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　　Chaucer, Geoffrey(1343～1400), an English poet, 　　1　　 masterpiece was The Canterbury Tales, greatly influenced the development of English 　　2　　．But he was known, in his long career, 　　3　　 a civil servant under the English kings Edward Ⅲ and Richard Ⅱ．Chaucer married Philippa Roet, who was 　　4　　 a court attendant．He was buried in Westminster Abbey．

　　Chaucer wrote for a audience of fellow attendants and officials．The common theme of his earliest works was courtly love．His important original 　　5　　, The Book of the Duchess, was for John of Gaunt’s first wife, who died in 1369．In this period．Chaucer also 　　6　　 and adapted religious, and historical works．Troilus(希神特洛伊罗斯)and Criseyde, a poem of more than 8,000 　　7　　, was Chaucer’s major work 　　8　　 The Canterbury Tales．It was the tragic(悲剧)story of the Trojan prince Troilus and his beloved, Criseyde．

　　The Canterbury Tales was 　　9　　 collection of tales about a pilgrimage(朝圣)to Canterbury Cathedral．The poet 　　10　　 a band of pilgrims(朝拜者), who gathered outside London for the journey to Canterbury(坎特伯雷)．They were English societies of the 14th century．The Host 　　11　　 a storytelling contest to pass the time, with each of them 　　12　　 four tales on the round trip．

　　The tales represented nearly a wide variety 　　13　　 ancient stories at their best．The special genius of Chaucer, however, 　　14　　 the tales with the story frame into dramas．The tales developed the personalities, quarrels, and 　　15　　 opinions of their tellers, whose joy, 　　16　　 and sorrow were shown vividly．

　　Chaucer increased the authority of English as a literary language and extended its 　　17　　 vocabulary．He was the first English poet to use iambic pentameter(五步诗), the sevenline stanza(七行诗)called royal 　　18　　, and the couplet later called heroic poetry(英雄诗)．Chaucer greatly influenced 　　19　　 English writers such as Edmund Spenser, William Shakespeare, and John Dryden．His reputation(名誉)has been established as the English poet best 　　20　　 after Shakespeare for his wisdom, humor, and description of humanity．