Critically examine Geoffrey Chaucer both as a Medieval and a modern poet.

is known
primarily not only as a poet, but also as a man with an extraordinary gift of looking at his
subjects and the context of the time in which they live to provide an
unparalleled vision into the daily existence of medieval persons from all walks of life and
social strata. His "shrewd observations" brought alive some of literature's most
memorable characters.

Though Chaucer came from humble beginnings himself, the
variety of professions in which he was employed exposed him to all kinds of people. It was,
however, his keen sense of observation through which he was able to make the best use of his
myriad of experiences.

Another compelling aspect of Chaucer's work is that
rather than writing in the language popular to the time (Latinthe Roman Church's language) or
French (the language of royalty and nobilityafter the conclusion of href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_conquest_of_England">Norman invasion of
England by William the Conqueror around 1066), Chaucer wrote in the language of Middle
English allowing that the common people (the emerging middle class) would have access to his
work. 

And if that is not enough, Chaucer was completely honest about what he
witnessed in the behaviors of a wide variety of people from many classes.

For
instance, in The Generalto the Canterbury Tales, the
Knight is held up as a man of humility and nobility of character.
He fought for what he believed in as if it were his life's breath, but rather than receiving
accolades for his work, he returned home to immediately take a pilgrimage in order to give
thanks to God. Chaucer greatly admires the Knight:

There
with us was a KNIGHT, a worthy man

Who, from the very first time he
began  

To ride about, loved honor, chivalry,

The spirit
of giving, truth and courtesy.

On the other hand, Chaucer
was also brutally honest about the servants of the Church. All but one of his characters that
serve the Church demonstrates the worst possible behavior. The
Pardoner, for example, sells "hot" (stolen) pardons, to
the poorest of peoplemost living in povertywhich believe their sins will be forgiven for
purchasing the pardons. Also:

...in his bag he had a
pillowcase

That used to be, he said, Our Lady's veil;

He
claimed he had a fragment of the sail

That took Saint Peter out upon the
sea

Before Christ called him to his ministry€¦

The Friar is more interested in the ladies, and in hunting
and singing. As servants of the Church were expected to put away worldly goods and practices and
serve as shepherds to God's flock, neither the Friar, the Pardoner nor the Nun (the
Prioress) does so. Only the Parson was
a worthy man of the Church. Chaucer allows the reader to see that though he has little, he gives
what he has to the poor, following the true meaning of the "servant" to his
flock.

However, in the manner of a true and gifted poet, Chaucer never tells
the members of his audience what they should think. He presents the facts and allows the reader
to draw his/her own conclusions regarding the characters he presents.

In
terms of Chaucer's work from a structural standpoint, Chaucer specifically uses the pilgrimage
as a framework: for this was perhaps the only event of that era when people of all backgrounds
and classes would come together, enabling the author to present to the reader with a brilliant
cross-section of society at that time.

Chaucer also changed the structure of
the poem, something that would impact writers for generations to come:

Chaucers [poetic] practice established accentual syllabic meter as
the norm of English verse for five centuries thereafter. Beginning with the four-stress lines of
The and The House of Fame...Chaucer developed the
five-stress line which became the backbone of the major poetry of William Shakespeare, John
Milton, Alexander Pope, William Wordsworth, and many others.

Chaucer changed the face of literature, impacting what it has become for the modern-day
poet. He was not afraid to be honest to his craft. He did not follow the prescribed methods of
the day: he wrote in a language accessible to the masses. He inferred; he did not tell his
reader what to think. (Chaucer pretends to be one of the members of the pilgrimage, thereby
making himself a more credible source for his readers to offer his observationsanother way in
which he shows that he is a maverick of his day.) Additionally, Chaucer's href="http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_D.html">diction (word choice)
more easily allows the reader to weigh the character of each member of the pilgrimage. In this
way, there was room for discussion and interpretation. He also introduces
the use of a meter (rhythmic pattern) unfamiliar to audiences up to that point.

Chaucer is a modern poet in that he is not afraid to try something different. Also he
is able to provide barely perceptible nuances that delve into the deepest and truest
dispositions of his subjects. He uses excellent sensory details to create a world for the reader
that is unfamiliarmoreover, he is able to bring to life (without personal judgment) characters
that fairly fly off of the page.

In defining modern poetry, Kenneth
Goldsmith, in his article entitled, "The Challenges of Twenty-first Century Writing,"
he notes:

Success lies in knowing what to include andmore
importantwhat to leave out [€¦] While all words may be created equaland treated thuslythe way in
which theyre assembled isnt; its impossible to suspend judgment and folly to dismiss
quality.

By referring to these more modern
perceptionseven expectationsof a poet's responsibilities to his/her art, Chaucer (who started a
new movement in poetry that influenced so many great authors that would follow him) seems to
live up to these expectations. Perhaps it is because of the example that he set, that modern
poets have such high expectancies. I believe that Chaucer would commend them for their
efforts.

Additional source:

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2010/04/the-challenges-of-twenty-first-century-writing/

href="https://www.owleyes.org/text/canterbury-tales/read/when-april-with">https://www.owleyes.org/text/canterbury-tales/read/when-a...