Divided between the outer world of affairs and the inner world of poetic insight, Chaucer sought to make sense of his changing, conflicting world. In Chaucer and the Late Medieval World, Lillian M. Bisson examines the societal issues that the poet explored in his work.

Bisson provides lively interpretations of Chaucer's texts, especially The Canterbury Tales, in the context of the paradigmatic shifts taking place around him, and offers a broad historical overview - often going back to the Early Christian period - to help the reader grasp the significance of those shifts. She focuses on three major areas of medieval life - religion, class/commerce, and gender - all of which were experiencing considerable change in the fourteenth century.