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CHAUCER AS THE REPRESENTATIVE POET OF HIS AGE (14TH CENTURY)

Literature reflects the tendencies of the age in which it is produced. In every age of history, there is
always a supreme literary artist who becomes the spokesman of his age and gives expression to its
hopes, aspirations, fears and doubts in his works. Such an artist was Alexander Pope in the 18th
century – the age of classicism – and Alfred Tennyson in the Victorian Age.

Like Pope and Tennyson, Chaucer, too, represents his own age and holds the mirror up to the life of
his time. Compton Rickett says:

“Chaucer symbolizes, as no other writer does, the Middle Ages.

He stands in much the same relation to the life of his time as
Pope does to the earlier phases of the 18th century, and Tennyson
to the Victorian era; and his place in English literature is even
more important than theirs.”

Chaucer’s poetry, The Canterbury Tales, reflects the 14th century not in fragments but as a whole,
while the other poets of his time paid attention to only certain and limited aspects of the time. Wyclif
represents the wave of religious reformation. Gower is preoccupied with the fear produced in the
elite class by the Peasants’ Revolt. Langland represents the corruption of the church and the religious
order of his time. Considering these points, we can say that The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales
gives an accurate picture of the English social, political, religious and economic life in the 14 th century.

The Prologue is the picture gallery of the 14th century England. Here Chaucer presents different
characters from the various classes of the English society of his age. Leaving aside the highest and the
lowest classes of the English society, his pilgrims present the whole range of English nation.

Chaucer’s age was medieval and he believed in the medieval chivalry that stands for love, heroism
and religion. In The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer reflects the fading chivalry of the
Middle Ages through the character of Knight and the rising chivalry of his own time through the
character of the Squire – the Knight’s son. The Knight of Chaucer represents the old medieval chivalric
spirit. As Chaucer says:

“-----he loved chivalrie,

Truth and honour, freedom and curtesie.”

The Knight is a simple hearted, mature and brave man. He fought many battles for the sake of his
faith and religion (Christianity). He is a typical character who is in fact the representative of the
knighthood of the 14th century England.

The age of Chaucer was an age of transition. Chaucer was well aware of the fact that his age was
inching forward towards a modern age. The standard of chivalry and knighthood were also changed.
So he introduced Squire in order to represent the elements of change and transition. The Knight
fought many battles for the sake of religion and faith, but The Squire fought battles in order to win his
beloved’s heart. A marked change can be noticed among different aspects of personality of both the
characters i.e. dancing, dressing, painting, singing, flute playing and merry making. In short, The
Knight is a simple man with mature manners while The Squire is a lively and boyish person. In other
words, we can say that Chaucer has represented the spirit of chivalry both old and new.

The church of the age was indulged in malpractices. It had become a centre of profligacy and luxury.
According to a contemporary of Chaucer:

“Our priests have become dark and beclouded. They have neither
shaven crown on their head nor modesty in their words, nor chastity
in their actions and not even temperance in their food.”

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Chaucer was well aware of the fact that the higher prelates were heaping up wealth. They had
ambitions and aptitudes other than spiritual and religious. So Chaucer has introduced as many as
eight characters to expose the follies, absurdities and malpractices of the ecclesiastical persons of the
age. Only Parson has escaped Chaucer’s ironic and sarcastic pen. The Monk, The Prioress, The Friar,
The Pardoner, The Summoner, The Nun all of them are corrupt. These characters clearly expose the
corruption of clergymen and the selfishness of the priests. Even the Pope of Rome was a seeker of
worldly pleasures.

The medieval professions were also corrupt. Chaucer has represented the corruption of the medical
profession through the character of The Doctor of Physic. He has also mentioned the Black Death that
was one of the most remarkable events of the 14 th century. The doctor was not interested in the
welfare of patients. His concern was only with money making. The medical science had not yet
developed in the Chaucer’s age. The doctor used the knowledge of astronomy and astrology to treat
the patients. So we can claim that Chaucer has represented the unscientific elements and the
corruption of the medical profession of his age through this character.

Trade and commerce was making progress during the Middle Ages. Chaucer has introduced The
Merchant and Five Members of a Guild who are all well off. Their wives are quite satisfied with them
because they are financially strong. Chaucer has also exposed the corruption in this field. He tells us
about the merchant that he is a selfish man. He thinks only about the tactics of raising his income
through the foul and unfair means.

“For gold in physik is a cardial,

Therefore he loved gold in special.”
To sum up the discussion, we can say that Chaucer has represented the 14 th century in its fullness. He
has also given us a hint that he is well aware of the class distinction of the society. So he says:

“I must rehearse,
Their tales al , by they better or worse,
Or elles falsen some of my matter.”

