Browse Items (15544 total)

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,…

Challenges the idea that adultery in inherent to courtly love and attributes the notion to critics' failure to recognize the humor of Andrea Capellanus. Cites various examples of courtly love in medieval literature, and includes comments on Absolon…

Briskly surveys English literature and studies of it from the Middle English period to 1960, providing introductions to individual historical periods and lists of editions and criticism for individual authors and topics. Chaucer figures largely in…

Comments on amplification as a factor in the "powerful dramatic force" of TC and explores, book by book, the poem's themes of "sight and blindness, the words 'bind' and 'bridle'," references to "sea and ships as opposed to references to fishing," and…

Argues that in "Troilus and Cressida" Shakespeare "does not seem to have used" TC "as his main or direct source," adducing differences in theme, plot, and characterization.

Treats Henryson's "Testament of Cresseid" as a sequel to TC, examining how its attitude and tone differ from Chaucer's work, largely as a result of differing styles, techniques, opinions, and points of view. Henryson's style and tone are harsher, and…

Explores relations between the late-medieval debate on religious images and imagery in literature, including detailed assessment of the portrait of Chaucer that is included in manuscripts of Thomas Hoccleve's "Regiment of Princes." Assesses the…

Studies the ontogeny (rather than ontology) of medieval western humanness, focusing on gestation, birth, childhood, and the social and cultural coming-into-being of the child. Links various aspects of "posthumanist, ecological, and materialist…

Compares Arveragus's sending of Dorigen to her tryst with Aurelius with the analogous scene in Bocaccio's "Filocolo" and argues that in FranT the husband is concerned with public honor, a reflection of the Franklin's own outlook that Arveragus is a…

Comments on several thematic concerns as they occur in Chaucer's works as well as in Arthurian tradition (pity, renunciation of the world, etc.) and summarizes scholarship pertaining to the Auchinleck MS as a source for Th; also discusses WBT as a…