Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400) is known as the Father of English literature. "The Canterbury Tales" is considered his magnum opus. It is a collection of 24 tales written mostly in verse.
The tales are narrated as a part of contest when the the pilgrims are travelling together from London to Canterbury in order to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. The Canterbury Tales is considered a social document of Chaucer's age because of its realistic depiction of the society. It presents almost all characters found in a society except for aristocratic class and beggars.
