Chaucer's Ovidian Arts of Love

Author / Editor
Calabrese, Michael A.

Title
Chaucer's Ovidian Arts of Love

Published
Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1994.

Physical Description
x, 170 pp.

Description
Examines Chaucer's uses of Ovid, assessing the former's perception of the ancient poet, tracing Ovidian reception in the Middle Ages, and exploring Chaucer's reflection of Ovid's stuggles with life and art.
TC and WBPT display Chaucer's "evolving treatment" of the Ovidian art of love--from the "skepticism" shown by Pandarus and Criseyde to the "celebration" shown by the Wife. Chapter 5 considers the relation between Chaucer's "Ovidianism" and his conception of himself as a poet, especially as reflected in ParsT and Ret. Unlike the permanently exiled Ovid, Chaucer found a spiritual escape from gaming.

Chaucer Subjects
Sources, Analogues, and Literary Relations.
Troilus and Criseyde.
Wife of Bath and Her Tale.
Parson and His Tale.
Chaucer's Retraction.