Geoffrey Chaucer has some claim to being the greatest poet in the English language. Yet he has also been considered to be an invisible poet, self-depreciating and ironic, leaving only the breath of his comedy behind. In truth a great deal is known of him. He was a royal servant, who was indicted for rape. He was captured in battle and held for ransom. He knew at first hand the most powerful people in the country and, as the king's servant; he was concerned with the most pressing events of the realm. Yet even in this crowded life he found time and opportunity to write some of the finest poems in the language. Troilus and Criseyde is the first modern work of English literature. His genius was prolific and diverse and, while he was a true London artist, he was also part of the European renaissance of learning. The Canterbury Tales is an epic of Englishness itself, presided over by the genial and generous figure of Geoffrey Chaucer.
| ISBN: | 9780099287483 |
| Publication date: | 7th April 2005 |
| Author: | Peter Ackroyd |
| Publisher: | Vintage an imprint of Random House |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 175 pages |
| Series: | Brief Lives |
| Genres: |
Literary studies: ancient, classical and medieval Biography: historical, political and military Biography: writers Literary studies: poetry and poets |