Peavler, James Martin.
DAI 32.06 (1971): 3264-65A.
Distinguishes between "natural" astronomy and "judicial" astronomy, gauges astronomical knowledge in Chaucer's age, describes Chaucer's uses of astrology, and considers effeorts to date Chaucer's works by astronomical references.
Stevenson, Kay Gilliland.
DAI 32.06 (1971): 3272A.
Argues that HF "shows a firm and symmetrical pattern" in its thematic and stylistic balancing of Book 1 and the house of Fame, on the one hand, and Book 2 and the house of Rumor on the other.
Edits the Constance portion of Trevet's "Cronicles," with discussion of Trevet's life and works, manuscripts of his work, a table of variants,and related materials. Includes (pp. 181-217) discussion of Chaucer's use of this source in MLT.
Surveys the literary and philosophical backgrounds of fortune, nature, and grace, and assesses their roles in CT, with particular attention to PhyT, PardT and the unity of Part 6. Includes an appendix that explores nineteen analogues to PardT
Studies commentaries on the biblical Song of Songs written before the sixteenth century, and explores the motif of spiritual marriage in various literary works, including works by Chaucer.
Harig, Sister Mary Labouré, S.N.D.
DAI 32.08 (1972): 4465A.
Surveys the rise of the garden topos in western literary traditions--classical and medieval, idealized and courtly. Then assesses Chaucer's uses of the traditional iconography of garden conventions in Rom, BD, PF, LGWP, HF, TC, and CT.
De Weever, Jacqueline Elinor.
DAI 32.08 (1972): 4559A
Provides historical and literary background to names used and mentioned in Chaucer's works, identifying their Arabic, Greek, and/or Latin equivalents, exploring the relations of the names to their contexts in Chaucer's works, and commenting on…
Examines the significance of astrological allusions to the "form and meaning" of CT, particularly how they reflect and contribute to the work as a "dramatic allegory" of human pilgrimage through worldly sorrow.
Identifies thematic concerns in Mel that it shares with other narratives in CT (WBPT, ShT, Clerk's Envoy, MerT, and NPT), exploring how pedantry, suspect counsel, the struggle for "maisterie," and antifeminism convey humor in Mel, especially in…
Traces Chaucer's reputation in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and examines the impact of his works (including apocrypha) and reputation on the poetry of John Keats--structure and form, characterization, realism in balance with…
Explores three kinds of love in PF (transcendental, lustful, and natural), arguing that their deployment in the poem constitutes gentle mockery of courtly love.
Proposes an "integration of the 'historical' and 'archetypal/esthetic' schools" of criticism of medieval literature, based on Ernst Cassirer's theories of symbol and the "evolutionary scheme of human self-consciousness," exemplifying the critical…
Approaches political, social, and marital sovereignty as prominent concerns of CT: the Host's authority in GP and elsewhere, Theseus as ideal sovereign in KnT in contrast with the tyrants of PhyT and MkT, Mel as an allegory of a ruler's moral…
Summarizes debates about the relative importance of logical explanation (authority) and practical experience in medieval medical theory, an opposition between doctors and surgeons. Presented as both doctor and surgeon, Chaucer's Physician embodies…
Surveys anti-chivalric sentiment in literature, including polemics and sermons as well as satires and "anti-romances." Includes discussion of Th, among other works.
Proposes a method for classifying noun-plus-noun compounds and compiles all such compounds in Chaucer's works, showing that, with one exception, modern types of compounds were already in use in Chaucer's Middle English.
Reads LGW as a "double palinode" in which Chaucer explores the "variety and complexity of the feminine psyche" as expressed in his sources, Ovid and Boccaccio, and his own TC. Compares LGWP-F and LGWP-G to show that Chaucer increases the comedy and…
Traces the theme of the decline of the world in biblical and medieval tradition, examining three literary texts: Bernard of Cluny's "De Contemptus Mundi," John Gower's "Confessio Amantis," and ClT, where the virtues of "steadfastness and patience"…
Outlines the "kinds of ambiguities in Chaucer's verbal and narrative technique" based in his commitment to epistemological "indeterminacy." Then examines MLT and its changes to its source in Nicholas Trevet to show that the "theme of the limitation…
Studies the "imaginative dimension" of medieval anti-fraternalism in many manifestations, including SumT; in it, traditional anti-fraternalism is affiliated with Pentecost because the Franciscan General Chapter was held on this feast day.
