Shakespeare was far closer to Chaucer's time than present day, so why does his writing seem closer to modern language than Chaucer's?

by linkprovidor

Are we just so exposed to Shakespeare I'm misjudging how different it is, or is there something going on here?

voyeur324

/u/bloodswan and /u/amandycat have previously answered the similar question What happened in English between Chaucer and Shakespeare? (paraphrase because the original question is longwinded).

/u/texpeare has previously answered When did England transition from Middle English to Modern English?