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Chaucerian Moral and Social Commentary in the Canterbury Tales As the first great English poet, Geoffrey Chaucer has etched out a tradition of English literary brilliance. From stem to Stern, Chaucer’s cheerful and diverse poetry stands apart from other Bri ....

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.... allowed him to bridge the wide canyon between the remote aristocracy and the sometimes volatile lower class. Chaucer was born into the upper middle class, a social strata that was mostly unacknowledged. The Medieval middle class was neither aristocracy nor Plebian; however, the middle class was increasingly important to medieval society and culture. As the son of a well to do wine merchant, Geoffrey Chaucer lived in close proximity with the lower classes, no doubt becoming quite familiar with the culture and attitudes of the commoners. Perhaps most vital to Chaucer’s ascension into poetic greatness evolved because of his unusual access and a ....