Hira, Toshinori.
Bulletin of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Humanities (Nagasaki) 24.2 (1984): 97-111.
The narrator of MerT evokes the same moral response from the audience as the authors of the "Comedy." Although the narrator appeals to the superiority of the audience over his dramatic characters, he perhaps admires their crudeness, which the…
Hira, Toshinori.
Bulletin of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Nagasaki University, 20 (1979): 27-42.
Chaucer as a court poet adapts himself to the pattern of sentiments of the court audience. He views the bourgeois pragmatism from the aristocratic standpoint. However, in his fabliaux he could deliberately make fun of the attitude of the…
Hira, Toshinori.
Bulletin of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Nagasaki University, Humanities 13 (1972): 53-66.
Surveys Chaucer's uses of courtly notions in his poetry, focusing on courtesy, service, connections with feudalism and Christianity, and the lady's grace and mercy; also comments on the negative qualities of somnolence and gluttony. Draws examples…
Hira, Toshinori.
Bulletin of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Nagasaki University, Humanities 18 (1978): 59-78.
Considers the techniques of characterization in CT, with particular attention to the range of social classes and the assigning of fabliaux to particular tellers. Comments on the gender of individual tellers and on the likelihood of class and gender…
Hira, Toshinori.
Bulletin of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Nagasaki University, Humanities 23:2 (1983): 29-41.
Compares MerT with "Comedy of Lydia" (an analogue) and suggests that Chaucer looks on the January-May follies with amusement whereas the laughter in "Comedy" is didactic.
Hira, Toshinori.
Bulletin of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Nagasaki University, Humanities 26.2 (1986): 43-57; 27.2 (1987): 1-17; 28.2 (1988): 1-15.
Part 1 describes the Canterbury pilgrims that qualify as "gentils" by birth, education, or accomplishment (Knight, Prioress, Monk, Squire, Franklin, Merchant, Guildsmen, Sergeant of Law, Physician, Parson, and Nun's Priest), explaining details of…
Jimura, Akiyuki.
Bulletin of the Faculty of of the School Education (Hiroshima University) 16 (1994): 1-8.
A sociolinguistic exploration of Criseyde's grammar, literacy, pronunciation, and verbosity, considered in relation to the vocabulary and syntax of fourteenth-century upper-class women.
Akahori, Naoko.
Bulletin of the Institute of Women's Culture (Showa Women's University) 34 (2007): 29-38.
Akahori analyzes characteristics of May in MerT, focusing on her presence in January's garden and nuances of the adjective "fressh." Exploring instances of the word throughout CT, the author shows that its use in MerT is sarcastic.
Wilks, Michael.
Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester 44 (1962): 489-530.
Traces in biblical, classical, and political sources the development of the idea that the Pope and other rulers gain sovereignty through "mystical marriage" to their respective institutions, arguing that WBT "bears a striking similarity to [this]…
Wawn, Andrew N.
Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester 56 (1973-74): 174-92.
Shows that "The Plowman's Tale" was published (ca. 1536) by Thomas Godfray with a "calculated and propagandist purpose," part of Henry VIII's "propagandist organization" affiliated with Thomas Berthelet, Henry VIII's "official printer." Demonstrates…
Alexander, Philip S.
Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester 74 (1992): 109-20.
Reviews anti-Semitism in PrT from a historical point of view. Defines anti-Semitism and its typical features: the death of the clergeon mirrors that of Christ; the Jews are linked with the devil; and they engage in usury. PrT is definitely…
Ellis, Roger.
Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester 74 (1992): 121-39.
Examines the "voices" of the narrators of SNT, MerT, and WBP. In understanding voices, it is important to remember two levels: the immediate and the inherited past. The three tales exhibit plain speaking in different ways.
Rothwell, W[illiam].
Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester 74 (1992): 3-28.
Examines thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Anglo-French, noting that Chaucer was steeped in an Anglo-French environment. This very Anglicized French--a second language of culture used to keep records--was the French Chaucer knew best, and his lexis…
