Why does Chaucer use material from other literary works in his writing, The Canterbury Tales?It shows a lack of originality and I would presume...

In Chaucer's "Wife of Bath's Prologue" and "Tale" in
The Canterbury Tales, I believe that Chaucer would not have been
worried about a lack of originality. Reading was still not a wide-spread activity. While
there may have been an emerging middle class on its way at the time, the poor were not
taught to read, nor could they afford books; only those with the Church, or the very
wealthy would have had an education and be able to afford books. As Chaucer's tale
criticized a great deal of what went on with the servants of the Church (such as the
Pardoner), I doubt the Church was greatly pleased with his
writing.

However, this literary piece is considered
Chaucer's masterpiece. "The Canterbury Tales is recognized as the first book of poetry
written in the English language" (a different version of English than what we speak). He
was considered a student of human nature and obviously spent a great deal of time
filling out his characters. Including famous/other literary works would have been
appreciated by many, I'm sure, and would have made the book of poetry much richer. Much
the way a comic movie uses allusions for humor that some of the audience won't get, the
overall humor of the film may still work.

Using material
from other works would lend authenticity in the areas where he chose to include it. And
if the audience hearing the story (lower-class) or reading it (upper-class) did not
appreciate the literary references included, the stories in the Prologue would have been
very entertaining and well-received.