Chaucer

nullGeoffrey Chaucer (1340?-1400) Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?-1400) English author, poet, philosopher, courtier, and diplomat Literary Career Literary Career 1. French influence (1359-1372) The Book of the Duchess 《 悼公爵夫人》 The Romance of the Rose (Roman de la Rose) 《玫瑰传奇》 null2. Italian Influence (1372-1386) The House of Fame 《荣誉堂》 The Parliament of Fowls《百鸟会》 Troilus and Criseyde 《特罗伊勒斯和克莱西德》 The Legend of Good Women 《良妇传说》 null3. Maturity (1386-1400) The Canterbury Tales 《坎特伯雷故事集》 Boccaccio's Decameron, a work by Chaucer's contemporary in which ten nobles from Florence, to escape the plague, stay in a country villa and amuse each other by each telling tales. The Canterbury Tales The Canterbury Tales It is one of the most famous works in all literature. It begins with a general prologue that explains the occasion for the narration of the tales and gives a description of the pilgrims who narrate the tales, and then follow the twenty-four tales that make up the bulk of the book, plus the separate prologues and the “links that accompany some of” the tales. nullThe Canterbury Tales: Language :Middle English (London dialect) Tone: the tales are by turns satirical, elevated, pious, vulgar, and comical. Tense: past Setting (Time): late fourteenth century, after 1381 Setting (Place):The Tabard Inn; the road to Canterbury nullPoetic style: heroic couplet Structure: frame-story Charactersnullnullnullnull The Canterbury Tales: subject matter presents a panoramic view of the social reality of the day. praises man’s energy, intellect, quick wit and love of life. contains keen social criticism. Significance of the workSignificance of the workthe first book of poetry written in the English language one of the few works of the English Middle Ages to have a continuous history of publication. Chaucer's Role in British Literature Chaucer's Role in British Literature The father of English poetry (literature): The first person to be associated with English literature the forerunner of the Renaissance the English poet best loved after Shakespeare the first occupant of the Poets’ Corner a master of realism nullThe father of the English language : increased the prestige of English as a literary language the first English poet to use heroic couplet in English literature nullFrame-story : a story within a story, like Thousand and One Nights, The Decameron Heroic couplet（英雄偶句诗）: two lines of iambic pentameter (五音步抑扬格）that rhyme End-rhyme( terminal rhyme)尾韵 : Rhyme in which the rhyming words occur at the ends of lines. http://www.unc.edu/depts/chaucer/zatta/Zatta_Index.htmlhttp://www.unc.edu/depts/chaucer/zatta/Zatta_Index.htmlBallad 民谣Ballad 民谣A popular kind of narrative poem, adapted for recitation or singing, usually in 4-line stanzas with the 2nd and 4th lines rhymed in iambic trimeter while the 1st and the 3rd lines, rhymed or unrhymed, come in iambic tetrameter.Border BalladsBorder BalladsThe English/Scottish border has a long and bloody history of conquest and reconquest. It also has a tradition of balladry. Border ballads were traditionally sung unaccompanied. The supernatural is a common theme in Border ballads, as are recountings of raids and battles. Stylistic Features: Stylistic Features: simple in form and language deal with the climax of a plot usually have a tragic theme tell stories in a dramatic way: explosive situation, volatile characters, short time-span, a high proportion of dialogues and actions, use of hyperbole null use of refrains （ 叠句） or other kinds of repetition Refrain: a phrase or verse which recurs at the end of each of the separate stanzas or divisions of a poetic composition. Robin HoodRobin HoodRobin is famous for his gallantry, robbing the rich to feed the poor and fighting against injustice. The stories of Robin portray him as a fearless outlaw leading his band of "merry men" (and women) against the tyranny.