The General Prologue

CANTERBURY TALES
By Geoffrey Chaucer
GEOFFREY

CHAUCER
Geoffrey Chaucer (his last name is

derived from the French “Chausser”

meaning “shoemaker”) was born

about 1343. He lived in London until

1400. Upon his death, his body was

the first to be buried in the poets’

corner in Westminster Abbey.

GEOFFREY

CHAUCER
Chaucer is considered one of

the first great English poets.

He is the author of such works

as The Parlement of Foules,

Troilus and Criseyde, and The

Canterbury Tales.
GEOFFREY

CHAUCER
Chaucer's original plan was for

over 100 stories, but only 24

were completed, some of which

had already been written for

earlier works.
The Canterbury Tales
is written in Middle English. The

tales are written in the London

dialect, which is considered a

"standard form" of Middle

English, as rules of grammar

and spelling varied widely

between different regions of

medieval England
The Canterbury Tales
There are 30 pilgrims or

character being introduced in

the General Prologue of

Canterbury Tales.
The Canterbury Tales
Chaucer developed for The

Canterbury Tales a line of 10

syllables with alternating

accent and regular end

rhyme—an ancestor of the

heroic couplet.
The Canterbury Tales
A heroic couplet is a

traditional form for English

poetry, commonly used in

epic and narrative poetry,

and consisting of a rhyming

pair of lines in iambic

pentameter.