Chaucer & characteristics of his age

INTRODUCTION

There exists hardly any doubt that Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400) occupies a unique position among his predecessors, contemporaries and successors because he is at the same time a poet, a dramatist, a novelist, a humourist, a realist and a satirist. Another thing, which distinguishes him from other literary giants, is that he is gifted with unusual keen observation and his penetrating eye spares nothing, which remains hidden from our eyes. Chaucer depicts everything as he observes in practical life and he follows the first steps of Plato, who says,
"The words must be the cousin to the deeds".

DEVELOPMENT OF THOUGHT

Chaucer shines forth as a star in the gloom of the Middle Ages, the morning star of the Renaissance, nay of the Modern Age. He was born in the reign of Edward III, lived through the rule of Richard II and died the year after Henry IV ascended the throne. His life, therefore, represents a period of “glaring social contrasts and rapid political changes”. Certain other factors—the wars, plagues, famines, revolts, reform etc —left the English society with contrasting features. Thus we notice growth of patriotic nationalism as well as of social and political unrest, rise of new chivalry as well as the persistence with the old ethics, movements for reform as well as height of corruption among the nobility and the clergy. Many powerful trends under the influence of the Renaissance humanism were also introduced. These were the religious freedom and the spread of knowledge among the common people. This spread of knowledge was in the language that the common people understood very well. Hence the development of “English” language and learning stands out as the main feature of Chaucer’s age. Chaucer’s own writings, specially of the last phase of his life, represent these developments fully. That is why Chaucer can rightly be called the representative of his age because he gives us a near complete description of the above-mentioned conditions. Comption Rickett says,

“Chaucer symbolizes, as no other writer does, the Middle Ages. He stands in much the same relation to the life of his time as Alexander Pope (1688-1744) does to the earlier phases of the eighteenth century, and the Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892) to the Victorian era; and Chaucer’s place in English literature is even more important than theirs”.

Chaucer’s writings are numerous and show the range of his learning to the maximum. Besides vast knowledge, they also reflect his experience of life, which he had gone through. In his works, we find the themes and characters, which are a direct product of his close contact with the English society and the learning of his age. He had visited Italy as an ambassador, served in the army, and had performed duties as a page, forester etc. Here and there we notice the impacts of his many-sided personality in his poetry.

The writings of Chaucer may be divided for purposes of convenience into three periods: the French, the Italian and the English, but English period from 1384 to 1390, his skill of characterization got out in the face of “The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales. In his youth, he had close association with the nobility and the court. These classes were interested in the French poetry and romances because of their civilized setting. He wrote Roman de la Rose by translating a French romance. He also wrote an allegory, the Boke of Duchesse on the death of Balanch, wife of Chaucer’s master, John Gaunt. Both these works are based on French models. After his visits to Italy, Chaucer started imitating the great Italian masters. His “House of Fame” has the clear influence of Dante. “Troylus and Cryseyde” is based upon and partly a translation of Boccaccio’s Filostrato. Another important poem of this period is the unfinished Legende of Good Women. To the English period, belong some minor poems alongwith Chaucer’s real and most remarkable contribution “The Canterbury Tales”. This poem is not only original in its concept but also a true mirror of Chaucer’s times. God has bestowed Chaucer with all the good qualities of a humourist. His artistic talent touches the Olympian heights in "The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales" which is a truthful and realistic presentation of the life of the fourteenth century England.

In prose, the Age of Chaucer remains quite barren. The translation of the Bible by Wyclif makes use of a vigorous artless English. His pamphlets are significant in the sense that in these, English has been used for theological discussion. Previously only Latin was considered fit for this purpose. The Travels of Sir John Maundeville is another important work in prose.

CONCLUSION

We can not agree with Kitteredge who remarks Chaucer’s age “a singularly Modern Age” because it is an age of intense social, political, religious and literary activity. It is the meeting ground of the Medieval and the Modern, the Renaissance and the Reformation, the Old and the New and the Religious and the Secular. It is dominated by poetry. Poets of various rank and background give us a useful picture of their times. Although they vary in form and style, they have shown a considerable measure of originality and realism which are two great contributions of the medieval writers. Chaucer, owing to his emphasis on “the English” and “the human” is a largely a true embodiment of the spirit of his age.