Browse Items (16456 total)

Cites the Wife of Bath's allusion to "Crisippus" (WBP 3.677) to suggest that St. Jerome's "Epistola adversus Jovinianum (1.48) is the source of Pandarus's reference to "natal Joves feste" (TC 3.150) and that the locution is part of Pandarus's…

Assesses ManT in light of its sources and analogues to reveal a "tissue of comic devices--of controlled incongruities, of hyperbole, of antiphrasis, of equivocations, allusions, and purposeful distortions" that "produce a parodic version of the…

Identifies associations of the name "Huberd" (Hubert) with the Man in the Moon, the magpie, Cain, and theft, arguing that Chaucer's use of it for his Friar (GP 1.269) reveals the character's "inherently evil nature" and the "incongruity" of Chaucer's…

Assesses the transitions in BD as devices Chaucer uses to "direct the reader toward the hard statements [the poem] makes about deprivation, consolation, the hazards of fortune and the consequences of decision." Divisions in the conversation between…

Explores the Augustinian "figurative implications" of PrT, identifying a "clear symbolic pattern" evident in interpreting it Scripturally--the "childishness" of the teller and her protagonist, the literalness of the Jews, echoes of the liturgy of the…

Documents "legal aspects" of discovered treasure in late-medieval England, identifying similarities in lexicon and imagery between legal records concerning found hoards and the rioters' descriptions of their treasure in PardT. The similarities…

Explains errors in the biography of Chaucer that is included in John Urry's edition of 1721, particularly those associated with the poet's spurious flight to the Continent in 1384 in the face of an accusation of treason. Attributes these errors to…

Provides context for understanding Chaucer's references to Wade and to his boat (TC 3.614 and MerT 4.1423), summarizing medieval narratives and allusions to the hero in order to outline his "salient characteristics" and the deceptive (although…

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…

Challenges arguments that seek to identify the friar of SumT with a specific fraternal order and adduces the Rules of various fraternal orders and commentaries on these Rules to show that "general antifraternal literature" underlies many details of…

Argues that in BD Chaucer "heavily inlays the Black Knight's long description of his lady with imagery of the Blessed Virgin" and "that the effect produced by such imagery is an apotheosis not inconsonant with the traditional apotheosis of the…

Discusses PardPT as a "dramatic monologue, in the form of a sermon," set within a "'fabliau' framework." Identifies the various parts of the sermon structure and explains similarities between the "framework" and Chaucer's other fabliaux, particularly…

Argues that George Gascoigne's reading of TC inspired aspects of his "Adventures of Master F. J." [or F. I.]. In particular, identifies parallels to the scene Troilus's fainting (TC 3.1092), the character of Criseyde, the "self-effacing pose" of…

Reads the widow of FrT as a figural "type of the Church" that contributes to the "comic irony" of the Tale and deepens the guilt of the summoner by "playing off" of the biblical story of Rebecca.

Identifies the referent of the Host's oath (MkP 7.1892) as the Greek martyr St. Adrian, explaining his history and legends, familiarity to Chaucer's audience, and appropriateness to the context of the Host's complaint that his wife Goodelief had not…

Surveys theories of why Chaucer altered LGWP from the F-version to the G-version, and seeks to explain "every single change" he made in creating anew a complete, "organic" poem. The revised version better accords with the poet's treatment of love in…

Details way in which the dialogue between the Dreamer and Black Knight in BD "closely follows the pattern of the first two books" of Boethius's "Consolation of Philosophy," with the Dreamer paralleling Philosophy and the Knight the character…

Regards Criseyde's departure from Troy in TC as a "fated event," while it is a matter of fortune in Boccaccio's "Filostrato." Shows how Chaucer adjusts his source, increases the dramatic irony of the plot, and gives to his readers a perspective that…

Surveys medieval ideals of friendship and their classical and biblical roots, arguing that Chaucer presents a double view in his presentation of Pandarus's friendship for Troilus: "both the world's notion of what a friend is and the moralist's notion…

Characterizes the Monk as the "satiric consummation of all possible monastic faults," analyzing him in light of the "seven points of disciple" of the Rule of St. Benedict (obedience, poverty, celibacy, propertylessness, labor, claustration, and…

Explains Chaucer's use of "rente" to describe the Friar in GP 1.256, clarifying that it means service to God due to his vocation (not monetary rent) and contributes to Chaucer's satire of the Friar. Compares Chaucer's other uses of the term.

Considers manuscript variants of MkT and NPP, historical contexts of various details, and the dramatic effectiveness of the interruption that bridges the two. Argues that the so-called "Modern Instances" should conclude the Monk's sequence of…

Exemplifies the varieties and density of assonance in Chaucer's poetry, commenting on assonance in French, Italian, and English predecessors, and on Chaucer's uses of assonance in combination with other devices of sound and emphasis.

Argues that the WBT is appropriate to the "Marcien" Wife, who represents a rising social class that challenges the "old courtly privilege." This class challenge parallels the Wife's sexual challenge, and her speech on "gentilesse"--a "complaint…

Describes the "pervasive tone" of MilT as "comic irony" and explores how musical imagery contributes to this tone, especially through incongruous juxtapositions of profundity and profanity. Includes discussion of Nicholas's Annunciation song…