Realism in 'Troilus and Criseyde' and the 'Roman de la Rose'

Published: Mary Salu, ed. Essays on Troilus and Criseyde (Cambridge: Brewer, 1979), pp. 43-56.

Description: Two major sources of the realism in TC are the Platonic cosmic fables (e.g., the "Boece") and the arts of love or handbooks for lovers, particularly the "Pamphilus." The fables would seem far removed from realism; however, their writers' concern with human generation makes them useful to the TC poet in his endeavor to create realism.; The "Roman de la Rose" also made use of these sources, but in a different way. And the presence of these influences in no way detracts from Chaucer's originality.

Chaucer Subjects: Troilus and Criseyde.; Sources, Analogues, and Literary Relations.