Index IntroductionDiscussionContribution of Chaucer's contemporary writers to English literatureConclusionWorks CitedIntroductionThe name "Chaucer" is closely related to English literature. If one considers English literature as the body, then Chaucer is the soul without which English literature would be a corpse. Chaucer's literary career lasted only fifty years, but these fifty years gave English literature the gift of life. Being a man of the 14th century, he alone developed English literature for all subsequent centuries. Chaucer is considered one of the most musical poets of all time. There is a melody in almost every one of his writings. He is a man who also masters French, Italian and English. He wrote in all three languages ​​and incorporated people from all three speaking languages. His language can be easily understood if you appreciate his poetry, his humor, his beautiful stories, his kind heart. He is thought to be a cosmopolitan as he included people of many classes in his writings. He is also famous for his presentation style and excellent characterization which is a unique quality and can only be found in famous authors like Tagore, Shakespeare, Dante, Kafka, Amitabh Ghosh and some others. But no one could match the quality as Chaucer did. Although Chaucer is the man who shaped English literature and known as the father of English literature, the question still arises whether Chaucer was really able to portray the life of contemporary people of the 14th century. This article aims to investigate this topic and find out whether Chaucer was really able to portray the real image of the people of his time. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Discussion To achieve the goal, the paper is divided into five different parts to logically analyze the issue raised. The first part discusses Geoffrey Chaucer's political life so that his works can be related to it. The second part briefly discusses Chaucer's major works from all three periods of his literary career. The following part describes the socio-political events of the 14th century and how people lived at that time. The next part shows the contribution of some other contemporary writers of Chaucer in order to create a logical comparison. The last and most significant part of this article describes how Chaucer failed to portray the lives of contemporary people of his time in his writings. Chaucer was not only a poet in his 60 years of life (approximately 1340 to 1400). He was also a bureaucrat, philosopher, courtier, astronomer and diplomat. His political career began in 1357 when, through his father's connection, he became the household accountant of Elizabeth de Burgh, the Countess of Ulster. The countess was married to Edward III's son under whom Chaucer worked as a diplomat, civil servant and clerk of the king's works from 1389 to 1391. Chaucer and Edward III had a good relationship which was demonstrated more than once in The Last Chaucer years. When he participated in the Hundred Years' War in 1360 he was sent to prison for his ransom. Edward III saved his bail by paying a huge sum of money to the authority. Edward III did not hesitate to pay such a large sum of money (16 pounds) for once. This shows how they had a strong bond with each other. In the year 1367 he became a member of the royal court of Edward III as a yeoman, or squire. It is believed that when Chaucer formally began writing he was highly regarded by Edward III as he was granted "aliter of wine a day for the rest of his life". But no one still knows for what assignment he was granted so grandly. He got this liquid salary until the arrival of Richard II. Richard II made it a monetary sanction in 1378. Once again this unexpected and expensive grant amplifies their connection. After the ransom incident it turns out that he was involved in the kidnapping of Cecilia Chaumpaigne. But even if it turned out to be true, he did not leave a stain on Chaucer's career. Perhaps once again the royalist ensured that Chaucer had no difficulty in his path. Chaucer is thought to have begun writing for 'The Canterbury Tales' in 1380 before he became a member of parliament for Kent he used to write in French and Italian but suddenly he started writing in English The hidden reason behind this may be because he was a member of parliament then and he strongly needed the support of the common people more than he needed the royalists. Chaucer's literary life can be divided into three different parts as he wrote in three different languages. In all these periods he produced wonderful works that still today constitute an example for current and future authors. In the early period of Chaucer's life he wrote in French. This period lasted 30 years. The best known poem from the early period of Chaucer's life is "Romaunt of the Rose" which is a translation of the French "Roman de la Rose". This allegorical poem deals with chivalry and courtly love. Here the "rose" is used as a symbol of the love that the narrator fails to grasp in the first part. In the second part he can kiss the rose but then "jealousy" creates a fortress between them. The poem satirizes the customs of the time. Chaucer also wrote the 'Book of the Duchess' around this time. It is written for the late wife of his patron Giovanni della Gotta, who died of the plague in 1369. But he did not focus on the plague even allegorically in the poem. Just like Chaucer's