Studies Chaucer's first-person narrators of BD, PF, and HF as "students" who are instructed by some pedagogical authority, considering also the narrator of TC as well as the student-teacher relationship between Pandarus and Troilus. Assesses the…
Harley, Marta Powell.
Elizabeth T. Hayes, ed. Images of Persephone: Feminist Readings in Western Literature (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1994), pp. 20-32.
In alluding to the triple goddess Diana-Lucina-Prosperina to characterize Emily in KnT and May in MerT, Chaucer "simultaneously represents female assertiveness ... and vulnerability." However, he allows the potential to depict female pain to…
Divides Chaucer's allusions to Jove into two groups: those that present him as dream-like or fantastic and those that present him as actual or historical. Chaucer consistently presents Jove in allegorical ways even when he does not relegate him to…
Harder, Kelsie B.
Modern Language Quarterly 17 (1956): 193-98.
Identifies sources for a number of instances in MilT where Chaucer parodies, ridicules, or alludes to mystery plays—most evident in the characterizations of the Miller and Absolon as influenced by stage-versions of Pilate and/or Herod and the…
Haas, Renate.
Julian N. Wasserman and Robert J. Blanch, eds. Chaucer in the Eighties (Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1986), pp. 23-37.
Studies Chaucer's clever exploitation of the ambiguities between the laments of the lover and the mourner and his manipulation of traditional didactic patterns containing laments for the dead in Pity, BD, SqT, LGW (Thisbe), MLT, PhyT, ManT, TC, and…
Reads ClT as a "dramatization" of the teaching of St. James' epistle: the testing of faith "begets patience." Despite Walter's cruelty, he is God's "unwitting agent" in effecting Griselda's faith and obedience.
Smith, Jeremy J.
English Studies 93 (2012): 593-603
Discusses Chaucer's use of "this" (e.g., "this carpenter," "this sely man," etc.). Replaces its usual explanation as a colloquialism with a discussion of the changing meaning of demonstrative "this"/"that" from Old English onward and applies this to…
Farrell, William J.
Texas Studies in Literature and Language 5 (1963): 64-78.
Treats Chaucer's use of rhetorical lists or catalogs as an indication of his growth as a poet, from BD and its use of lists as "pure amplification" to PF where listing is "occasionally but not always subjected to the artistic needs of the entire…
Economou, George D.
Philological Quarterly 54 (1975): 679-84.
The uses to which Chaucer put the Bird-in-the-Cage image (in MilT, SqT, and ManT), which he derived from Boethius and Jean de Meun, reveal the precision and complexity of his literary adaptations.
Koretsky, Allen C.
Chaucer Review 4.4 (1970): 242-66.
Describes the presence of apostrophe ("exclamatio") in TC and assesses its various effects: amplification, heightening of style, advancement of plot, and characterization--especially of Troilus, Criseyde, and the narrator, but also of Pandarus,…
Clogan, Paul M.
English Miscellany 18 (1967): 9-31.
Explores the "artistic impact" of Statius's "Thebaid" on Chaucer, particularly the influence of Statius's style and his "portrayal of the ideals of Theban antiquity," tracing Chaucer's allusions to and uses of the epic in Pity, BD, Mars, HF, Anel,…
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.
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…
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…
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…
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."
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…
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.
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…
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…
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.
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.
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.
