The 'Parlement of Foules' and the Body Politic

Author / Editor
Cowgill, Bruce Kent.

Title
The 'Parlement of Foules' and the Body Politic

Published
Journal of English and Germanic Philology 74 (1975): 315-35.

Description
Chaucer's unifying theme in PF is political rather than otherworldly. It involves the contrast between an orderly world governed by natural law (the gate's first inscription and Scipio's "commune profit") and a chaotic world controlled by selfish and irresponsible leadership (the gate's second inscription and the cacophonous "foules").

Chaucer Subjects
Parliament of Fowls.