Chaucer's characterization in CT reflects the clash between the dogmatic world view of medieval philosophy and the critical, rational outlook proposed by post-Occamist philosophy. Variations in the "allegorical and/or individual costume" used in…
Blake, N. F.
Revista Canaria de Estudios Ingleses 7 (1983): 1-20.
The lack of a clearcut distinction between connotative and denotative associations of words, as well as the looseness of syntactical patterns in Middle English, forces us to focus on the rhetorical arrangement of ideas and words--repetition, balance,…
The Pardoner's motivation is understandable if we hear his prologue and tale through the ears of Harry Bailly; the Pardoner's performance is not merely one more ad hominem attack by one of the pilgrims but a questioning of the story-telling rules…
The Pardoner's invitation is not a physical threat to the pilgrimage but a further sign of his propensity to profit from others and to compensate for his "sexual difference." Storm's essay appeared in PMLA 97 (1982): 810-18.
The Pardoner's invitation is not an attempt to divert the pilgrims from their journey, and the Host's response is designed to restore the fellowship of the pilgrims, not to improve their spiritual well-being. Storm's essay appeared in PMLA 97…
The Pardoner's self-revelation "heightens the challenge" of deceiving the pilgrims at the end of the sermon and does not preclude it. Chaucer uses the Host's response to the Pardoner's invitation to point to the pilgrims' spiritual weakness--even if…
Storm does not distinguish between his own and Chaucer's attitudes toward the Pardoner's homosexuality. Storm's essay appeared in PMLA 97 (1982): 810-18.
Gomez Lara, Manuel J.
Actas del V Congreso de AEDEAN (Oviedo: Alhambra, 1983), pp. 189-201.
Reflecting social contradictions involved in the love relationship in TC, Criseyde's direct speech presents her inner contradictions, transmitted through direct statement and complex "symbology."
Dor, Juliette De Caluwe.
North-Western European Language Evolution 2 (1983): 73-91.
Classifies French conversational loan words (A-D) in CT by frequency, grammatical nature, and date of first occurrence. Only thirty-nine words are used first by Chaucer, who innovates less than previously thought.
The open-ended frame of CT derives ultimately from Indo-European rather than Arabic aesthetic; Arabic influence on medieval Europe is nonetheless significant.
Marxist rather than feminist, the book of ten essays holds that oppression of women results not merely from male dominance but from economic exploitation. The successful heroine Jehane in the thirteenth-century Franco-Flemish "Flore et Jehane" is…
Waterhouse, Ruth,and John Stephens.
Southern Review (Adelaide) 16 (1983): 356-73.
Since literature is linear and sequential, the reader must reassess each line in terms of all previous lines to influence the total effect and alter perspective. Comparing Chaucer's treatment of the past to "Beowulf," Gower, and Malory, refers to…
Bloomfield, Morton (W.)
Leeds Studies in English 14 (1983): 44-56.
More than a mere unifying element, the pilgrimage frame of CT introduces tales, sets the tone of complexity, universalizes the stories, prepares us for morality and mirth, and satisfies the Gothic urge for wholes within wholes. The Host is both…
Sturges, Robert S.
Modern Language Studies 13:2 (1983): 41-51.
Women narrators--Wife of Bath, Prioress, and Second Nun--seek either earthly or spiritual authority over men in CT and establish female poetic tradition, invoking powerful females archetypes.
Owen, Charles A.,Jr.
Leeds Studies in English 14 (1983): 116-33.
In GP, Chaucer changed approaches, developed new techniques, and became increasingly critical of society. Increased use of similes suggests that the portraits of the Squire, Monk, Friar, Miller, Manciple, Reeve, Summoner, and Pardoner were added…
