Discuss Chaucer as a modern poet. Bassed on Chaucer's two poems called The Canterbury Tales and "The Nun's Priest's Tale."

Well, for
starters, Chaucer is not a Modern Poet. Modernism began in the late 19th century and lasted up
until about World War I, but those dates vary. However, Im always one for using techniques,
theories and criticism of one period to analyze texts of another. In fact, it would be in the
spirit of Modernism, and even more in Postmodernism, to revisit older texts with these newer
historical perspectives.

So, we are either looking at Chaucers work through
Modernist lenses (as pretentious as that sounds) or we could just pretend that Chaucer is alive
and writing today or during the Modernism period, so lets just do that. What does he do that is
characteristically Modern or €˜modern in the more general sense of our present time,
2011?

First thing he does that is characteristically modern is having
multiple narrators. His work would probably be created to someone like William Faulkner who
redefined narrative with his use of multiple narrators. You could also note his cultural
diversity in presenting different speech patterns according to different social classes (the
Knight is more eloquent than the Pardoner). Maybe you could go so far to say that Chaucer was
making an allegorical comment on social classes and come to the conclusion that Chaucer
employing a Marxist analysis of a Feudal system in 14th century England; and this wandering and
storytelling was an alternative to facing the lack of possible upward mobility. Ok, so this may
be a stretch, but thats the point.

The theme of Christianity is prevalent and
you could compare that to a resurgence of fundamental Christians in the political right in
America and the emergence of religious fundamentalism in other parts and other religions of the
world. If you go this route, (still pretending that Chaucer is writing today), maybe Chaucer is
mocking them in a ; or maybe hes promoting them. But satire is more fun.

In
the Nuns Priests Tale, he uses animals to tell the story. There is nothing essentially Modern or
Ancient about this. So, what Modern works do this? Disney movies? Cartoons? Adult
Swim?

Pretending aside, Chaucer is still being read and discussed. This makes
him, by definition, a Modern poet because he is still relevant. If he wasnt relevant he wouldnt
be read or discussed. Living in the modern world, todays readers cant help but read him with a
Modernist bias. In other words, it is difficult (maybe impossible) to read Chaucer as a 14th
century Englander. You cant help but put your own spin on any historical text you read. This is
the premise of New Historicism. The goal is to separate the Modern conceptions of Chaucers work
and what his work meant in its own context, in its own time.