Norman, Arthur.
E. Bagby Atwood and Archibald A. Hill, eds. Studies in Language, Literature, and Culture of the Middle Ages and Later (Austin: University of Texas, 1969), pp. 312-23.
Describes the episodic symmetrical structure of MLT; comments on the characterization of Constance; identifies the rhetorical uses of occupatio and elaboration in the Tale; and (in footnote 1) summarizes its concern with astrology, fate, and Boethian…
Atwood, E. Bagby, and Archibald A. Hill, eds.
Austin: University of Texas, 1969.
Thirty three essays by various authors on wide-ranging topics, presented in honor of Rudolph Willard. For two essays that pertain to Chaucer, search for Studies in Language, Literature, and Culture of the Middle Ages and Later under Alternative…
Pratt, Robert A.
E. Bagby Atwood and Archibald A. Hill, eds. Studies in Language, Literature, and Culture of the Middle Ages and Later (Austin: University of Texas, 1969), pp. 303-11.
Adduces details from MLT, PardT, Anel, SqT, FranT, Purse, MkT, and PhyT to show that Chaucer was influenced, not only by Trevet's Constance narrative, but by his "Cronicles" more broadly.
Pearcy Roy J.
Notes and Queries 214 (1969): 333-35.
Argues that the "fabliau of the 'Sot chevalier' by Gautier le Leu" is a source for the branding scene of MilT and for the summary of action at the end of the Tale.
Sketches the obscurities of Pandarus's character and motivations in TC, and, examining patterns of imagery and allusion, argues that he is both a voyeur and a Tantalus-figure whose "punishment [is] to endure for ever the agonies of unfulfilled…
Russell, G. A.
D. A. Pearsall and R. A. Waldron, eds. Medieval Literature and Civilization: Studies in Memory of G. N. Garmonsway (London: Athlone, 1969), pp. 211-27.
Considers PrPT in light of the GP description of the Prioress and ShT, arguing that the tone, style, verse form, and liturgical echoes of PrPT are appropriate to the vocation of the Prioress and create a powerful impression of strength, humility, and…
Sudo, Jan.
Studies in English Literature (Tokyo) 45 (1969): 221-36.
Explores the possible originations of select rhyming pairs in Chaucer's works, especially those involving proper names, observing Latin and Continental precedents and also commenting on recurrent non-onomastic rhymes that involve semantic…
Szövérffy, Joseph.
Notes and Queries 214 (1969): 166-67.
Shows that the legend of St. Nicholas may be a source of the detail about the marrying young women in Chaucer's description of the Friar in GP 1.212-13.
Taitt, P. S.
Studia Neophilologica 41 (1969): 112-14.
Comments on the Host's "outrage" and the "silence" of the other pilgrims at the end of PardT, attributing them both to failure to "separate art from reality."
Taylor, Estelle W.
College Language Association Journal 13 (1969): 172-82.
Considers the fittingness of the MkT to its teller, commenting on genre (advice to princes and tragedy), themes (fortune and the uncertainties of life), variety and unity, the GP description of the Monk, and the responses of the Knight and the Host…
Sound recording of musical stage play, with music by Richard Hill and John Hawkins, and lyrics by Nevill Coghill. The cast includes George Rose, Hermione Baddeley, Martyn Green, and others.
Encourages separation of teller and tale in interpreting CT, reading MerT in light of its sources but not MerP. The narrator of the Tale identifies more with Justinus than with January and shows "a measure of sympathy" for May. In this way the Tale…
Defines parody and surveys "all of the major literary parodies in Middle English, Old French, and Middle German," including "three little-known anti-courtly parodies by Hermann von Sachsenheim and Geoffrey Chaucer." Includes comments on ManT.
A selection of critical responses to Chaucer's works from his late contemporaries until 1968. Mostly excerpted from longer works, the selections are arranged in three categories: "Contemporaneous Criticism" (Deschamps, Usk, Lydgate, and Hoccleve);…
Treats Mel as a "consolatio," not an allegory, of the same genre as Boethius's "Consolation of Philosophy" and "designed to cure an excess of wrath" and to promote "forgiveness." Identifies ways that Mel engages thematically with the other tales in…
Duke, Elizabeth Anne Foster.
DAI 29.11 (1969): 3971A.
Examines "the relationships existing among the printed editions" of CT from Caxton through Tyrwhitt, based on comparisons of their versions of GP and considering their uses of prior texts, emendation policies, and editorial innovations.
Describes the "typological" uses of time in the mystery cycles, the "biological time" of the heroes' actions in most romances, and the much more complex concern with time in TC, where "all action and characters" are placed in time and are given…
Treats KnT as a traditional, conservative work, elevated in tone and style and dependent on "French and Italian traditions of eloquence." Conversely GP is the "most original of Chaucer's poems," innovative in its "mingling" of "praise and blame"…
Harris, Richard L.
Southern Folklore Quarterly 33 (1969): 24-38.
Assumes that the Death and the Old Man in PardT are "one and the same person," and provides evidence from Scandinavian literature that Odin was an analogous figure, perhaps even a distant source, although Christianized.
Studies Chaucer's similes and metaphors to trace the "development of imagery in each of [his] works" from BD through CT, suggesting that Chaucer shows a "progressive awareness of the image as an essential tool of his art." Results of statistical…
Explores Chaucer's and Lydgate's assumptions about their audience's knowledge of history, and discusses how and to what extent it may indicate irony in KnT, MkT, TC, and several works by Lydgate.
McNamara, John Francis.
DAI 29.09 (1969): 3148-49A.
In TC and "several important" tales of CT, Chaucer expresses more "confidence in human nature" than do Langland or the "Pearl"-poet in their works. He indicates the human need for divine Providence and assurance that "God will not use his absolute…
