Browse Items (15150 total)

In a section exploring "epic masculinity" in the age of Marlowe, suggests that Chaucer's depiction of Aeneas in LGW and HF anticipates humanist "rethinking" about the hero, that Chaucer "greatly influenced" Marlowe's depiction of him in "Dido, Queen…

Offers a theoretical model for representing language—both oral and literary—and analyzes various modes of discourse such as direct discourse, free indirect discourse, dual voicing, etc. Observes at one point (p. 369) that "Chaucer's free indirect…

Includes discussion of relations between "storm motifs" and "traditional attitudes towards love (conceived broadly as the relationship between man and the objects of his desire)" in various medieval texts, including BD, TC, MilT, MLT, and ABC.

Studies the backgrounds and characteristics of literary laments for the dead and includes a survey of Chaucer's knowledge of and uses of the topos: his reference to Geoffrey Vinsauf's lament for Richard in NPT 7.3347ff., and several brief instances…

Surveys the conventions of English and French courtly literature, emphasizing backgrounds, setting, plot structure, the contributions of Machaut and Froissart, and the influence of the "Pearl." A closing chapter on BD explores how and in what ways…

Lists proverbs, proverbial phrases, and sententia from early English writings, arranged alphabetically by topic, with quotations and citations of multiple occurrences in chronological order and indexes of important words and proper nouns. Chaucer is…

Distinguishes between "the Aesopic and the Reynardian" fable traditions, their uses in the sermon tradition, and their impact on various medieval and Renaissance English literary works, including NPT.

Item not seen. Listed in Lorrayne Y. Baird, A Bibliography of Chaucer, 1964-1973 (Boston: G. K. Hall, 1977): item 1252.

Includes brief comments (pp. 168-69) on Chaucer's use of the number 29 in GP and ParsP, and, in BD, on the use of 8 (Octovyen) and references to Argus (the "Arab mathematician Al-Kwārizm") and number symbolism.

Distinguishes two kinds of medieval romance hero: those who "are defined by institutional virtues" and those defined by "personal attributes and experiences." Treats characters from various romances, examining Palamon, Arcite, and Theseus of KnT in…

“This study aims to offer a new literary biography of Thomas Dekker (c. 1572-1632) and demonstrates the ways in which he refashions his principal source, Geoffrey Chaucer.” Includes attention to Dekker’s uses of ClT, WBT, and ideas of “game” and…

Explores why Chaucer alludes to the "story of Procne and Philomena" at the awakening of Pandarus in Book 2 of TC even though he does not cite the tale when the "nightingale sings to Criseyde" later in the Book, commenting on readers' expectations and…

Assesses the morning-scene in TC 3.1415ff. in light of source-and analogue materials in Ovid's "Amores," Boccaccio's "Filostrato," and elsewhere, arguing that Chaucer combines elements from various genres and forms ingeniously to produce something…

Distinguishes between medieval and Renaissance versions of poetic "figural imitation." In the former, identified by Erich Auerbach, the "poetic image participates in two modes of reality at the same time: historical and absolute": in the latter, it…

Item not seen. A WorldCat record indicates that the four essays, addressed to high school students, consider CT under the following titles: "Chaucer, Society and the General Prologue," "Chaucer and Medieval Thought," "Chaucer and Medieval Tradition,"…

Includes (pp. 8-28) impressionistic appreciation of CT for its fusions of realism and idealism in poetic narrative, discussing it as a prelude to assessment of the Boccaccian tradition of novella writing. Treats PrT and NPT as the two best of the…

Surveys a wide range of representations of peasants and links with poverty in medieval poetry, with particular emphasis on works by Langland, Chaucer, and Gower, as well as a number of their near-contemporaries. Contrasts Langland's Piers with…

Explores the emphases and nuances of early critical praise and imitation of Chaucer's poetry among writers such as John Lydgate, Stephen Hawes, the author of "The Book of Curtysye," and others. Focuses on their assessments of the "craftsmanship" of…

A topical, alphabetical listing of critical studies that pertain to Chaucer's French sources, compiled from previous bibliographies, with brief annotations added. The one-page introduction comments on the status of France and French in Chaucer's age.

Considers love in TC in light of medieval understandings of "caritas" and "cupiditas," identifying several specifically Christian details in the poem, and assessing tensions between its Christianity and the "religion" of courtly love. Argues that the…

Surmises that, as a satiric response to the anti-Semitism of PrT, NPT may reflect Chaucer's possible knowledge of a twelfth-century "Anglo-Jewish collection of 107 animal fables," the "Mishle Shu' alim," generally attributed to Berechiah Ben Natron…

Comments on ParsT as a "literary embodiment of the attitude" the Parson expressed in the GP "as well as the attitude Chaucer reveals" in Ret, suggesting that "the Chaucer of the Retraction is also the Parson of the Tales, by means of whom he…

Describes illusions of objectivity in recension, the genetic method of textual editing, cleverly though earnestly articulating that subjectivity--or "common sense"--is needed in the process of editing. Challenges the principle of grouping manuscript…

Argues that the satire in NPT is "better interpreted as general satire of Chaucer's age" than attributed to the character of the Nun's Priest. So-called "dramatic" readings of the tale falter because, for example, its "gentle satire of courtliness is…

Shows that "clichés of thought and expression" abound in medieval alchemical treatises, and explains how Chaucer's uses of these "topoi" or commonplaces "contribute to the meaning" of CYPT. Tabulates commonplaces of alchemical behavior, preparation,…