Middle English Debate Poetry and the Aesthetics of Irresolution

Author / Editor
Reed, Thomas L.,Jr.

Title
Middle English Debate Poetry and the Aesthetics of Irresolution

Published
Columbia and London: University of Missouri Press, 1990.

Physical Description
xiii, 461 pp.

Description
A prominent feature of Middle English debate poetry from 1200 to 1450 is irresolution, a quality appreciated in the context of carnival laughter (Bakhtin). Reed rejects univocal interpretation through allegory or symbolism in favor of "experiential realism." Includes bibliography.
See also Reed's "The 'Parlement of Foules'."

Chaucer Subjects
Background and General Criticism.