If we claim Chaucer to be the true and realistic representative of his age, there will be no fear of
contradiction or the violation of truth. His The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales is of vital significance
from this point of view.

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CHAUCER’S REALISM
Literature reflects the tendencies of the age in which it is produced. Supreme literary artist is that
who becomes the mouthpiece of his age and provides his readers real autobiography of his age with
its minute details. Like Pope, Addison, Swift and Fielding, Chaucer is also a perfect exponent and
represents his age “not in fragments but as a whole.”

Realism in literature implies the portraiture or description of people and things as they really are,
without exaggeration and without too much attempt at idealizing them. True to this tradition,
Chaucer was interested in the people around him and had a great interest in the activities of the 14 th
century England.

From his very boyhood, Chaucer worked as an apprentice in his father’s wine shop where he came
across all sorts of people belonging to the different sections of the society. Gifted with a keen sense
of observation, he noted customers’ eccentricities and way- ward behaviour. So his realism is based
on first hand observation and practical outlook of life. When he grew up, he was associated with the
royal affairs, and as such as he had to go on several diplomatic missions. Under these circumstances,
he gathered first hand information, not only about the English society but also about the people of
foreign countries. So realism came to Chaucer very naturally, as it arose from his own observation.
There is hardly any realism in the medieval poems written before Chaucer. He rescued poetry from
the shackles of conventionalism and traditionalism and gave it a healthy realism. As W. W. Lawrence
remarks:

“It is a familiar generalization that medieval narrative

is seldom realistic, that writers were little concerned
to set down what they saw with their own eyes, but
rather what was proper according to the convention.”

Chaucer does not express his likes and dislike, fads and fetishes, views and prejudices on what he
paints. He is no moralist either. He paints life as he sees it and leaves it on others to draw the moral.
He effaces himself in order to look at life better. This kind of self-effacement is necessary for a
novelist. Chaucer could have claimed like Fielding that he gave “the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but truth.”

Chaucer’s realism is quite different from the type of realism which is rampant today – to make the
ugly things appear more ugly and detestable – that is not the aim of Chaucer. In his realism, there is
an artistic grace. His realism can be seen at its best in his art of characterization. He himself describes
his aim as:

“To telle you al the condicioun

Of ech of hem, so as it seemed me,
And whiche they weren, and of what degree,
And eek in what array that they were inne.”

Chaucer’s “The Prologue” and “Tales” display realistic and true picture of daily life of England. He had
great skill to create an exact and real picture of average humanity with minute details of dress,

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behaviour and table manners. Let’s now examine how Chaucer realistically portrays his age in all its
varied aspects.

Chaucer’s poetry reflects the chivalric spirit of the medieval times in the form of Knight.
“…..he loved chivalrie,
Trouthe and honour, freedom and curteisie.
Full worthy was he in his lordes werre.”

But his son, the Squire, and the Yeoman show deviation from chivalric spirit. All these three represent
the fighting class.

The 14th century witnessed the rich and prosperous merchants and traders who grew into power and
were behaving like well-to-do citizens. They kept up their appearance and never let the people know
about their economic downfall.

“This worthy man ful wel his wit bisette,

Ther wiste no wight that he was in dette.”

Chaucer shows deviation of the church by realistically presenting Monk, Friar, Franklin, Summoner,
and Pardoner. The Friar is of the view that the sinners should give money in order to get divine
forgiveness. About the Monk, Chaucer says:

“He yaf nat of that text pulled hen,

That saith that hunters beth nat hooly men.”

This monk knows all the town taverns, innkeepers, and bar-maids better than beggars. The Franklin
has no rival in drinking and fine eating. The Summoner and the Pardoner sell religious pardons to
those who give them money. But Chaucer also presents meek and polite Parson, a holy and virtuous
man, faithfully preaching Christ’s gospel and instructing his parish men.

The Wife of Bath is one of the most interesting characters who have been described by Chaucer in a
realistic manner. The facts have been described by her in such a manner that a real portrayal of her
emerges before our eyes. Chaucer was well aware of the fact that the medical science of his age was
not yet developed. In order to give realistic description of this admitted fact, he introduced The
Doctor of Physic who was not interested in the Bible and whose main concern was money making
and heaping up wealth. The true nature of miser and greedy doctors becomes well known when
Chaucer ironically remarks:
“He kepte that he wan in pestilence,
For gold in phisik is a cordial,
Therefore he lovede gold in special.”

In the end, we can say unhesitatingly that Chaucer is a great realist. He has an observant eye, a
retentive memory and plausible wit to describe characters and events in a realistic and convincing
manner.