other poems, this one also shows his musical and melodious characteristics with fine humor and beautiful story but did not focus on the background or socio-political events of that time. In the second period of Chaucer's life he wrote all of his literary works in Italian. This period lasted 15 years. The main work of this period is "Troilus and Cressida", a poem of eighty thousand lines. This poem is about love and betrayal. This was inspired by Homer's Iliad as it deals with the love story between Troy and the Trojan prince. Another famous poem from this era is the "Legend of Goode Wimmen". It's a dream vision. Chaucer describes ten stories of "good women" in nine sections. In the last fifteen years of Chaucer's literary life Chaucer wrote in English. The famous "Canterbury Tales" were written in this era. Although it remained unfinished at Chaucer's death, his plan was to have 30 characters on a pilgrimage, each telling two stories during their journey. With those stories he wanted to show the rest of the world the reflection of the English people. Why Chaucer suddenly began writing in English is still an unsolved mystery. Back then, English was just a dialect and was only spoken by the middle class and lower middle class. Since Chaucer was used to being around monarchs and royalists, this incident may surprise anyone. Before writing “The Canterbury Tales” he became a member of parliament and as a member of parliament he needed the support of the common people. And perhaps for this reason he began to write in dialect and made it the basis for today's English language.'The Hundred Years' War between France and England began in 1338. Whenever a war breaks out, people of all countries involved suffer. Theresame thing happened in this war. Killing civilians, burning buildings and crops, and stealing whatever wealth one finds were common scenarios. Areas became impoverished, populations fled or were massacred, the economy was damaged and disrupted, and ever-increasing expenses were sucked into the military, increasing taxes. Royal income decreased significantly due to the war, but some people earned money by taking advantage of the ongoing situation and became rich. In the year 1348, England saw its first plague, known as the "Black Death". Originally from China, it successfully arrived in England and killed 20% of the total population. By the autumn the plague reached London, and in the summer of 1349 it affected the entire country. The British government has managed the crisis well. There appear to have been very few victims of the Black Death at the highest levels of society. The plague and the "Hundred Years' War" led England to the peasant revolt of Wat Tyler in 1381. The revolt had several causes, one of which is the socio-economic and political tensions that came with the Black Death. Another reason may be the high taxes resulting from the conflict with France during the Hundred Years' War and instability within the local leadership in London. All these incidents that happened in the 14th century were enough to keep the people of that time tense and restless. People were killed randomly. When the killers were stopped, then nature became the killer. When both murders were stopped, the accumulated repression, anger caused the people to rise up and put the whole of England under pressure again. Contribution of Chaucer's Contemporary Writers to English Literature Although the years 1350-1400 are known as "The Age of Chaucer", there were four other important writers of that era.William LanglandWilliam Langland was a very visionary writer. He believed that farmers were the symbol of equality. His literature preaches the equality of men and the dignity of work. John Wyclif John Wyclif is considered "the father of English prose". He was a reformer. He translated the Bible. John Gower John Gower was a romantic writer. He wrote in English, Italian and French. He criticized vigorous living and its consequences. Mandeville Mandeville loved to travel. That's why he wrote many travel diaries. His literature shows wonder towards the other lands of the earth. Geoffrey Chaucer is best known for his portrayal of society, of the human, like no one had ever attempted before. His unfinished "The Canterbury Tales" is still celebrated in the world of English literature. It is true that Chaucer's writing style is still considered unrivaled by anyone else rather than Shakespeare. He invented the 'frame story' technique which consists of telling a story within another story to make the first more realistic. 'The Canterbury Tales' is also written in this technique. But though he succeeded in introducing new techniques in English literature, he failed to portray the true image of the people of the 14th century through his writings. From an early age Chaucer had had a good relationship with monarchs. In fact, over the course of his life, he worked under three different monarchs. They protected him and Chaucer worked for them. But Chaucer may think that mere work is not enough, so he dedicated his written poems to his patrons. When someone writes for monarchs they will obviously praise their qualities in some way directly or indirectly. Chaucer had done the same thing in the early period of his literary life, when he wrote in French, he wrote 'Boke of the Duchess' to please Abtahee 8 his patron John of Gout. He wanted to represent to people the way 2019.