Tallies and comments upon various irreversible paired words in Chaucer's works (e.g., "joy and bliss," "word and dede," wele and wo," etc.), observing where modern usages vary or continue medieval practices.
Jimura, Akiyuki.
Michio Kawai, ed. Language and Style in English Literature: Essays in Honour of Michio Masui. The English Association of Hiroshima (Tokyo: Eihosha, 1991), pp. 289-305. Also in Hisao Turu, ed. Reading Chaucer's Book of the Duchess. Medieval English Literature Symposium Series, no. 5 (Tokyo: Gaku Shobo Press, 1991), pp. 221-43 (in Japanese).
Chaucer's use of "herte" for "the hart," "the heart of the body," and the "sweetheart" unifies BD.
Arthur, Ross G.
American Benedictine Review 38 (1987): 29-49.
Critics such as Bennett and Lumiansky discuss Chaucer's Christianization of classical thought, but his adaptation of the "Somnium" in PF actually critiques its limitations. The naive narrator, looking for the "certayn" divine knowledge, is vaguely…
Jimura, Akiyuki.
Masuo Umedo, ed. Perspectives on Word: Essays on English Language and Literature (Tokyo: Eihosha, 1995), pp. 47-54.
Explores the use of "unsad," "untrewe," and "undiscreet" in ClT, relating these words to their stems--"sad," "trewe," and "discreet"--and to Chaucer's characterization of Griselda.
Purdon, L. O.
Papers on Language and Literature 25 (1989): 216-19.
Chaucer's reference to "wod" in "Form Age" 17 not only suggests England's flourishing dyeing industry (lacking in the former age) but also alludes to abuses of that trade.
Studies Chaucer's uses of "gan" and "do" with infinitive forms, tracing the history of the usage in English and providing statistics about Chaucer's uses and their relative chronologies. In Chaucer's works, "gan" is generally periphrastic and used…
Wood, Chauncey Derby.
Dissertation Abstracts International 25.05 (1964): A2970.
Describes medieval understanding of astrology and examines the "technical side of astrological passages in Chaucer" as well as their "meanings . . . in their poetic contexts. Includes discussion of FranT, Mars, GP, MilT, WBP, MerT, MLT, and ParsP.
Wood, Chauncey Derby.
Dissertation Abstracts International 25.05 (1963): 2970.
Examines the astrological passages in Chaucer's works, not only the technical details but the their mythographic and iconographic implications. Includes discussion of Astr, Mars, GP, WBP, MerT, MLT, and ParsP.
Freiwald, Leah Zeva.
Dissertation Abstracts International 44 (1984): 2467A-68A.
Chaucer treats and reshapes myth variously (allusion, catalogue, portrait, or narrative) to suit audience and purpose. BD, LGWP, KnT, and TC illustrate varied sustained techniques.
Bertolotti, Georgene Mary.
DAI 33.09 (1973): 4330A.
Considers Chaucer's diminishing use of classical stories in various stages of his "development as a creative artist," focusing on the rise of realism in his works.
Hira, Toshinori.
Bulletin of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Nagasaki University, Humanities 13 (1972): 53-66.
Surveys Chaucer's uses of courtly notions in his poetry, focusing on courtesy, service, connections with feudalism and Christianity, and the lady's grace and mercy; also comments on the negative qualities of somnolence and gluttony. Draws examples…
Dean, Christopher.
Canadian Journal of Linguistics / Revue Canadienne de Linguistique 9.2 (1964): 67-74.
Tabulates and analyzes Chaucer's use of function words before nouns and pronouns, showing that his usage "resembles in the main that of modern English," although in at least one respect more similar to "modern vulgar English than modern standard…
McMahon, Arthur Henry.
Dissertation Abstracts International 52 (1992): 2546A.
Once Harry Bailly loses control of the game unifying CT, those who remain playful and detached become winners. Both pilgrims and readers must reassess the real rewards.
Silvia, Daniel Shiver, Jr.
Dissertation Abstracts International 23.11 (1963): 4345-46.
Describes Chaucer's knowledge of and uses of Jerome's "Adversus Jovinianum" in CT, as well as his references to the treatise and glosses to his manuscripts that quote it, focusing on the tales of the Marriage Group. Includes an edition of ten…
Takada, Yasunari.
Anna Baldwin and Sarah Hutton, eds. Platonism and the English Imagination (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), pp. 45-51.
Chaucer's treatment of Neoplatonic concerns with love, ascent to heaven, and nature is characterized "by obliqueness, a sense of humour and even irony."
Nonce words in CT illustrate a correlation between conventionality in subject matter and conventionality in diction. Because nonce words increase as Chaucer's career progresses, their frequency can be used for relative dating. Following this…
Nakao, Yoshiyuki.
Phoenix 15 (1979): 3-20. [Graduate School of English Philology and Literature, Faculty of Letters, Hiroshima University].
Connotations of proverbs depend on their contexts--addresser, addressee, situation, purpose, etc. Chaucer's maturity in art is particularly discernible in his "misapplication" of them. This deviant use provides him with ample linguistic resources…
Koretsky, Allen Curtis.
Dissertation Abstracts International 28.11 (1968): 4634A.
Shows how Chaucer adapted Boccaccio's "Filostrato" in TC by increasing the density and variety of rhetorical figures, thereby "embellishing" the verse, altering characterization, transforming narrative perspective. and increasing irony. Includes an…
Wood, Chauncey.
John P. Hermann and John J. Burke, eds. Signs and Symbols in Chaucer's Poetry (University: University of Alabama Press, 1981), pp. 81-101.
Chaucer uses signs playfully, "in bono, in malo": tears cited by the Parson are signs of contrition; the Prioress weeps for dead mice and whipped dogs. Chaucer is original in his treatment of her features, all of which point to worldliness.
