Volume 1 of 2. The English poet, Geoffrey Chaucer, is considered one of the world’s foremost and influential poets of all time. These volumes contain nearly all of Chaucer’s works, as well as a life of Chaucer and an account of the grammar, meter, versification and pronunciation of his poetry. Chaucer’s writings fall into three periods: French influence, Italian influence and English period. Chaucer’s life was plagued by bouts of poverty in which he was most often rescued by benefactors such as Richard II, John of Gaunt and Henry IV. Upon his death, Geoffrey Chaucer was buried in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey.