CLEP Western Civ I

Answer: C - Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales played a role in establishing the Modern English language in written form. The work chronicled English society of the time, often in a critical tone. Social class and the Church were leading themes, and other significant themes included war, weakness, love and conflicting views of reality. Academics debate the extent to which Chaucer’s work helped established the written English vernacular (the language as people spoke it), since there were other authors also publishing in Middle English at the same time. However, it is established that Chaucer consciously made the decision to write in a vernacular accessible to all English people, because he was opposed to limiting access to literature to the elite members of society who could afford education (and read Latin).