Th contains a covert similarity to PrT. If, by means of the lily, the elf-queen is identified with the Virgin Mary, the structure of Th may be seen to parody that of PrT. Both protagonists have gemlike chastity, are born "in fer contree," and are…
Rogers, William E.
Chaucer Review 14 (1980): 260-77.
A theoretical objection to patristic criticism is that it is guilty of question-begging because it assumes that a work is intended to promote "caritas." It is not the assumption of coherence that produces the fallacy but the assumption of a…
Bloomfield, Morton W.
Chaucer Review 14 (1980): 287-97.
The stylistic device occurs when a noun is given personification by the poet's use of a verb (or occasionally a verb phrase, adjective, or adverb). Chaucer uses few of them: the lyrics have more than do the longer narratives.
Donaldson, E. Talbot.
Chaucer Review 14 (1980): 313-18.
J. E. Hankins' view of the "Pervigilium Veneris" as a source for PF has not caught on because no one has yet found a persuasive verbal echo. Such an echo appears in the list of persons love has destroyed: PF, 286-92 has a counterpart in…
Chaucer's addition of Troilus' swoon allows reestablishment of "obeisaunce" critical to Criseyde's loving him, and threatened by Pandarus' story of his jealousy and his own inability to refute or continue it. Mutual apologies suggest mutual…
Rosenberg, Bruce A.
Chaucer Review 14 (1980): 344-52.
Among the oral-tradition analogues for FranT is the story of the Bari Widow, similar to it in ways that Boccaccio's version is not. Analysis of Chaucer's adept use of it and other oral-tradition stories demonstrates the mastery of his creation.
Bestul, Thomas H.
Chaucer Review 14 (1980): 366-78.
Like other late medieval art, TC exhibits a growing concern with the portrayal of emotions, especially through the shifting role of the narrator. He sometimes resorts to "occupatio," claiming inability to describe an emotional state, and eventually…
Chaucer's audience influenced his familiar material and subjects to convey his points. Their ability to evaluate and judge must have figured in his manipulation of truth and seeming in the stories. We must use their intended presence in responding…
Robertson, D. W.,Jr.
Chaucer Review 14 (1980): 403-20.
Land tenure laws and cloth industry figures suggest that the Wife was a bondswoman with holdings in the industry acquired from her first husband and used to attract four more and to finance expensive pilgrimages. A bondswoman character is also…
Similarities to Ovid's young Medea give Criseyde's character innocence; to Helen, guile, and reluctance to decide; while references to Oenone prefigure treachery in the connection to Paris' betrayal and the war. Ovidian references undercut the…
Wentersdorf, Karl P.
Chaucer Review 15 (1980): 101-26.
A clandestine "marriage" was not fornicatory but simply unlawful, since the church insisted on an eventual ceremony. Chaucer adds the troth plight to his source, thus raising the story above amorous intrigue and heightening the poignancy of…
Literary tradition and iconography connect "bath" to prostitution, also suggested by the Wife's living outside the former patriarchal city. These symbolize her prostitution in marriage, thwarting the system, her enrichment, and ultimately her own…
Romances are distinguished not by the presence of certain features--the erotic, the fabulous, etc.--but by attitudes toward those elements. WBT is "deliberately" not a romance.
Heffernan, Carol Falvo.
Chaucer Review 15 (1980): 37-43.
The cask figure combines religious and sexual symbols in the reference to wine and baptism and to the phallic spout. These connect to the tale with the fear of impotence and the careless oaths, suggesting that the Reeve misses the hidden religious…
Confused in definition, "romance" designates both a value system and a method of treatment. The presence of the marvelous, courtly love, and chivalric adventure is not enough to form a definition. A parody like Th helps, since it indicates what is…
Opening and closing stanzas of TC combine high, epic style with "sermo humilis," creating a rising and sinking pattern of "unlikeness." The verse and rhetoric reflect the meanings, the sublimest points made in simplest statement. The conclusion…
Gordon's translation of "Le Roman de Troie" distorts Benoit by omitting important passages. The most critical omission is one of a moralizing nature which emphasizes the fickleness of Criseyde and all women. Gordon must have been influenced by the…
Collette, Carolyn P.
Chaucer Review 15 (1981): 138-50.
The Prioress' preoccupation with emotion and the diminutive reflects the 14th century's concern for a particularized and emotional style in the arts. Though her tale seems odd and inconsistent, it has a consistent sensibility which uses the…
Jacobs, Edward Craney.
Chaucer Review 15 (1981): 151-54.
Madame Eglentyne's "Amor vincit omnia," where we would expect "Caritas vincit omnia," is used for ironic effect. Since Paul defines "caritas" as the "bond of perfection," Chaucer's use of the motto to bind together the Prioress' rich beads is…
The pathetic tales must been seen in connection with the Ricardian emphasis on emotionalism and the commonality of Christ's human nature and man's. The aim of the pathetic voice is not to make any sweeping statement of human experience but to…
Chaucer's audience would not have come to BD with our preconceptions (that the Man is John of Gaunt and that his song is personal). Rather, they would have experienced the gradual revelations as they are unfolded and would have concerned themselves…
Salemi, Joseph S.
Chaucer Review 15 (1981): 209-23.
Although the frame of TC is Boethian determinism, within it works the playful hand of Fortune (and the word "play" occurs frequently, with a variety of senses). The three major personages represent different attitudes toward freedom of choice and…
Middle English "beere" could mean "bear," "bier," or "pillow." The first of these is impossible in the context of TC 2.1638, but both other meanings are probably there: Pandarus ironically foreshadows Troilus's death, and he also foresees the hero…
