Structural Sophistication in 'The Complaint unto Pity'
- Author / Editor
- Nolan, Charles J.,Jr.
Structural Sophistication in 'The Complaint unto Pity'
- Published
- Chaucer Review 13 (1979): 363-72.
- Description
- Pity blends the language and structure of amorous and legal complaints. Legal bills, like "The Bill of Complaint" in the second part of Pity, have a tripartite structure: address, statement of grievance, and prayer for remedy. Recognition of this structure shows that "The Bill of Complaint" does not extend to the end of the poem; it also shows that Pity and Cruelty are not "faint and frigid" personifications but active adversaries in legal combat.
- Chaucer Subjects
- Complaint unto Pity.