Geoffrey Chaucer was an intensely human writer and a great comic artist, whose finest accomplishments regard to that of his English style portrayed in his masterpiece "The Canterbury Tales". Besides the ribaldry and sheer good fun of tales such as 'The Miller's Tale,' we also know he was capable of other things. His range was wide, at times vulgar and hilariously funny, at other times more serious and moving when shifted into a more poignant mode. Through the telling of "The Canterbury Tales" Chaucer gives great insight into life in the 14th century. So much of Chaucer's power is in the sheer music of his lines, and in their energy and thrust. He was writing when English was at its most masculine and vigorous. We see the hypocrisy of the "genteel" people of the time. Chaucer uses sharp wit and occasional dirty humor to emphasize the moral lessons each tale teaches. Not only do the tales themselves teach us, but the characters that he creates tell them as well. Chaucer has been brilliant to create the exalted knight, gentle prioress, rowdy miller, lively squire, and more. His literary work, notable for its range of genres, helped establish the English literary tradition. He transcends the boundaries of time; it is evident that his hypocrisy remains in today's society. "The Canterbury Tales", illuminated the nature of human life in the Middle Ages in such a way as to capture the respect and attention of readers for more than six hundred years. How can such a high style of writing not be appreciated? Chaucer appropriately, should be hailed as the first to "Distill and rain the golden dew-drops of eloquence into the English tongue".
