Geoffrey Chaucer was the first gifted poet to write in English vernacular. Up until that time Anglo-Norman or Latin were the favoured court languages. Hence, Geoffrey Chaucer came to be regarded as the ‘Father of English Literature’.
French love poetry exerted a strong influence on Chaucer. This influence can be found in ‘The Second Nun’s Tale’ in ‘The Canterbury Tales’. Chaucer composed an elegy for the first wife of his patron, John of Gaunt, and titled it, ‘The Book of the Duchess’. This was his first important work.
‘The Canterbury Tales’ written by Chaucer is a timeless classic of English poetry. The tales in the title refer to the stories told by people to kill time during a pilgrimage. Chaucer began to write ‘The Canterbury Tales’ in 1387. ‘Parlement of Foules’, ‘The Legend of Good Women’ and ‘Troilus and Criseyde’ are some of his other famous works.
Chaucer was born between 1340 and 1345. He passed away on October 25th, 1400.
