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EDUCATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN
ТЕRMEZ STATE UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE
AND LITERATURE
COURSE PAPER
on the theme
« Chaucer's poetry and his major work of English literature»
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DONE BY: 3 rd course student of the English language and literature department
Jamgirova Sarvinoz
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SUPERVISOR: Pulatova Sayora
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TERMEZ - 2022
Theme: Chaucer's poetry and his major work of English literature
Plan:
I.Introduction
II.Main body:
1.Geoffrey Chaucer's life and works
2.The Father of English Literature
3.Geoffrey Chaucer's Role in English Literature
4.Geoffrey Chaucer: Impact on English Literature
III.Conclusion
IV.References
Introduction
The first great English poet, Geoffrey Chaucer lived in a turbulent period of war, plague, social revolt, religious heresy and murdered kings. But this society was also vibrant, creative and increasingly literate, a time of resurgence for the English language as a literary medium. The books and manuscripts of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries give us direct access to this vital culture. Whether workaday or gloriously illuminated, their pages offer fascinating glimpses of the late medieval world from which they came.
Chaucer was not a professional writer, but a courtier and civil servant who successfully served three kings in a long and varied career. Born in about 1342 into a middle-class merchant family, by the age of seventeen he was placed as a page in the household of Prince Lionel, one of the sons of Edward III. In his company he fought in France in a campaign of the Hundred Years’ War. He subsequently served as a squire at court, attached to the household of John of Gaunt, another of Edward’s sons. During this period, he soldiered again in France, and travelled to Spain, France, and Italy. From 1374 to 1386 he was Controller of wool customs, and also involved in diplomatic and secret missions to France and Italy, for both Edward and his successor Richard II. He then served as a Member of Parliament for Kent, managing in 1388 to survive unscathed the undermining attacks on Richard II when many associates of the royal household were executed. Following Richard’s assertion to rule in 1389, Chaucer was appointed Clerk of the King’s Works, a difficult post that gave him responsibility for the construction and upkeep of several royal buildings. He either lost or relinquished this position in 1391, but was later given the sinecure of a subforestership. After years of an increasingly tyrannous rule, Richard II was deposed in 1399. The new king, Henry IV, confirmed and augmented the annuities originally granted to Chaucer by Richard, a great relief at a time when he was beset by money troubles. Chaucer died a year later, at about the age of sixty.
Although Chaucer’s official career is fairly easy to trace, little is known of him as a person and poet. His early lyrics and translations, such as The Romaunt of the Rose and the ABC, were grounded in the culture of the court. One of the expected accomplishments of any young courtier would have been an ability to produce love songs and poems for the amusement of an aristocratic audience. Medieval literary works were often composed for specific court patrons, and Chaucer’s first important poem, The Book of the Duchess, was written for John of Gaunt as a memorial for his wife. Many of Chaucer’s mature works would have been similarly written for and read out to a courtly audience. The poems themselves reveal more of Chaucer’s character than the official records. Hints such as the description of the author in The House of Fame, who sits at a book, ‘domb as any stoon’ and writes in his study until his head aches after he comes home from work, indicate something of his dedication to literature. That he was a keen observer of men is obvious from his masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales. A vivid microcosm of fourteenth-century society, its wide range of characters are so realistically drawn that they were surely inspired in part by Chaucer’s many varied experiences, his exposure to continental cultures and contact with different people from all levels of society throughout his career. Even if we feel ignorant as to what motivated him as an author, his surviving work is testament to the fact that he managed to write some of the greatest and most original poetry in the English language in spite of such a busy life.
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