Browse Items (15542 total)

Chaucer frequently uses familiar words or phrases that at first seem insignificant or trivial; examined closely, however, they reflect unexpected humor. Chaucer excels at molding new science out of old books.

Examines details from GP (in particular the description of the Friar) and ParsT, arguing that Chaucer held the "orthodox view" that the poor should be protected because they were precious to God. Yet Chaucer also indicates that "there is nothing…

Explains why the phrase "In termes," in the description of the Man of Law in GP (1.323), means "in Year Books," i.e., in a collection of "medieval law reports."

In chapters on Adam, TC, LGW, MLT, WBT, ClT, and PardT, Dinshaw argues that Chaucer's writing constructs and engages a sexual poetics. She contends that "whoever exerts control of signification, of language and the literary act, is associated with…

Provides context for the Parson's image of a she-ape in the "fulle of the moon" (10.424), showing how the image deprecates the "purpose as well as appearance" of the "fashionably-dressed man."

Examines books of medieval maritime law (e.g., the "Oakbook of Southhampton," the "Tavola Amalfitana," and the "Consulat de Mar") to argue that the Shipman of GP knew the law, "worked the system," probably engaged in smuggling, and exploited…

The proverb "to be as glad of something as 'fowel of day'," or variant, is used in KnT, CYT, TC, and ShT. The character associated with the fowl is deceived by appearances or by another character. In ShT Don John represents the fowler interpreted…

When seen in light of probable sources in Decameron 8.1-2 and contrasted with Chaucer's other fabliaux, ShT is an "elegantly sophisticated comedy of bourgeois values [written] by a socially and intellectually elevated vintner's son."

Lines 138-41 are authorial commentary and should be punctuated as such. The revised reading makes more immediate sense, adding parallelism and a touch of Chaucerian irony.

Studies the :speaking face" depicted in Chaucer's works (TC, Buk, BD, and ClT), discussing the trope as a subset of facial expression in the history of emotions. The first writer in English to do so, Chaucer has his characters and narrators translate…

Offers a "new description of Chaucer's interaction with Italian poetry," focusing on how he avoids borrowing several of its most innovative features: the "presence of a beatific lady," the tendency to elevate the poet's poetry to high authority, and…

Provides critical analysis of Chaucer's "ABC," examining in turn its genre, plot, two characters, style, and reception, and comparing it to its source.

Gives examples of the traditional humor that derives from exaggeration in depictions of giants in Middle English romance, and argues that, in Th, Chaucer goes "one step further" in making Oliphaunt ridiculous, largely because this giant is seen from…

Locates a satiric pun on "doghty" as either "valiant" or "dough-like" in Th 7.724-25.

By confining his version almost entirely to observable details, Chaucer achieves more in MilT than do writers of analogous stories. He does not interpose his narrator between the reader and the narrated events, and he spares the reader the glib…

A companion volume to "Music in the Age of Chaucer." Fourteen of Chaucer's lyrics on the French model are presented in a performing edition with musical settings derived from contemporary songs by Machaut, Senleches, Solange, Andrieu, and the…

Comments on Thomas and Lewis as Chaucer's sons and explores Astr as a didactic treatise, part of Chaucer's "Macrobean" development from "literary study to moral inquiry."

Maintains that in Anel, a poem about the faithless lover Arcite, the poet narrator is also false both in specific details and in reference to his putative sources. Argues that Chaucer emphasizes "the deception inherent in his poetic process" in a…

The narrator establishes a relationship with the audience to give the impression that they are jointly and empirically exploring human nature. His continuous presence and the mode of oral delivery enables the narrator to impose his views on the…

Analyzes the structure and function of reporting verbs, such as "seyde" and "quod, "in representing speech and thought in TC from a variety of viewpoints, including syntactical position of the reporting verbs, balance of direct and indirect…

The only manuscript which reflects Chaucer's own spelling is that of "Equat." Because this text is short, it does not provide a complete model for editors; Hengwrt is probably the best choice for a complete model.

Compiles spelling variants of 'though' (thirteen manuscripts) and the verb 'work' (ten manuscripts) as they occur in CT, seeking to establish Chaucer's basic orthography and to explore scribal habits.

Doubtful of M. L. Samuels's argument that Equat is Chaucer's work, Benson examines dominate and recessive spelling forms to argue that it is not. Compares spelling in Equat with that of various manuscripts of TC and CT.

The idea of sex as hard work and the portrait of January as lover draws on Augustinian theories of pre- and postlapsarian sexuality, also important in WBT and MkT; nevertheless, bawdy treatments of Christian theories are "harmoniously absorbed by the…

Explores relations among details of the GP description of the Squire (CT 1.94-96), the "Roman de la Rose," and a passage from fragment B of the "Romaunt of the Rose," suggesting that Chaucer influenced the fragment and that the two passages derive…