Yager, Susan.
Allen J. Frantzen, ed. Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell in the Middle Ages (N.p.: Illinois Medieval Association, 1993), pp. 15-26
Briefly surveys the tradition in which sight and the many-eyed Argus were figures of either intellectual perception or deception. For Chaucer, in KnT, MerT, WBP, and TC, Argus "typifies a common failing in men"--their inability to comprehend truly…
This six-chapter history of fabliau tradition begins with an examination of medieval French fabliaux, including a description of their usual characteristics and a discussion of relevant criticism. It then addresses French fabliaux in English, as…
Jamison, Carol Parrish.
Dissertation Abstracts International 54 (1993): 2157A-58A.
In light of Hans Jauss's reception theory, the fabliau can be seen as an evolving genre of social satire with humor deriving from the discrepancy between the behavior of social climbers and society's expectations. Treats Chaucer's fabliaux and…
Kamowski, William.
Religion and Literature 25 (1993): 1-18.
Argues that fragment III of CT is a coherent, extended critique of corruption of the sacrament of penance. WBT provides a "model for how penance should be practiced," while FrT and SumT reflect abuse of the sacrament through economic and…
Chaucer most often depicts technology as an aid to trickery and fraud. Chaucer's mechanical wonders--such as those in FrT, SqT, and CYT--are potentially dangerous to persons lacking inside knowledge. Even simple machines can deceive. Though Chaucer…
Describes illustrations of CT from the second half of the nineteenth century through 1981, noting that instead of attempting to recapture the Middle Ages as it was, these works reflect the various times in which they were created.
Morison, Mariel Karen Osborn.
Dissertation Abstracts International 53 (1993): 3900A.
Though reduced to a symbol in KnT, Emelye foreshadows the Christian virgin; in MLT, despite her passivity and the rhetoric surrounding her, Constance engages audience sympathy and imparts a Christian message; in SNT, Cecilia reveals divine light.
Petty, George R., Jr.
Chaucer Review 27 (1993): 413-23.
Chaucer's characters in CT can be seen to use principles of "speech act theory," especially "flouting" of rules in order to induce a different type of meaning from the discourse. Characters gain power or control by deflecting an attack with…
A close reading of selected tales and passages of CT, concentrating on the interpenetration of sexual nuances and theological resonances as a source of unity. Reads the tales "palimsestically," i.e., as a series of intratextual allusions and images…
Schildgen, Brenda Deen.
Studies in the Age of Chaucer 15 (1993):111-30.
Chaucer's concern with interpretive variety reflects the concern with open-ended hermeneutics in Jerome's "Prefaces," part of the Wycliffite Bible. Despite Jerome's efforts to restrict exegetical flexibility, and in response to late-medieval…
Strain, David Michael.
Dissertation Abstracts International 53 (1993): 3901A.
HF, PF, and LGW are examples of "play" in Huizinga's sense. At once occasional poems and investigations of poetic theory, they act together to permit Chaucer to depart, in CT, from traditional poetics and perhaps politics.
Terkla, Daniel Paul.
Dissertation Abstracts International 53 (1993): 3206A.
Explores "narrative space" as represented in the Bayeux Tapestry, a world map of 1300, two French romances, Dante's "Commedia," and CT to show that the modern anxiety generated by them can be dispelled by understanding built-in signs.
Green, Richard Firth.
Notes and Queries 238 (1993): 303-305.
Discusses GP 313-20 with particular reference to the meaning of "fee simple," suggesting that it implies sharp practice by the man of Law and that the portrayal of him is critical.
Suhamy, Henri.
Danielle Buschinger and Wolfgang Spiewok, eds. Etudes de linguistique et de litterature en l'honneur d'Andre Crepin. Greifswalder Beitrage zum Mittelalter 5, WODAN ser., no. 20 (Greifswald: Reinede, 1993), pp. 383-91.
GP prefigures the comedy of humours in its emphasis on body language, while the depth and complexity of Chaucer's wit make him a forerunner of Shakespeare and Dickens.
Lancashire, Ian.
Robert Taylor, James F. Burke, Patricia J. Eberle, Ian Lancashire, and Brian S. Merrilees, eds. The Centre and Its Compass: Studies in Medieval Literature in Honor of Professor John Leyerle (Kalamazoo: Medieval Institute Publications, Western Michigan University, 1993), pp. 315-65.
Lancashire uses computer-assisted analysis to tabulate recurring words and phrases in Chaucer's writings. The frequency and patterns of repeated words and their collocations identify Chaucer's preoccupations, distinctive features of his writing and…
Brown, Emerson, Jr.
Mediaevalia 15 (1993, for 1989): 183-205.
Chaucer initially uses "worthy" for the Knight in GP with clear denotative meaning, but by the word's final appearance its meaning becomes ambiguous. The Knight is not being criticized; rather, the semantic degeneration of "worthy" indicates a…
Ando, Mitsunobu.
Hiroe Futamura, Kenichi Akishino, and Hisato Ebi, eds. A Pilgrimage Through Medieval Literature (Tokyo: Nan' Un-Do Press, 1993), pp. 383-97
Explores "gentilesse" as it relates to characterization in KnT and comments on the relationship between "earnest" and "game."
Cooney, Helen.
Eilean Ni Cuilleanain and J.D. Pheifer, eds. Noble and Joyous Histories: English Romances, 1375-1650 (Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 1993), pp. 27-58.
Briefly examines the role of "wonders," or miracles, in romance and philosophy as background to the lack of justice in Arcite's death. Chaucer is heavily indebted to Boethian thought in TC, but the unsatisfying, even skeptical deployment of such…
Reads KnT and TC as "tales of fortune's fools" in which the traditional themes of romantic love and knightly chivalry are undercut by verbal play and the trivialization of notions of pity, mercy, grace, and love.
Noguchi, Shunichi.
Hiroe Futamura, Kenichi Akishino, and Hisato Ebi, eds. A Pilgrimage Through Medieval Literature (Tokyo: Nan' Un-Do Press, 1993), pp. 95-102.
KnT suggests the transitory nature of human life and offers as consolation the prospect of a heroic and noble death in the figure of Arcite.
