Browse Items (16473 total)

Tudd, the third shepherd of the Chester play, may be a priest's bastard (son of Tibb); his hauteur recalls the Miller's wife in RvT.

Stylistic or linguistic thickening is a key to meaning, as in selectional politeness. Abrupt shifts of topic, disruption of narrative frames, and lack of deference to the reader's expectations make MilT more "impolite."

The Wife's portrayal of the rape, the judgment, and punishment of the knight reflect wish fulfillment, legal anachronism, and the inversion of the natural order of legitimate authority, though the tale ends in "true freedom and order."

Though the first two sections of HF abound in expressions of personal experience--"I saw," "I heard"--the pattern of use and the shaping force of art and science undermine the trustworthiness of appearance. The switch to third-person narrative in…

Though the dating of NPT to thirty-two days "syn March bigan" is generally emended to bring the tale date to May 3, the unemended text makes literal sense if treated as a reference to "frame story time." The dating thus "should be read in two…

The unmistakably sexual connotations of the source passages in "The Romance of the Rose" for the table manners and motto of Chaucer's Prioress help confirm "the impression that there 'is' a deliberate tension directed between the ideal of spiritual…

Medieval medical writers regarded love-sickness quite seriously as a disease, a form of madness. Chaucer's extensive use of medical terminology in TC renders his treatment of the lover's affliction more clinical, analytical, and critical than is…

The rapist-knight's plea to "Tak al my good and let my body go" (WBT 3.1061) highlights his role reversal not only with the raped maiden but also with women bound to legalized rape by the concept of the "marriage debt." Richman suggests that the…

Examines TC 2.442-76, Criseyde's first interview with Pandarus. The passage shows a Criseyde "who is essentially innocent, but who has a capacity for self-deception." Most of her sleight is practiced against herself, not against Pandarus.

Argues that social identity is fundamental to description of each pilgrim and determines how each is presented; examines how Chaucer presents himself in rhetorical terms, with particular reference to the "diminutio" of GP 745-48.

Analyzes Chaucer's exploitation of the potentially contradictory meanings of "trouthe," especially (1) personal loyalty, fidelity; (2) linguistic truth; and (3) factuality.

Reviews the language used in schools and universities. French was the usual language of instruction until 1350, and perhaps later in universities.

Considers three rhetorical features of HF (introductory features, "occupatio" and the inexpressibility "topos," and repeated rhyme) to refute John Matthews Manly's view (1926) that Chaucer's early writing lacked originality and that his use of…

The black-letter editions of Chaucer from 1532 to 1721 are "valuable books with worthless texts." However, their financial value may give some indication of their readers and their readers' socioeconomic status.

FranT is set in a pre-Christian age, but Dorigen prays to God and thus achieves the status of a good pagan. She is portrayed as an individual rather than a socially rule-bound wife. Chaucer celebrates individuality through her, but he also recognizes…

RvP is a psychological study of the bitterness and frustrations of old age, as well as a quiting of the Miller. Chaucer borrowed the leek-old age simile from Boccaccio's Decameron and adapted it to his own purpose. The simile is not proverbial.

The Pardoner is not a male homosexual but a cross-dressed female through whom Chaucer reveals the constricting gender roles available to women of his time. PardPT metaphorizes the social relations forced on a female trapped in the ambivalence of…

Outlines a method for describing Chaucer's verse forms as syllabic, with accent overlaid secondarily on this base. Dane argues that this method is more simple than descriptions that give priority to accent and the iamb, as well as more useful in…

Compares and contrasts late medieval English adverbial usage in a number of legal texts with those found in a "Reference Corpus," the latter including a number of examples from Chaucer's works.

Presents new evidence that "shows that the author [of Equat] was not Chaucer," connecting the unique manuscript of the treatise (Cambridge, Peterhouse, MS 75.I) with the work and life of John Westwyk, a monk of Tynemouth. Includes paleographical…

Highlights the "creative disruptions of Chaucerian parody" and argues that BD satirizes the language of courtly complaint to privilege more naturalistic expression of mourning. Through his conversation with the dreamer, the knight's language moves…

Builds on previous readings of PardT that identify its descriptions of food, especially bread and wine, as part of its parody of the Christian mass and Eucharist. Demonstrates that Chaucer uses specifically Wycliffite terms when referring to food and…

Analyzes a sample of periphrastic verbal phrases drawn from GP, describing practices and problems in pursuing computer analysis of Middle English. Focuses on frequency of verbal periphrases, uses of auxiliaries, ordering of elements, and grammatical…

Surveys critical commentary on the possibility of Chaucer's debt to Boccaccio's "Decameron" in CT, arguing that the evidence for influence is unpersuasive, especially when other analogues are closer. Considers various critical discussions of the…

Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby rehabilitates the Chaucerian treatment of the love story of Troilus and Criseyde (TC) and counters the less positive depictions of Henryson and Shakespeare.