Troilus and Criseyde is an epic poem by Geoffrey Chaucer. Written in rime royal, it depicts the tragic story of the lovers Troilus and Criseyde set against a backdrop of war during the siege of Troy.
"Cuentos de Canterbury" es una obra maestra de Geoffrey Chaucer que ofrece una rica colección de relatos narrados por un grupo diverso de personajes que viajan a Canterbury. La obra se sitúa en la Inglaterra del siglo XIV, en un contexto medieval que resuena con cuestiones sociales, religiosas y culturales de la epoca. Chaucer emplea un estilo literario que combina el verso y la prosa, utilizando el ingles medio, lo que la convierte en una pieza fundamental para el estudio del desarrollo del idioma. La estructura enmarcada de las historias, donde cada personaje relata su propia historia, permite una exploracion profunda de la condicion humana, los vicios y virtudes, asi como una critica de las instituciones de su tiempo. Geoffrey Chaucer, conocido como el padre de la literatura inglesa, fue un poeta y autor nacido en una familia acomodada que le permitio recibir una educacion adecuada. Su experiencia como funcionario publico y su relacion con la corte real le proporcionaron una vision privilegiada de la sociedad, que plasmo en sus escritos. "Cuentos de Canterbury" refleja su habilidad para mezclar realismo y satira, utilizando un lenguaje accesible que mantiene la relevancia incluso siglos despues de su publicacion. Recomiendo los "Cuentos de Canterbury" a cualquier lector interesado en la literatura clasica y la comprension de la naturaleza humana. La obra no solo ofrece entretenimiento a traves de sus historias fascinantes y personajes entrañables, sino que tambien sirve como una critica atemporal de la sociedad, lo que la convierte en una lectura indispensable para aquellos que se esfuerzan por entender el alma humana y su evolucion en el contexto historico.
Spanning Chaucers working life, these four poems move from the conventional allegorical "love visions" toward realistic storytelling and provide a marvelous self-portrait. This selection includes "The Book of the Duchess," "The House of Fame," "The Parliament of the Birds," and "The Legend of Good Women."
The Canterbury Tales (Middle English: Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of over 20 stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century, during the time of the Hundred Years War. The tales (mostly written in verse, although some are in prose) are presented as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. The prize for this contest is a free meal at the Tabard Inn at Southwark on their return. After a long list of works written earlier in his career, including Troilus and Criseyde, House of Fame, and "Parliament of Fowls", The Canterbury Tales is near-unanimously seen as Chaucers magnum opus. He uses the tales and the descriptions of its characters to paint an ironic and critical portrait of English society at the time, and particularly of the Church. Structurally, the collection resembles The Decameron, which Chaucer may have read during his first diplomatic mission to Italy in 1372. It is sometimes argued that the greatest contribution The Canterbury Tales made to English literature was in popularising the literary use of vernacular, English, rather than French or Latin. English had, however, been used as a literary language centuries before Chaucers time, and several of Chaucers contemporariesJohn Gower, William Langland, the Pearl Poet, and Julian of Norwichalso wrote major literary works in English. It is unclear to what extent Chaucer was responsible for starting a trend as opposed to simply being part of it. While Chaucer clearly states the addressees of many of his poems, the intended audience of The Canterbury Tales is more difficult to determine. Chaucer was a courtier, leading some to believe that he was mainly a court poet who wrote exclusively for nobility.
As humorous today as when it was written over six centuries ago, the canterbury tales remains one of the most popular and enjoyable of the classic works of literature.
The Book of the Duchess is a surreal poem that was presumably written as an elegy for Blanche, Duchess of Lancasters (the wife of Geoffrey Chaucers patron, the royal Duke of Lancaster, John of Gaunt) death in 1368 or 1369. The poem was written a few years after the event and is widely regarded as flattering to both the Duke and the Duchess. It has 1334 lines and is written in octosyllabic rhyming couplets.
