Griselda's response to Walter at crucial points in the narrative--when he has "killed" her children and when he has banished her from the palace so he can take another "wife"--underscores his appalling behavior and demonstrates the ways outward…
A close reading of passages in KnT reveals Chaucer's close familiarity with the medieval construction industry. Although Chaucer supervised building rather than creating buildings, as a poet, he is supreme master over his own creative process.
Purdon, Liam O., and Julian N. Wasserman.
Chaucer Review 33 (1998): 112-15.
Chaucer's somewhat unusual association of his Franklin with food may reflect the frequent migration of the Exchequer from Westminster to York and the prioritizing of the York food trade as a result. The Franklin may have been a York franklin who…
Like "Inferno" 5, PF contains references to Earthly Paradise and Hell, the dream, and the fate of those who attend to private lusts. Dante compares the plight of souls to that of several kinds of birds, including three of the four bird categories in…
Lucas, Angela M.
Chaucer Review 33 (1998): 123-45.
January's comparison of looking for a bride to reflections in a mirror evokes associations of limited and distorted vision, of two-dimensional representations, and of reversals of left and right. This image of "imperfect vision" is reflected in…
If the Parson represents the Church, the Ploughman represents lay piety in brotherhood with the Church. This is how Chaucer perceives the poet's role: as a "'trewe swynkere,' working 'for Cristes sake, for every povre wight' in accordance with the…
O'Brien, Timothy D.
Chaucer Review 33 (1998): 157-67.
In KnT, Chaucer's use of the word "queynte," the dying and quickening fires in the temple, and the spurting and spewing of the flames to "suggest parturition, life's uncertainty and tenuousness and even menstruation." Emelye's tears at the sight of…
The blacksmith is an ambiguous figure. Medieval blacksmiths often worked at night because the temperature was cooler, but ordinances forbade them to do so. Furthermore, although the medieval blacksmith was a symbol of the devil, he was also a symbol…
Russell, J. Stephen.
Chaucer Review 33 (1998): 176-89.
By electing not to include the exact text of "O Alma Redemptoris Mater" (of which there were several versions) in PrT, Chaucer forces the audience to think through issues of verbal prayer vs. prayers of the heart that express the intent behind the…
Goldstein, R. James.
Chaucer Review 33 (1998): 31-42.
Places the anti-Scottish legendary history of MLT into English historiographic tradition, especially Trevet's Chronicle. Argues that Chaucer implicitly supports England's claim to the overlordship of Scotland, a claim renewed by Henry IV and…
Moore, Marilyn L. Reppa.
Chaucer Review 33 (1998): 43-59
Troilus's character should be viewed not in the light of medieval romance but within the context of medieval "devotion," such as that advocated in St. Anselm's "Proslogion." It is more important to realize that Troilus learned to love with constancy…
The reference to "Symoun" alludes not to Simon Magus (as previously suggested) but to Simon the Apostle, whose connections with sin and confession advance some of the larger themes of SumT.
Bertolet, Craig E.
Chaucer Review 33 (1998): 66-89.
Chaucer's envoys should be examined not within the context of history but within the context of the art of letter writing, the medieval concept of friendship, and the description of late medieval diplomacy. Chaucer's is a "public stance," which…
McKinley, Kathryn L.
Chaucer Review 33 (1998): 90-111.
The concept of piety was complex and problematic during the Middle Ages, and Chaucer's refusal to align himself with one side or the other in ClT is distressing. Griselda is neither a paradigm for lay sanctity nor an ironic or satiric character.
Erler, Mary C.
Chaucer Review 33 (1999): 221-29, 1999.
Manuscripts used as copy by printers are scarce. An examination of MS Bodley 638 reveals both codicological and textual evidence that discloses the printers' intentions. The 1530 edition of PF, used by Robert Copland, was established from this…
Knowing Boethian philosophy (as Chaucer intended his audience to do) enables the reader of TC to gain a double perspective, both inside and outside the temporal limits of the text. This position is analogous to God's position and allows one to…
Chaucer's rhyming of "sike" with "endite" (TC 2.884 and 2.886) is likely a scribal mistake."Lite" is more consistent with Chaucer's linguistic habits and forms a perfect rhyme. In line 2.936, "yeden" is placed to rhyme with "dede," while an…
MLT can be seen as an exposition and justification of the medieval Christian providential view of history. The concern with exemplifying this theory governs the teller's choice of source and emphasis. It is ironic that the Tale's philosophy can be…
The alchemists' discourse echoes Chaucer's, and one might serve as a "metaphor for the other." Alchemists, like poets, were concerned with interpretations of the written word and with concealment.
ParsT is the best of the CT to choose for a survey class. It provides a link with ancient and modern literature, reflects the thinking of the major writers in medieval England, and interweaves the previous themes and images of CT.
The riddle at the end of FranT-who is the most "fre"?-distracts the reader from the central issues of the Tale, namely the concept of the "Real" (Pierre Macherey) and questions of gender. Although Dorigen is apparently excluded from the answer to the…
Collette, Carolyn P.
Chaucer Review 33: 350-62, 1999.
Although Chaucer's "circle" has generally been considered wholly masculine, it may well have included contemporary women such as Joan of Kent. Joan was a prosperous and powerful woman, an interceder and a mediator: a model for a character such as…
Chaucer uses East and West to signify differences in storytelling in MLT: chivalric vs. travel romance; hagiography vs. history; linear narrative vs. apostrophe and prayer. Chaucer leads his readers to see the Tale as "trapped in Western chauvinism,"…
This line from PF has been taken to mean that the "stare" (magpie) divulges secrets, or betrays. However, "bewrye" can also mean "cover up," suggesting that the bird knows "how to keep a secret." Such a nuance could also apply to TC; Troilus's…
Wolfe, Matthew C.
Chaucer Review 33: 427-31, 1999.
It is possible that Ret was written as a general work, found among the papers and drafts of CT, and then put at the end of that work by scribes and early editors. If thought to apply to Chaucer's entire corpus, Ret broadens our view of the poet as a…
