Abstract
This paper details Geoffrey Chaucer, one of the most acclaimed poets of all time. It includes a historical biography on Geoffrey Chaucer and analyzes his works 'The Canterbury Tales', 'Book of Duchess', 'House of Fame' and many more. The author finds that Chaucer definitely changed English literature as he brought it to an entirely new and much higher level and therefore he has been called a master and the father of English poetry.

From the Paper
"In his lifetime Geoffrey Chaucer was hailed as the greatest poet of his age. And today, after more than five and a half centuries, during which the warmth, color, humor, and humanity of his poetry have endeared him to his reader, his name stands in the annals of English literature second only to Shakespeare", Dunn, page 1). Chaucer, by his nature was a poet, but he was also a civil servant to earn a living. He was born in approximately 1343 to a wealthy, bourgeoisie family. He probably attended a law school known as the Inner Temple in London. At a young age he served as a pageboy to Elizabeth of Ulster, the daughter-in-law to King Edward III. His duties were modest. He had to do such chores as making the beds and looking after clothing. However, he did get to travel with Elizabeth throughout England and Ireland. In 1366 he married Philippa Roet, a lady in waiting to Queen Philippa and later to John of Gaunt. Chaucer had three children by this marriage, two sons and a daughter. From about 1368 on he served as a royal diplomatic agent in France and Italy. In 1374 King Edward appointed him controller of customs. In 1385 he moved to the county of Kent where he was a justice of the peace and served one session as representative of the county in Parliament. It's apparent that his wife died in 1387 and in 1389 he returned to London to supervise construction and repairs around Westminster Abbey and Windsor Castle. He rented a house in the gardens of Westminster Abbey in 1399 and in 1400 died. He was buried in the Abbey in a section now known as the Poet's Corner."

Tags:ages, bathe, canterbury, chaucer, comedy, criseyde, dante, divine, english, literature, medeival, middle, poetry, tales, times, troilus, wife

Abstract
This paper analyzes two of Geoffry Chaucer's poems, "The House of Fame" and "The Book of the Duchess", explaining Chaucer's use of parallel embedded narratives, taken from other texts, to promote both his theme as well as to establish the event inspiring each poem.

From the Paper
"In both poems, dream visions play a large role in the embedded narratives. In The House of Fame, Dido and Aeneas are the subject of the dream, whereas in The Book of the Duchess, the Dreamer reads the story of the two lovers before falling asleep, in which he proceeds to dream of a parallel story of a Knight who has lost his lady. By using dreams, Chaucer has the advantage of changing the stories to suit his needs. He can reflect reality, but be selective. He can make events happen in no rational order, as they tend to do in dreams. He can introduce strange and comical characters, such as the mysterious dog in The Book of the Duchess and the disciplinary eagle in The House of Fame. He can also interweave his own ideas and beliefs. Essentially, he can use these dream visions as springboards to launch his work into deeper discussions of the real issues he wants to examine by creating a world based on imagination."

Tags:love, story, dido, aeneas, virgil, negotiations, marriage, king, richard, french, princess, guillame, de, mauchat's, ceys, alcione, lovers, separated, separation, blanche, john, of, gaunt, death

Abstract
This paper compares two of Chaucer's poems. It explains that in both poems, the narrators' form of vision, the setting, the device for heightening the interest in the dream(s) and for developing the theme, are indebted primarily to the literary genre of love.

From the Paper
"It has always been said that Chaucer was capable of playing an unscrupulous game of hide-and-seek with his readers and often carrying it to the very verge of coyness, and that his remarks, though plentiful, are frequently noncommital or patently ironical. Most scholars would probably agree, however, that the man's personality did in fact appear in his works. For instance, discussing Chaucer's attitude toward love and virtue, or identification and pursuit, all involve a close examination of his poems, the Book of the Duchess and House of Fame."

Tags:vision, setting, dream

Abstract
This paper discusses the characteristics of three of the love-vision poems of Geoffrey Chaucer, noting how Chaucer uses aspects of the courtly love tradition in "Book of the Duchess," "House of Fame," and "Parliament of Foules." The paper notes that all three poems involve dreaming in some sense, setting the visions apart from the real world to a degree and linking courtly love with dreaming.

From the Paper
"Chaucer represented the prevailing poetic conventions of his time and also reflected the major interests of his audience even as he shaped those interests around his own view of society. A tradition in poetry at the time was to celebrate courtly love, which can be defined as a form of love at a distance, a tradition that elevated women to a particular position, setting them on a pedestal as the male would serve them and admire them from afar. Often, the woman was married to another, though that is not a necessary element. Often, the male would be a knight serving his lady and protecting her from harm even though his love might not be returned."

