<P> After a long list of works written earlier in his career , including Troilus and Criseyde , House of Fame , and Parliament of Fowls , The Canterbury Tales is near - unanimously seen as Chaucer 's magnum opus . He uses the tales and descriptions of its characters to paint an ironic and critical portrait of English society at the time , and particularly of the Church . Chaucer 's use of such a wide range of classes and types of people was without precedent in English . Although the characters are fictional , they still offer a variety of insights into customs and practices of the time . Often , such insight leads to a variety of discussions and disagreements among people in the 14th century . For example , although various social classes are represented in these stories and all of the pilgrims are on a spiritual quest , it is apparent that they are more concerned with worldly things than spiritual . Structurally , the collection resembles Giovanni Boccaccio 's The Decameron , which Chaucer may have read during his first diplomatic mission to Italy in 1372 . </P>
<P> After a long list of works written earlier in his career , including Troilus and Criseyde , House of Fame , and Parliament of Fowls , The Canterbury Tales is near - unanimously seen as Chaucer 's magnum opus . He uses the tales and descriptions of its characters to paint an ironic and critical portrait of English society at the time , and particularly of the Church . Chaucer 's use of such a wide range of classes and types of people was without precedent in English . Although the characters are fictional , they still offer a variety of insights into customs and practices of the time . Often , such insight leads to a variety of discussions and disagreements among people in the 14th century . For example , although various social classes are represented in these stories and all of the pilgrims are on a spiritual quest , it is apparent that they are more concerned with worldly things than spiritual . Structurally , the collection resembles Giovanni Boccaccio 's The Decameron , which Chaucer may have read during his first diplomatic mission to Italy in 1372 . </P>
chaucer 's purpose in writing the canterbury tales
chaucer 's purpose in writing the canterbury tales
to paint an ironic and critical portrait of English society at the time , and particularly of the Church
to paint an ironic and critical portrait of English society at the time , and particularly of the Church