Chaucer in Context: Society, Allegory and Gender

Amongst the most written about works of English literature, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales still defy categorization, claims the author of this book. Was Chaucer a poet of profound religious piety or a sceptic who questioned all religious and moral certainties? Do his pilgrims reflect the society of the day, or were they a product of an already well-established literary tradition and convention? Surveying and assessing competing critical approaches to Chaucer's work, this text emphasizes a need to see Chaucer in historical context; the context of the social and political concerns of his own day.