Browse Items (16381 total)

Interprets the eagle's descent on the narrator in HF in light of medieval medical theory, contending that it is "actually an apoplectic seizure in 'visionary' form--a 'stroke'." Also, the eagle's oration on sound evinces Chaucer's familiarity with…

Argues that aspects of the beginning of MerT (including January's ill health, the names Placebo and Justinus, etc.) may have been inspired by details and sentiments found in "Livre du Chevalier de la Tour-Landry."

Argues that a possible source for the references to "Sampsoun" in PardT 6.549-61 and for aspects of the account of Samson in MkT 7.2914-94 is "Livre du Chevalier de la Tour-Landry."

Demonstrates the "relationship in theme and imagery" between SNPT and CYPT and the "controlling design that links them artistically." Posits that SNT may have been based on a Gnostic version of the Cecilia legend, an alchemical allegory of the…

Argues that the two canons of CYPT are functionally identical, that the canon is a consistent character, and that Pars Prima and Secunda of CYT parallel the two parts of medieval alchemical treatises and comprise an "ironic image of the sacrilegious…

Identifies details of the characterization of the Canon and his Yeoman in CYP that derive from alchemical practice and materials, including the Canon's "distillation" (perspiration) and "mercurial" personality and his Yeoman's transformation and…

Identifies parallels between the effects of grief on the Black Knight in BD (486-512) and late-medieval medical descriptions of the "falling of the heart" due to sorrow or distress, quoting parallels from John of Gaddesden and Jacopo Berengario Da…

Shows that the phrase "secree of secrees" in CYT 8.1447, cast as a "superlative genitive," suggests a "whole class of alchemical expressions identical in form" and thereby "sharply emphasizes Chaucer's ironical denunciation of the oracular…

Summarizes CT in "outline form," divided into units (following the Ellesmere order) and interspersed with brief interpretive comments on background, genre, plot, and characters. Opens with a General Introduction to backgrounds and Chaucer's Life;…

Observes that Chauntecleer's description of laxatives as "venymous" [var. "venymes"] in NPT 7.3155 parallels a similar connection in Roger Bacon, and suggests that Chaucer's use carries "antifeminist irony."

Suggests that "esy of dispence" in the GP description of the Physician (1.431) means not only "slow to spend money," but also "moderate in prescribing remedies," or perhaps that he prescribes palatable medicines.

Identifies alchemical puns and their thematic/metaphoric potential in CYPT, focusing on "multiplie," "fire," and the figure of the "cosmic furnace" in 8.1407-8. Provides conceptual and contextual backgrounds from alchemical commentaries and suggests…

Shows that "clichés of thought and expression" abound in medieval alchemical treatises, and explains how Chaucer's uses of these "topoi" or commonplaces "contribute to the meaning" of CYPT. Tabulates commonplaces of alchemical behavior, preparation,…

Reads CYPT as Chaucer's response to the "pretentiousness, perverseness, and confusion he found in alchemy," exploring the poet's knowledge of alchemical sources, the place of CYPT in CT (especially in juxtaposition with SNT), and the skill and irony…

Using concordances, the MED, and textual variants from the manuscripts, Gretsch clarifies ten passages in Th.

Translates Bo into modern idiomatic English, with text based on "The Riverside Chaucer," 3rd ed. (1986), and bottom-of-page notes, a glossary of proper names, and a citation glossary of Middle English words in Bo accompanied by Latin equivalents.…

Contemplates the value of teaching CT in contemporary classrooms, focusing on how it can be used to encourage diverse outlooks and help close the "empathy gap," aiding students to "develop the cognitive and character skills that support their…

Evaluates twenty of Chaucer's standalone lyric poems, considering their prosodic features, poetic qualities, and representations of various "aspects of experience."

In TC the questions of free will and predestination are analyzed in argumentative patterns which may be related to Strode's "Consequences." Measured against Strode's rules, these patterns reveal that the most valid logic is used by the character…

This study guide includes brief summary descriptions of works from "Beowulf" to Beckett; Includes a list of Chaucer's works and sentence-long summaries of seven of the "key" CT (pp. 14-15).

Comprehensive bibliography of Chaucer studies published between 1908-1953; some entries include brief indications of content and/or lists of book reviews. Arranged in topical categories such as Chaucer's life, works, modernizations and translations,…

Focuses on elements of the "popular romance" in the manuscripts of "The Tale of Gamelyn" and "The Tale of "Beryn" and excerpts from Chaucer's works in other manuscripts to show how "the 'Chaucer' presented to early modern readers by the manuscript…

Reads Mel as a narrative of anger and anger management in which Prudence's "transformative" advice helps Melibee resolve his personal and political anger, even though his fundamental anger against God is not reconciled.

Anger "rises to the level of a philosophical and ethical problem for Chaucer." An understanding of the role anger plays in the formation of self and community is useful in understanding the communities Chaucer creates and examines in CT.

The exemplary value of FrT is rendered complex by its setting within the Canterbury fiction and by the angered antagonism between Friar and Summoner. Chaucer places the story "in a human situation . . . to engage our understanding of the way in which…