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Essay on Geoffrey Chaucer

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Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London, the son of a successful wine merchant. After probably spending many of his childhood days in London's Vintry, his father did not send him to apprenticeship school, but rather to the aristocratic house of the countess of Ulster. There he trained as a page and learned the mannerisms and skills of the ruling class. "After that in1359-60 Chaucer serves in the war in France.1360 Chaucer, captured by the French, is ransomed (for 16 pounds)." (Benson, L.D pg 1).Chaucer then married Philippa Roet in 1366. Also in the same year Chaucer's father died. The next year was a great time in any mans life, Chaucer had his son Thomas. In 1380, Lewis, Chaucer's second son was born. "Twenty years later the great Geoffrey …show more content…

The Pardoner: An effeminate and shamelessly immoral man, the Pardoner is intensely self-loathing yet devoted to his task of defrauding people of their money by making them believe that they have sinned and need to buy pardons. His tale is an allegory about three rioters who find death through their avarice. The Pardoner uses this tale as an attempt to sell false relics to the travelers. The Miller: A large man with an imposing physique, the Miller is rude and contemptuous of his fellow travelers. His tale is a comic story of a devious student who contrives to have an affair with the wife of a dimwitted carpenter. As you can see his characters are or sound like real people. There has been a major debate on if Chaucer wrote about real people and real things going on at his time. If you take the Wife of the Bath Tale; "First, she argues from scripture and experience that marriage is no bad thing, and that successive marriages for those who are widowed are perfectly in order. Arguments against marriage can be countered, the Wife shows, by demonstrating how Biblical teaching is far from clear in some places, while others give support for polygamy. She shows how St. Paul, in I Corinthians, claims only to advise his readers and expressly states that this advice is no binding commandment. Elsewhere the Wife notes Biblical precedent for polygamy, beginning with the obscure Lamech,

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