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CHAUCER: THE MEDIEVAL AND THE MODERN POET
CHAUCER AS A MODERN POET

Chaucer is the first great literary figure in the English literature. His position is singular and unique.
With him, the old period closes and the great literature of modern English begins. Like Dante, he is a
bridge between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. If the modern world had begun to assert itself,
the medieval world by no means passed away. Side by side they stood, the old and the new. Chaucer
represents them both. He is modern among the medieval, and a medieval among the moderns.
Compton Rickett says:

“He is a child of light, not merely of twilight.”

“The Canterbury Tales” reflects the spirit of the 14th century not in fragments but as a whole. Not only
does it mirror the period of transition of the age but also anticipates the modern age with its stress
on humanism, realism, tolerance and republican spirit.

The portraits Chaucer paints exhibit the typical professions of the Middle Ages. For instance, there
are The Knight, The Squire, The Yeoman, The Miller, The Shipman, The Man of Law, The Manciple etc.
All of them are dishonest and unscrupulous. They are indulged in illegal ways to increase their wealth.
They seek sensuous pleasures and exploit ignorant masses to extort money from them.

Being a realist, he gives us the vivid picture of his pilgrims with all details of dresses and appearances.
It was customary in the medieval England to travel with arms. The Yeoman bears a dagger and the
Miller carries a sword and a buckler by his side.

Common people’s love for music was almost proverbial in that age. The Squire plays on a flute and
the Friar sings in accompaniment with a harp. The Pardoner sings “….come hither, love to me,” and
the Summoner joins him.

In ‘The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales”, Chaucer introduces the typical medieval characters. The
Knight and The Squire belong to the age of chivalry and romance. The Knight goes abroad to fight the
infidels and wins respect as a champion of Christianity. Similarly The Oxford Clerk is an idealized
figure. Least interested in material pursuits, he is an ardent lover of knowledge for its own sake. He
possesses twenty books of Aristotle’s philosophy, a collection which was considered valuable in the
Middle Ages.

Chaucer has reflected the spirit of transition in the portraits of the Knight and the Squire. The knight
represents the age of chivalry, knighthood and romance; his son, the Squire, represents the
emergence of a new kind of aristocracy. The structure of the medieval feudal society is shown to be
crumbling with the emergence of the new class of merchants and traders. The medieval custom of
pilgrimage has been woven into the concept of rising democracy. All the pilgrims have been shown to
meet on equal footing. From the medieval religious point of view, all are sinners and are in need of
redemption; from the modern point of view, all are human beings whether high or low. Chaucer was
“with sure instinct following the dream of future.”

As Chaucer is the last of the medievals, he is the first of the great poets of modern England. Arnold
says, “With him (Chaucer) is born our real poetry.” In Chaucer’s hands, beauty and melody became
the fundamental principles of poetry. He found the English language as dialect and left it as a
language. In an age when English poetry needed invigoration, he gave it a new life. He is modern as
Homer is modern in the sympathetic dealing of the fundamentals of human nature.

There are many modern secular trends in “The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales”. Chaucer appears
not only to be religious but also a worldly and secular man. He observes the world and its activities
with keen interest. Like a modern write, he is interested in the concrete facts of life. R. K. Root
remarks that:

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“Under the influence of the Renaissance, Chaucer began

to doubt the right of private judgement.”

Tolerance is another hallmark of modern age. Chaucer finds discrepancies and contradictions at
every step in the English life style. However, his heart is “too full of the milk of human kindness.” His
humour is born of a genial sympathy. His satire is not pungent and bitter like Jonathan Swift and
Alexander Pope. His satire is so mild and sympathetic that the wrong doers easily recognize their
follies and are not hostile to the poet. This is a modern humanitarian concept that Chaucer employed
in the Medieval Age.

Chaucer gives a realistic picture of the pilgrims who are characters of flesh and blood. If a modern
novelist presents a realistic contrast of characters, Chaucer has already done presented it in the 14th
century contrasting the characters Like the Knight and the Squire, the Parson and the Monk, the
Prioress and the Wife of Bath. Realism is the basic principle of modern novels, so in this way Chaucer
was the first to lay the foundation of the modern novel. He stands on the threshold of the modern
age.

To pack the whole discussion in a nutshell, we recognize Chaucer not only as the evening star of the
Medievalism but also as the morning star of the Renaissance and the modern age. He is the
grandfather of the English novel and the father of the English poetry. We find variety as well as
subtlety in his art of characterization. He neither theorizes nor generalizes; he takes interest in
human beings as human beings. This attitude is the product of his humanism. In all these respects, he
is a modern poet through and through.

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