Geoffrey Chaucer has been called the Father of the English language. He did for the English narrative what Shakespeare later did for drama. He was the first writer to use lines of poetry that had an appeal to those interested in nature and books. His writing was very modern for his time, even more modern than the writings of others after he died, but he stayed within the traditions of medieval poetry.

Chaucer was born in London, no one knows exactly what date but sometime between 1340 and 1344. Chaucer's father, John Chaucer, was a wine merchant although his last name from the French word chaussier indicates that his ancestors were shoemakers. He would sometimes hold positions in the royal administration and he was a significant member in the business community. Chaucer and his parents were lucky to escape the plague during the times of the Black Death, the epidemic that was spread to European lands from the Middle East. In June of 1348 it entered the coastal towns of England and within a few months two million out of five million inhabitants were dead. At this time, Chaucer was four to eight years old and very fortunate to not have been infected.

No one knows at what point in his life Chaucer began writing. His first writings are believed to be the translations of Le Roman de la Rose, literature from thirteen century France. Chaucer never translated the whole thing, just pieces of it because a character in this poem, Chistine de Pisan, was originally portrayed as "dirty" in some parts. Chaucer liked this character, so he did not translate those parts. The Book of the Duchess was his first true work. It was a long poem that served as an elegy for John of Gaunt's wife, Blanche, who had died during the Bubonic Plague. He also wrote many short poems, but his longer ones turned out to be the most popular. Some of his short poems include The Treatise on the Astrolabe and The Complaint of Mars. Lack of Steadfastness and The Former Age were written to reflect his negative feelings towards Richard II.

Chaucer was made controller of wool customs in London in 1374, which he soon realized was a difficult job. While serving this position he noticed that political tensions were forming between court and Parliament and he thought it would be best to move outside of London for a while. That same year he wrote The House of Fame, a 2,000-line poem about a man who dreams he is carried to heaven. It displayed the influence Dante had on him; for example, Chaucer based his eagle in this poem on the Divine Commedia. This work was and is still preserved, but only a few copies exist. But Chaucer had not gained his popularity yet.

Troilus and Criseyde was written between the years 1381 to 1386, based on the works of Boccacio. Its setting is the Trojan War; two people, Troilus and Criseyde, are in a prison. Troilus decides to go to battle instead of marrying Criseyde. Troilus dies and goes to heaven where he can keep an eye on Criseyde. The poem actually gained some popularity and admiration. This was a first for Chaucer. In 1386 he started writing The Legend of Good Women, which remains unfinished. From these two works Chaucer became a well-known figure in London's literary circle. Some men even started a "Chaucer Circle." Chaucer was able to write maintain activity in his society. In 1386 he was elected to be a member of the Parliament for Kent, the town which he later left London for before the campaign led by Parliament against royal corruption. He seems to have escaped death again; people were later executed who had positions similar to Chaucer's position be

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Approximate Word count = 1641
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)