Kelly is an instructor of creative writing and literature at Oakton Community College in Illinois and is currently working on a book about comedy in twentieth century America. In this essay, he compares Chaucer's constant inventiveness to techniques used throughout the centuries by jesters and stand-up comics to hold their audiences' attention.

One of the first things that students learn when they begin to study The Canterbury Tales is that Geoffrey Chaucer, its author, is frequently called "the father of English poetry." He was the first significant poet to write in the English language, as opposed to Italian, Latin, or French, which were the languages favored by educated people of his time, the late fourteenth century. The entire tradition of English literature, therefore, points back to Chaucer. He deserves respect, but, unfortunately, respect too often makes readers feel that they have to be reverential and solemn when...