Browse Items (16472 total)

Rhetoric functions to shape the content of the narrative in a particular way and is successful when it enables the reader to actively participate in constructing the fictional world. Chaucer, Fielding, and Dickens call attention to their narrative…

Historical detective novel, with Chaucer as the investigator of a string of murders while on a diplomatic mission to France in 1370.

Historical detective novel, with Chaucer, while on a diplomatic mission to Florence in 1373, investigating the murder of Florentine banking magnate Antonio Lipari who had arranged to loan money to Edward III.

Historical detective novel with Chaucer as the investigator of a murder in the seaport of Dartmouth; also involves a conspiracy against Katherine Swynford, thwarted by her sister Philippa.

The use of contrast in PF is notable, as the poem begins with a suggestive contrast in "Ars longa, vita brevis." The main theme of the work may be considered to be a contrast of courtly love and natural love.

Item not seen; a note in MLA International Bibliography online indicates that it pertains to Chaucer and astrology.

Nolan fractures the unity of GP; a suitably deconstructive approach would consider all of the poet's voices, avoiding the the term "voice" altogether.

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.

Certain twelfth-century mystics, especially Bernard of Clairvaux, interpreted the Song of Songs as figuring the love of God and man not only through heterosexual love but specifically as an ideal of marriage. In Chaucer's works both the concept of…

As part of a larger discussion of medieval estate management and its literary representations, Morris examines the character of Piers Plowman and Chaucer's Oswald the Reeve.

"[A]pproaches the Canterbury Tales through the lens of humor theory, responding to a much-noted gap in existing scholarship by focusing primarily on the structures and mechanisms of humor in the text."

Nine essays by various authors explore the activities and significance of pilgrimage in medieval and early modern England, focusing on "shrine-seekers," Thomas Becket, regional and international practice, and related topics. None of the essays…

Describes methodology of this index to source and analogue criticism, covering 1598-1980, with annotated bibliography of 1,300 titles, and four indexes: authors, Chaucer's works, genres, and sources of analogues.

A bibliography of and index to nineteenth- and twentieth-century Chaucerian criticism on sources and analogues.

An anthology of lyrics and excerpts, including lines from KnT (1.1074-1122) in Middle English. Earlier versions of the volume were published in 1994, 2001, 2006, and 2008.

Reconstructs the "biography of Arthur" from major legends, chronicles, and romances.

Explores "how late-fourteenth and fifteenth-century [English] poets use dance to experiment and play with descriptions of motion." Includes discussion of Anel as well as Osbern Bokenham's "Legend of Holy Women," Thomas Chestre's "Sir Launfal," John…

Explores the combination of "manly" and "man," as well as the meaning of "manly," in reference to the GP description of the Monk.

Morrison examines textual transmission before print, referring to Chaucer as evidence of authors' concerns about deficient scribal copying.

Studies the contents, significance, and function of medieval manuscripts, commenting briefly on WBP.

Analyzes the Wife of Bath's "deceptive nature of fine outward show," in terms of her dress and clothing, as opposed to her inner purity in WBT.

Focuses on how playfulness breaks the limits of existential constraint in FranT.

In relation to the 1380 Cecily Chaumpaigne text, critics have generally suspected Cecily instead of Chaucer. This interpretation may fulfill a scholar's agenda but does not assist biographical accuracy. Attempting to "hear Cecily's voice" among the…

With few exceptions, medieval German and English texts depict female authority figures as truth-tellers. Female saints reveal the falseness of male antagonists, but queens lose their power to men who lie, act violently, and rule efficiently. CT…

WBPT addresses the relationship between vernacular texts and female audiences. Vernacular translations of authoritative texts allow women to enter the discourse of power, creating a new discourse that validates not only the existence of a different…