What I've Learned About Geoffrey Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer, a great artist known for putting his whole mind into his art. Sometimes the praise would be misinformed, portraying Chaucer rather grandly as "the father of English literature" and the prime shaper of the English language. Others see Chaucer's poetry as "Renaissance" in outlook, a harbinger of the humanism of the modern world. According to the Introduction to Geoffrey Chaucer, such views reveal an element of surprise on The critics', part from the midst of Middle English such a poetic genius should emerge. In addition, typical discussions of Chaucer's career, dividing it into three stages as it develops from French influence (seen in the dream allegories) to Italian tendencies (in Troilus and Criseyde, for example) and finally to English realism (in The Canterbury Tales), imply an evolutionary view not only of Chaucer's poetry but also of English literary history.  By Chaucer poetry reflecting numerous sources and outstanding work one is struck by a sense of great variety. I am strongly influenced that he is considered one of the greatest English poets of the Middle Ages.