity to travel to various areas of Europe, including

Italy and France, and consequently make “the acquaintance of the works of

writers such as Dante, Petrarch, and Boccacio.” (Carter and McRae, p. 33).

The wide range of cultural references acquired by Chaucer in his travels and his

own intelligence made of him one of the most capable writers of his time.

Although he knew all the finer languages used to write by his contemporary

men, Chaucer chose to write mostly in the East Midland dialect of English,

which was spoken in London. The problem with his choice was that the dialect

did not present him with enough material for his writings, hence, “in a sense, he

had to create the English language as we know it today and to establish its

literary traditions.” (Burgess, p. 29)

One of Chaucer’s most important works is Troilus and Criseyde , the tragic love-

story of the Trojan War. According to Burgess (p. 34), it is considered the first

full-length piece of English fiction. The theme of joys and pain of love is

recurrent in Chaucer’s works and, according to Carter and McRae (p. 34),

becomes more and more important, as in The Legend of Good Women , poem

about women who died for love.

Chaucer’s masterpiece is The Canterbury Tales , a collection of linked tales told

by pilgrims who would go from Southwark to Canterbury. In this unfinished

work, Chaucer is not only telling the tales of pilgrims, but he is unveiling

different human characters and a “view of life which, in its tolerance, humour,

skepticism, passion, and love of humanity, we can only call ‘modern’”. (Burgess,p. 31)

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In summary, Geoffrey Chaucer contributed to the development of modern

English, using his knowledge of other languages to make additions to English

language itself, especially the written English. He also sets the bases for what

we call English literature through his works that mirrored the changing society

he lived in.

I am happy for the fact that Chaucer was English for, were he Portuguese, I

would have to hate him for developing a language I find already too

complicated for its own good, as Portuguese is.

References

Burgess, Anthony. (1974) English Literature . Longman.

Ronald Carter and John McRae. (1997) The Routledge History of Literature in

English: Britain and Ireland. New York: Routledge.