Tags:chaucer, love, vision

Abstract
This paper discusses recurring themes through three of Chaucer's works: "Parliament of Fowles", "The Book of the Duchesse", and "The House of Fame". The distinctions being made are that Chaucer actually devises a literary tradition in these three works and that it is modeled after the religious experience of his time. The three qualities of craft/knowledge, guide/teacher, and dream/fantasy state are discussed.

From the Paper
"Chaucer's use of the sleep/dream motif as vehicle to introduce his unique brand of fantasy has been well-documented. In some senses that analysis is as tired as his Canterbury Tales, in so far as the motif has been critically analyzed. More interesting to the reader is Chaucer's preface of dream states or fantasies, which form the central portion of many of his works, with textual reference to the art or craft of living, or of being alive, and how this particular discipline is intermixed with study, reading, and knowledge of some form. It is referenced best when, in "Parliament of Fowles," the speaker says, "...the craft so long to lerne" (1)."

Tags:chaucer, paradigm, tradition

Abstract
This paper discusses and reviews the work of Geoffrey Chaucer, whose book 'The Canterbury Tales' is thought to be his greatest achievement and most compelling addition to the English literary canon. This paper goes on to focus primarily on his early poetry, as not only can his pre-Canterbury Tales poems be rich in their own right, but Chaucer's development as a master writer can be seen through them. His development into a narrator of skill and depth is the most astounding path which a reader can follow. Watching as the Chaucer who narrates the early dream-vision poetry readies himself for the multiple and interesting narrators of his later masterpiece is truly compelling.

Tags:chaucer, compare, contrast

Abstract
This paper compares Chaucer and the Pearl poet in terms of religious expression and secular elements, showing that the two reflect some of the same themes and concerns about society. It looks at how Chaucer is more openly critical of the way the clergy of his time behaves, while the Pearl poet is more concerned with teaching moral lessons and showing the value of religious belief.

From the Paper
"Critics regard Geoffrey Chaucer as a secular poet, while the Pearl poet is seen primarily as a religious one reflecting the view of Christianity. In fact, though, the two poets are much closer together than this might suggest and address many of the same issues, same types of stories, and same concerns from differing points of view. If critics find Chaucer more secular, that may be because his vision reflects more of the reality of the world around him, so that he shows people with all their passions and faults, while the Pearl poet tends more toward idealized visions of moral attitudes and concepts of honor."

Tags:chaucer, pearl, poet

Abstract
This paper examines two of the tales in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales--"The Miller's Tale" and "The Pardoner's Tale"and uses them to discuss Chaucer's view of Christianity.

From the Paper
"The Canterbury Tales is a curious mix of ribaldry and Christian themes and values made all the more intriguing by the plot twists he incorporates. At first blush Chaucer's works are coarse, even lewd and full of ..."

Tags:Chaucer, The Miller's Tale, The Pardoner's Tale, Christianity

Abstract
In this paper, the theme of love is analyzed in three poems by Geoffrey Chaucer. By selecting various scenes and motifs from these poems, one can realize the differing concepts of love as they relate to one another, as well as how they compare overall. The paper shows that the resulting notion of love is depicted through different perceptions of love, and how they are perceived through knowledge, divinity and elegy.

From the Paper
"In this literary study, the theme of love will be analyzed in the "The Book of Duchess", "The House of Fame", and "The Parliament of Fowls" by Geoffrey Chaucer. In this manner, all three poems will present comparing and contrasting elements of love. By utilizing Chaucer's perceptions of love in medieval society, the absence of love due to book knowledge, godly intervention or elegiac poetic form in the overall thematic intentions of these poems. The "Parliament of Fowls" relates the narrator's view of life through advent of reading books, but has no real experience in matters of love. In this respect, the narrator states: "For al be that I knowe nat Love in deed/.Yit happeth me ful ofte in bokes reede/ Of his myrakles and his crewel yre" (Chaucer "Parliament of Fowls" 8;10-11)."

Tags:chaucer, fowls, parliament

Abstract
The paper examines Chaucer's "Pardoner's Tale" with specific relevance to the narrator of the tale. The paper discusses the Prologue to the tale and how it reveals the Pardoner's character.

From the Paper
"In writing, "The Canterbury Tales" Geoffrey Chaucer prefaced the stories in such a way that his audience would become familiar with the narrator of each tale before hearing what they had to say. There are a few instances where he does this exceptionally well and the result is a complete shift in the audience's interpretation of the tale when it is read in conjunction with its representative prologue."

Tags:pardoner, prologue, canterbury, tale, chaucer