Troilus' Rhetorical Failure
- Author / Editor
- Taylor, Ann M.
Troilus' Rhetorical Failure
- Published
- Papers on Language and Literature 15 (1979): 357-69.
- Description
- Chaucer presents Troilus' appeal to Criseyde as ominous in its accuracy, sincere in its passions, yet faulty in its rhetoric. Troilus fails to appear confident, to inspire Criseyde's good will; through faulty emphasis he loses the effect of his plan for a romantic escape. Diomede's argument noticeably lacks the errors made by Troilus. Character, circumstance, and destiny all oppose Troilus; his argument is an analogue for his earthly condition.
- Chaucer Subjects
- Troilus and Criseyde.