Geoffrey Chaucer was an English poet and author during the Middle Ages. He is particularly known for <em>The Canterbury Tales</em>. Chaucer was crucial in the development of English as a literary language. Among his many innovations, we encounter the use of slant rhyme. He also engaged heavily in metrical innovation. He invented the rhyme royal and used the five-stress line, a cousin of the iambic pentameter. Moreover, many English words were first recorded in his works.
