Antithesis as the Principle of Design in the 'Parlement of Foules'

Author / Editor
Kelley, Michael R.

Title
Antithesis as the Principle of Design in the 'Parlement of Foules'

Published
Chaucer Review 14 (1979): 61-73.

Description
Antithesis is the major source of PF's aesthetic unity. It arranges the poem's structural levels in a pattern of oppositions: antithetical word pairs are joined by antithetical arrangements of style, description, characterization, plot, narrative, presentation, tone, and theme. PF's structure is not organic but governed by a design which requires the poem's antithetical meanings and themes.

Chaucer Subjects
Parliament of Fowls.