The Canterbury Tales Forum

I am a year 7 (aged 11) student and have been asked to find out why the author is so famous for his poems  today including ,what it tells us about england, society and type of people when he was alive

Chaucer is famous for a few reasons, but the primary one is that he is one of the few writers of fiction in the 14th century where we still have his stories available to us. Second, he was a terrific analyzer of people and their personalities, and the Canterbury Tales is primarily a story about people in different social classes and how they interact. As such it is a rare insight into exactly how people thought, worked and lived in the 14th century in a way that no archeological dig could ever uncover.

In his Canterbury Tales,Chaucer paints a rich portrait of fourteen century life in England. The tales give to the reader an insight into  the social divisions and popular beliefs of the time. They also reveal the corruption of the Catholic church through the dishonest and crooked behaviour of the church figures.The tales show Chaucer's deep humanity and acute observation of the social milieu of his time.Chaucer's use of humour,irony and subtle criticism are behind the success of his tales.