Browse Items (15542 total)

In the first line of HF, "say," the reading of the better texts, is preferable to that generally adopted, "singen."

Chaucer's HF, an allegory, is his "one major excursion in the territory usually associated with Dante." Schembri explores Augustinian iconography in the poem, looking particularly at Chaucer's treatment of the Dido story, the Proem to HF 2, and the…

Argues that HF is organized and coherent: it is consistently concerned with poetic art, its tripartite structure is based on the "rhetorical doctrine of three styles," and the styles correlate with the "three principal works" of Virgil"…

Sketches several underlying principles of the "via moderna" or Ockhamist reasoning (limitless power of God and three-value logic) and argues that HF rejects this "mode of thought." In the dream vision, Geffrey finds himself in a "kind of parody of…

Without arguing that Chaucer was a "source" for Mann, Riehle discusses stylistic and thematic parallels between HF and the Joseph novels. The epic humor of both Chaucer and Mann "reflects their deep sympathy with human life."

Architectural details, including rows of pillars and statues in Fame's hall, are probably exaggerations of the Palais de Justice, which Chaucer had seen in 1377.

Argues that Chaucer's concerns in HF are metalinguistic by drawing an analogy between verbal inflation (high style) and monetary inflation (which was rampant in Chaucer's day). Both words and coins are arbitrary signs and mediums of exchange;…

The clash of realist Thomistic Christianity (Dante) and nominalism (Ockham) provides the basis of Chaucer's exuberant satire on philosophy, linguistics, classical tradition, the state of the Church, and other late-fourteenth-century issues. HF…

Chaucer transforms Bede's commentary on the symbolism in Saint John's vision. Chaucer twists the beryl, the eagle, the four beasts, the seven stars, and numerology, giving a sense that Lady Fame is an unlawful ruler. HF is purposely unfinished.

Elements of the poem--dream vision, narrator's self-mockery, genre, satire, absence of authority--contribute to uncertainty of interpretation. That the "mechanics of uncertainty" inhere in all of these elements reinforces skepticism as the poem's…

Reads HF as an example of science fiction, focusing on its presentation of acoustics and commenting on its recurrent use of "scientific or pseudo-scientific explanations."

The emendation of HF texts F and B, line 1709, to "for no fame nor (MSS "for") such renoun" may be preferable to Skeat's now-standard reading, "For fame ne for such renoun." Similarly, emendation of MSS "loo" (line 1909) to "looth" gives the line…

HF expresses the "unreliability" of authority, as evident in the "style and structure" of the poem. Defines "fame" as the "body of traditional information that confronted the educated fourteenth-century reader" and shows how and where HF manifests…

Traces Chaucer's uses of two rhetorical devices of compression throughout his poetic career, "praeterito" and "reticentia," arguing that he developed sophisticated uses of the devices for creating dramatic and emotional effects. The devices entail,…

From the "Roman de la Rose," Chaucer inherited a view of "janglerye" that implicated himself as a court poet. Throughout his career, and especially in CT, he explores the dangers of "janglerye" as an appetite.

Troilus's "kankedort" is an Anglo-Norman equivalent of the proverbial "chien qui dort" (sleeping dog); Troilus expects a rude rebuff, ending his love affair.

The fundamental distinction in KnT is not between Palamon and Arcite, but between them and Theseus. The Dionysian misrule of Thebes is symbolically contrasted to the Apollonian order or Athens. The mythic structure of the narrative prepares a…

Analyzes characters, both divine and human, in KnT as "representatives of the "three ages of man: youth, maturity, and old age."

Unlike the knight of the chivalric theorists, who is ideally a force for justice and stability, the knight of the courtly romance is a solitary figure whose primary concern is self-fulfillment without regard to the community at large. As a courtly…

Addresses two questions: Is KnT a romance? and Whose story is it, Palamon's or Arcite's? More lines are devoted to these issues than to philosophic matter and Theseus. Arcite shows more nobility than any other character in KnT, and the story…

Describes Chaucer's various uses of the terms "kynde" and "nature" (and their derivatives), focusing particularly on their semantic range and potential as personifications

Sted, which begins as a complaint, reveal the poet's "anxiety over the mutable condition of language."

In the Dido episode of LGW, Chaucer minimizes both Aeneas's destiny and his character, focusing on Dido's character and thus producing a (negative) feminist exemplum.

The wording of these lines closely resembles the phraseology found in an Italian translation of Ovid's "Heroides." The line "Youre anker which ye in oure haven leyde" (line 2501) may be a sexual pun. Treats Boccaccio's "De genealogia deorum" as…

In LGW, Chaucer uses the narrative approaches of hagiography (brevity, narrative selection, and focus for commemorative and edificational purpose) to achieve variations in tone and perspective. The heroines, however, are exempla of human, not…