Comparative analysis of Chaucer Spenser and Shakespeare as a poet

Hello everyone ....

This blog is based on the thinking activity, assigned by Dilip Barad sir. This blog provides you a brief information about the comparative analysis of three great poets in the history of English literature and they are Geoffrey Chaucer, Edmund Spenser and William Shakespeare.

Firstly let's get some idea that which writer/ poet is from which age or era, 

•Geoffrey Chaucer: Age of Chaucer or Middle Age.

•Edmund Spenser: Renaissance period or Elizabethan Age.

•William Shakespeare: Renaissance Age or Elizabethan Age.

Writer's style of making poetry or any literary work is based on the time duration and historical background of their time. As we all know that date of Geoffrey Chaucer's birth is uncertain but generally accepted as being 1340 in the transformation age(1350-1450). The age of Chaucer or we can say that the age of transformation includes the greater part of the reign of Edward lll and the long French wars associated with his name; the accession of his grandson Richard ll and revolution of 1399, the deposition of Richard, and the foundation of the Lancastrian Dynasty. Literary features of the age are; The Standardization of English, modern note which includes a sharper spirit of criticism, prose and Scottish literature. This time was strongly critical of the ways of the Church.During that time we got a brilliant writer Geoffrey Chaucer. 

1.Writing style of Geoffrey Chaucer :

Geoffrey Chaucer generally uses Rhyming couplets in iambic pentameter in his poems. Chaucer's poems cannot be ascertained. Chaucer's chaucerian poems divided into three main stages:the French,the Italian and the English. 

As already mentioned that Chaucer used rhyming couplets and Iambic pentameters in his poetry, he used this form to create a rhythmic and musical quality to his writing. Rhyming couplets are the most popular form in his time or we can say that in mediaeval England.

The unique position of his works , his observation, his description( in The knight's Tale ), his humour and pathos , his narrative power( in The nun's priest's Tale ) and his material skill these are the features of his poetry which makes him more popular during his time. In comparison with the poets of his own time and with those of the succeeding century, the advance he makes is almost startling. For example, Manning ,Hampole and the romancers are of modern age and modern way of thinking form ours but apart from the superficial archaisms of spelling the modern reader finds in Chaucer something akin.

•Most famous poems of Geoffrey Chaucer:

1.The book of Duchess (1368)

2.Parlement of Foules

3.The nun's priest's Tale

Let's move forward to other poets Edmund Spenser(1552-99)  and William Shakespeare(1564-1616). As we all know that they both are from Elizabethan age or we can say that from the Renaissance period. If we talk about the historical background of that time, then we get an answer that the reign of Elizabeth, sees it reach its climax . Litrary features like The new classicism, Abundance of output, The new romanticism and development of drama, poetry, prose and Scottish literature are also there. As well as we had great literary writers like Edmund Spenser and William Shakespeare. 

2.Writing style of Edmund Spenser:

 

As we all know that in Ireland , Spencer remained for eighteen years serving the English Government in more than one capacity and seeing his share if rebellion, outrage and misery that afflicted the unhappy land and at the end his service were requited by the grant of Kilcolman castle and in 1589 he visited London to publish the first three of  The Faerie Queene.

Edmund Spenser used spenserian stanza for his poems. In which we can easily find that stanza's main metre is Iambic pentameters when the final line is Iambic hexameter. Rhyme scheme is ABABBCBCC.

•Most famous work of Edmund Spenser: 

   1.The faerie Queene

3. Writing style of William Shakespeare:

As we all know, Shakespeare was the most prominent and most famous writer during Elizabethan age . Shakespeare used Iambic pentameters which is also known as blank verse in his poetry. He uses different devices in his poetry like…..

1.Alliteration

2.Allusion

3.Imagery

4.Metaphor

5.Simile

Shakespeare also used the flexibility of blank verse combined with Iambic pentameter, together with poetic devices like assenance, alliteration extended similes and personification to present. Themes of Shakespeare's poems or we can say that Sonnet is Beauty, time , decay, immortality , procreation and selfishness. As we know that Shakespeare's poems are kind of romantic poetry, these kinds of features and elements are quite obvious in his poetry. He uses normal language so that everyone can easily get an idea about their poetry.

• Famous poems of Shakespeare :

1.Venus and Adonis 

2.The rape of lucrece

3.The phoenix and turtle 

Conclusion:

 

To sum up this we can easily say that Chaucer is from the transformation period while Shakespeare and Spencer both are from the Renaissance period so the difference between their poetry is quite obvious and normal. The characteristics and historical background are also different during their time. Shakespeare use blank verse and Edmund Spenser use spenserian stanza while we see that Chaucer was famous for his Chaucerian poems, the themes and written style are quite different from others.

Thanks for reading......

Have a great time.