The 100 Most Influential Writers of All Time by Britannica Educational Publishing Page B
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Chaucerâs career was prospering at this time. His first important poem,
Book of the Duchess
, is among the records that provide evidence of his connection with people in high places. That poem of more than 1,300 lines, probably written in late 1369 or early 1370, is an elegy for Blanche, duchess of Lancaster, John of Gauntâs first wife, who died of plague in September 1369. Chaucerâs close relationship with John, which continued through most of his life, may have commenced as early as Christmas 1357 when they, both about the same age, were present at the countess of Ulsterâs residence in Yorkshire.
For this first of his important poems, Chaucer used the dream-vision form, a genre made popular by the highly influential 13th-century French poem of courtly love, the
Roman de la rose
. Chaucer translated that poem, at least in part, probably as one of his first literary efforts, and he borrowed from it throughout his poetic career. The
Duchess
is also indebted to contemporary French poetry and to Ovid, Chaucerâs favourite Roman poet. Nothing in these borrowings, however, will account for his originality in combining dream-vision with elegy and eulogy of Blanche with consolation for John.
During the 1370s, Chaucer was at various times on diplomatic missions in Flanders, France, and Italy. His career as a diplomat and civil servant was flourishing. So much responsibility and activity in public matters appears to have left Chaucer little time for writing during this decade. The great literary event for him was that, during his missions to Italy, he encountered the work of Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio, which was later to have profound influence upon his own writing. Chaucerâs most important work of the 1370s was
Hous of Fame
, a poem of more than 2,000 lines, also in dream-vision form. In some ways it is a failureâit is unfinished, its theme is unclear, and the diversity of its parts seems to overshadow any unity of purposeâbut it gives considerable evidence of Chaucerâs advancing skill as a poet. In addition to its comic aspects, the poem seems to convey a serious note: like all earthly things, fame is transitory and capricious.
T HE M IDDLE Y EARS
Political events of the 1380s, from the Peasantsâ Revolt of 1381 through the Merciless Parliament of 1388, combined with his wifeâs apparent death in 1387, must have kept Chaucer steadily anxious. Yet he produced a sizable body of writings during this decade, some of very high order.
The Parlement of Foules
, a playfully humorous poem of 699 lines, is a dream-vision for St. Valentineâs Day, making use of the myth that each year on that day the birds gathered before the goddess Nature to choose their mates. Chaucer also translated the
Consolation of Philosophy
, written bythe Roman philosopher Boethius (early 6th century), one of the most influential of medieval books. Its discussion of free will, Godâs foreknowledge, destiny, fortune, and true and false happiness had a deep and lasting effect upon Chaucerâs thought and art. In his next poem,
Troilus and Criseyde
, the influence of Boethiusâs book is pervasive. Chaucer took the basic plot for this 8,239-line poem from Boccaccioâs
Filostrato
. Some critics consider
Troilus and Criseyde
Chaucerâs finest work, greater even than the far more widely read
Canterbury Tales
. But the two works are so different that comparative evaluation seems fruitless. Against the background of the legendary Trojan War, the love story of Troilus, son of the Trojan king Priam, and Criseyde, widowed daughter of the deserter priest Calkas, is recounted. The poem moves in leisurely fashion, with introspection and psychological insight dominating many sections.
Also in the 1380s, Chaucer produced his fourth and final dream-vision poem,
The Legend of Good Women
. Perhaps the most important fact about the
Legend
is that it shows Chaucer structuring a long poem as a collection of
Book of the Duchess
, is among the records that provide evidence of his connection with people in high places. That poem of more than 1,300 lines, probably written in late 1369 or early 1370, is an elegy for Blanche, duchess of Lancaster, John of Gauntâs first wife, who died of plague in September 1369. Chaucerâs close relationship with John, which continued through most of his life, may have commenced as early as Christmas 1357 when they, both about the same age, were present at the countess of Ulsterâs residence in Yorkshire.
For this first of his important poems, Chaucer used the dream-vision form, a genre made popular by the highly influential 13th-century French poem of courtly love, the
Roman de la rose
. Chaucer translated that poem, at least in part, probably as one of his first literary efforts, and he borrowed from it throughout his poetic career. The
Duchess
is also indebted to contemporary French poetry and to Ovid, Chaucerâs favourite Roman poet. Nothing in these borrowings, however, will account for his originality in combining dream-vision with elegy and eulogy of Blanche with consolation for John.
During the 1370s, Chaucer was at various times on diplomatic missions in Flanders, France, and Italy. His career as a diplomat and civil servant was flourishing. So much responsibility and activity in public matters appears to have left Chaucer little time for writing during this decade. The great literary event for him was that, during his missions to Italy, he encountered the work of Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio, which was later to have profound influence upon his own writing. Chaucerâs most important work of the 1370s was
Hous of Fame
, a poem of more than 2,000 lines, also in dream-vision form. In some ways it is a failureâit is unfinished, its theme is unclear, and the diversity of its parts seems to overshadow any unity of purposeâbut it gives considerable evidence of Chaucerâs advancing skill as a poet. In addition to its comic aspects, the poem seems to convey a serious note: like all earthly things, fame is transitory and capricious.
T HE M IDDLE Y EARS
Political events of the 1380s, from the Peasantsâ Revolt of 1381 through the Merciless Parliament of 1388, combined with his wifeâs apparent death in 1387, must have kept Chaucer steadily anxious. Yet he produced a sizable body of writings during this decade, some of very high order.
The Parlement of Foules
, a playfully humorous poem of 699 lines, is a dream-vision for St. Valentineâs Day, making use of the myth that each year on that day the birds gathered before the goddess Nature to choose their mates. Chaucer also translated the
Consolation of Philosophy
, written bythe Roman philosopher Boethius (early 6th century), one of the most influential of medieval books. Its discussion of free will, Godâs foreknowledge, destiny, fortune, and true and false happiness had a deep and lasting effect upon Chaucerâs thought and art. In his next poem,
Troilus and Criseyde
, the influence of Boethiusâs book is pervasive. Chaucer took the basic plot for this 8,239-line poem from Boccaccioâs
Filostrato
. Some critics consider
Troilus and Criseyde
Chaucerâs finest work, greater even than the far more widely read
Canterbury Tales
. But the two works are so different that comparative evaluation seems fruitless. Against the background of the legendary Trojan War, the love story of Troilus, son of the Trojan king Priam, and Criseyde, widowed daughter of the deserter priest Calkas, is recounted. The poem moves in leisurely fashion, with introspection and psychological insight dominating many sections.
Also in the 1380s, Chaucer produced his fourth and final dream-vision poem,
The Legend of Good Women
. Perhaps the most important fact about the
Legend
is that it shows Chaucer structuring a long poem as a collection of
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