Browse Items (16453 total)

Howard's "Complaint of a diyng louer refused vpon his ladies iniust mistaking of his writyng," a poem of eighty-two lines first published in "Tottel's Miscellany" (1557) and here reprinted, is a "refreshingly renewed" late example of a courtly love…

Inferences about Chaucer's court life and patronage provided literary successors with a model for the profitabliity of writing poetry, which--along with the increase in the number of Italian humanists and the advent of printing--fostered the…

The inadequacies of the two previous editions of Lydgate's "Fabula" call for this full treatment, based on all manuscripts and annotated with references to related works, including KnT.

In arguing that a genuine study of Renaissance works is impossible without examining their literary and historical context, Hamilton briefly cites Chaucer's importance in the formation of the English canon that initiated the English literary…

The works of Chaucer's contemporaries (Clanvowe, Lydgate, Dunbar) and later admirers (e.g., Henryson) show varying responses, especially to HF and PF.

Explores More's likely knowledge of Chaucer by examining the former's references and allusions to Chaucer, his quotations of the earlier poet, and their uses of similar proverbs.

In the development of the literary subjective "I," Chaucer's work--especially KnT with its images of prison and mirrors that become images for the exploration of subjectivity--greatly influenced subsequent writers from Hoccleve to Spenser.

Surveys the lyric and romance traditions of England and France that most likely influenced Chaucer's early writing, commenting on how Rom, ABC, and BD reflect the possible sources and development of Chaucer's colloquial English style.

Not mere ornament, the "effictio,"or physical and spiritual portrait, had become a fixed literary convention by the time of Geoffrey of Vinsauf. Bice analyzes Chaucerian characters from GP, KnT, NPT, and MilT, as well as from "Sir Gawain and the…

"Sonotations" (generated by sound patterns that affect both denotation and connotation) appear in rhymed and alliterative verse.

Surveys critical commentary on Chaucer's prosody, noting its subordination to commentary on his narrative art.

Contrasts the prosodic polyglossia of Chaucer's verse with the less various rhythms of Gower's verse.

Medieval optical theory recognized two types of mirrors, one aiding vision and the other inverting images.

Surveys interrelations between speech and writing in the history of English, drawing on KnT and RvT to illustrate features of late-medieval lexis and syntax. Features of KnT may reflect "oral residue," while dialect features of RvT are better seen…

Deterioration in the name Malkin, which came to mean "member of the lower classes, slut," can be paralleled by the Welsh "Mald."

By exploring the uses of Latin quotations in the works of Langland and Chaucer, Furrow indicates late-Middle English readers' facility with Latin.

Leicester explores nuances of "pietee" and "pietas," distinguishes between institutional and affective piety, and asserts that texts cannot be pious but can only represent piety.

The phrase "as he/she that," a calque from French "com cil/cele qui," developed polysemic use in Chaucer's day. The article includes a chart of occurrences of the English phrase from ca. 1000 to Caxton, indicating Chaucer's uses by work and…

When applied to eyes in Middle English literature, the adjective "grey" is best seen as synonymous with "bright" and "clear."

Examines citations of Chaucer and Lydgate in John Palsgrave's "Lesclarcissement de la langue francoyse" (1530) as indications of the dictionary-maker's efforts to record "special language use," i.e., dialectical use and varying registers.

Contains three essays on Chaucerian topics. For individual essays that pertain to Chaucer, search for Subjects on the World's Stage under Alternative Title.

Nine essays on medieval food and drink, including their representation in medieval art and poetry.

Includes thirteen essays by Benson, all but one reprinted from earlier publications. For three essays that pertain to Chaucer, search for Contradictions: From "Beowulf" to Chaucer under Alternative Title.

Certain qualities of fourteenth-century London created a cultural atmosphere in which a new kind of poetry flourished, emphasizing urban community and its values.

Writing for an audience that knew animals and animal lore well (from physical interaction, folklore, and religious tradition), Chaucer appealed to, influenced, and manipulated this lore in HF, PF, PT, and TC.