Life of Chaucer

The Life of Geoffrey Chaucer Sahana Premkumaar, Ryan Rahman, Pranav Subramanian

Early Life Born - c. 1343 to John Chaucer & Agnes Copton (most likely in London)

Parents were well-off, owned several buildings in London Dad (John Chaucer) a wealthy wine merchant Nice education (probably had some exposure to Latin, Greek, and classics) 1357 - Became a page to Elizabeth, Countess of Ulster (wife of King Edward III’s son) Joined English army’s invasion of France during The Hundred Years’ War  Taken prisoner during Siege of Rheims; King Edward III of England paid his ransom in 1360

King Edward III

Middle Life 1366 - Married Philipa de Roet, a lady-in-waiting for king’s wife 1367 – Received life pension from King Had 4 kids with Philipa (Thomas Chaucer, Elizabeth Chaucy, Agnes and Lewis Chaucer) Heavily influenced by his dealings in “exotic” places in Genoa Began writing poems in 1370

Portrait of Chaucer

Jobs Page, courtier, member of Parliament (elected in 1386 for Kent), collector of scrap metal, justice of peace, clerk

June 20, 1367- Appointed as valet for the king 1372 & 1378 - Was sent on diplomatic missions to other nations like France and Genoa Exposed to great men like Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio

June 8, 1374 - Appointed as comptroller of customs for wools, skins, and hides for London; a lucrative job Held the above post for a dozen years Worked on some of his most famous works

Chaucer on diplomatic missions

Later Years 1387 - Wrote The Canterbury Tales Oversaw royal projects & worked with both Edward III and Richard II (Edward III’s successor) Death - October 25, 1400

Chaucer’s most famous work

Legacy Father of English Poetry First poet to be buried in the “Poet’s Corner” of Westminster Abbey Decasyllabic couplet used in The Canterbury Tales evolved into the heroic couplet, commonly used for epic and narrative poetry in English Pioneered the regular use of iambic pentameter

Chaucer’s Tomb at Westminster Abbey

Bibliography Fleming, John. "College Board." AP Central. CollegeBoard, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2014. . "Geoffrey Chaucer." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2014.. "Geoffrey Chaucer." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2014. . Laird, Judith. "Biography Of Geoffrey Chaucer." Critical Insights: The Canterbury Tales (2010): 6-10. Literary Reference Center. Web. 2 Dec. 2014. . Sanna, Ellyn. "Chaucer, Geoffrey." In Harold Bloom, ed. Geoffrey Chaucer, Bloom's BioCritiques. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2002. Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 2 Dec. 2014. . Strohm, Paul. "Chaucer, Geoffrey." World Book Advanced. World Book, 2014. Web. 2 Dec. 2014. .

Picture Sources http://www.openlettersmonthly.com/issue/wpcontent/uploads/2012/02/KingEdwardIII.jpg

http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/5-geoffrey-chaucergranger.jpg http://home.gwu.edu/~jhsy/wma-tomb.jpg http://cdn.rainbowresource.netdna-cdn.com/products/000645.jpg http://people.umass.edu/eng2/images/auth/chaucer.jpg