In contrast to the strong heroines in French romances, Criseyde is a weak, passive individual who does not act but is acted upon. Chaucer creates her this way deliberately to make her "magically attractive"--she is "lovely undefined responsiveness,"…
Ordiway, Frank Bryan.
Dissertation Abstracts International 51 (1991): 2373A
Unlike Dante, who recognizes his poetic "fathers" in the Divine Comedy and sees himself as surpassing them, Chaucer in TC adopts the stance of the translator of an ancient text but questions the value of its tradition.
Sanyal, Jharna.
Journal of the Department of English (University of Calcutta) 22 (1986-87): 72-89.
Chaucer's portrayal of Criseyde had to remain true to Boccaccio's account of her as a betrayer of Troilus, both underlining and undercutting her traditional character and conveying Boethius's idea of the nature of "human felicite."
Stanbury, Sarah.
Studies in the Age of Chaucer 13 (1991): 141-58.
Feminist film theory and psychoanalytic theory clarify how acts of looking and the arrangements of personal space establish power relations in TC. Explores how power is gained and lost in Troilus's initial gaze at Criseyde, her view of him from her…
Sturges, Robert S.
ANQ: A Quarterly Journal l of Short Articles, Notes and Reviews 4 (1991): 63-67.
Two allusions to birds of mythology suggest the "conflicts of signification" in TC; their ambiguity makes the reader "an active participant in the poem."
Sudo, Jun.
Michio Kawai, ed. Language and Style in English Literature: Essays in Honour of Michio Masui. The English Association of Hiroshima (Tokyo: Eihosha, 1991), pp. 361-73.
The proem of each book of TC summarizes the gist of the following story and establishes a suitable mood through invocation to appropriate gods.
Takahashi, Hisashi.
Michio Kawai, ed. Language and Style in English Literature: Essays in Honour of Michio Masui. The English Association of Hiroshima (Tokyo: Eihosha, 1991), pp. 374-91.
Examines why the expression "this Criseyde" never occurs in TC, from the viewpoints of accent, stress, syllable, rhyme, spelling, and form. Statistically compares lines containing the words "Criseyde," "Troilus," and "this."
Woehling, Mary-Patrice.
Dissertation Abstracts International 52 (1991): 1742A.
By manipulating his presumed sources and through the voices of the narrator and his characters, Chaucer develops reader-response strategy with such rhetorical devices as repetition and wordplay. The reflexive TC shows both love and language as…
Besserman, Lawrence [L.]
New Literary History 22 (1991): 177-97.
Chaucer intended to entertain and edify Bukton by means of a network of biblical allusions that also provide an oblique comment on late-fourteenth-century biblical interpretation.
Explains the different strands in Scog partly through elements taken from Cicero's De amicitia and partly through its nature as a begging poem for Michaelmas, when annuities were renewed.
In Wom Nob, Chaucer introduces a psychology of love new to English poetry that derives from Machaut's "'realist' scholastic psychology" and that parallels the works of "stilnovisti" such as Dante, Cavalcanti, and Guinizella.
Norem, Lois Elizabeth.
Dissertation Abstracts International 52 (1991): 1753A.
With the inevitable variations produced by different scribes, CT has been edited by copyists who interpret the work variously (e.g., as ordered or unordered). A critical edition of the spurious links is here presented.
Feng, Xiang.
Dissertation Abstracts International 52 (1991): 4114A.
Studies rhymes and rhyme words (the elements least liable to errors in transcription) and amends the traditional view that Chaucer could have written Fragment A but neither B nor C: fragments A and C are equidistant from B and could be the work of a…
Kumamoto, Sadahiro.
Michio Kawai, ed. Language and Style in English Literature: Essays in Honour of Michio Masui. The English Association of Hiroshima (Tokyo: Eihosha, 1991), pp. 322-42.
Observes what kinds of words in the Roman de la Rose are likely to be borrowed by Chaucer as rhyme words, what alterations are made when they are transferred to Rom, and what sorts of words are added in the rhyme position in translation.
Machan, Tim William, ed.
Binghamton, N.Y.: Center for Medieval and Early Renaissance Studies, 1991.
In addition to the introduction, this collection contains nine original essays focusing on the interrelations between textual and interpretive studies of late Middle English literature. The authors discuss the effect of editorial decisions on…
Forty-two essays, including thirteen on Chaucer. For individual essays on Chaucer, search for Language and Style in English Literature under Alternatuive Title.
Twelve studies on historical linguistics, Anglo-Saxon studies, and Middle English literature. For four essays that pertain to Chaucer, search for This Noble Craft under Alternative Title.
Riddy, Felicity, ed.
Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1991.
Eleven essays on such topics as the theory and techniques of dialect comparison, the texts of Skelton and Dunbar, the N-town manuscript, and specific manuscripts.
For individual essays that pertain to Chaucer, search for Regionalism in Late Medieval…
Boffey, Julia, and Janet Cowen, eds.
London: King's College Centre for Late Antique and Medieval Studi es, 1991.
Nine essays by various authors, eight of which assess Chaucer's fifteenth-century legacy. For the individual essays that pertain to Chaucer, search for Chaucer and Fifteenth-Century Poetry under Alternative Title.
Phillips, Helen, ed.
Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1990.
Includes nineteen essays, an intoduction, a list of Hussey's publications, and a tabula gratulatoria. Topics of the essays include Langland, various mystics, religious lyrics, religious drama, and handbooks of religious instruction.
For two essays…
Bernardo, Aldo S., and Saul Levin, eds.
Binghamton, N.Y.: Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 1990.
Twenty-six essays on the impact of the classics on medieval art, history, philosophy, education, and literature. Topics range widely from Coptic textiles to fourteenth-century England, from neo-Platonism to speculative grammar--all addressing the…
Baird-Lange, Lorrayne Y., Bege K. Bowers, Bruce W. Hozeski, Hildegard Schnuttgen [et al.].
Studies in the Age of Chaucer 14 (1992): 235-318.
Continuation of SAC annual bibliography (since 1975); based on 1990 MLA Bibliography listings, contributions from an international bibliographic team, and independent research. A total of 355 items, including reviews.