'Troilus and Criseyde', III, 1226-32: A Clandestine Topos

Author / Editor
Bruckmann, Patricia.

Title
'Troilus and Criseyde', III, 1226-32: A Clandestine Topos

Published
English Language Notes 18 (1981): 166-70.

Description
Although the tree-vine "topos" with which Chaucer describes the embrace of Troilus and Criseyde is a literary commonplace, it usually describes a relationship that is either destructive or supportive. In TC the "topos" is ambiguous and highlights the ambiguity of the clandestine marriage.

Chaucer Subjects
Troilus and Criseyde.