Chaucer, Gower, and the Unknown Minstrel: The Literary Liberation of the Loathly Lady

Author / Editor
Vasta, Edward.

Title
Chaucer, Gower, and the Unknown Minstrel: The Literary Liberation of the Loathly Lady

Published
Exemplaria 7 (1995): 395-418.

Description
Compares WBT, Gower's "Tale of Florent," and "Weddynge of Sir Gawen and Dame Ragnell" in light of Bakhtin's theory of carnival.
Both Gower (thoroughly) and Chaucer (ambiguously) assimilate the Lady into official culture, while the "Weddynge" liberates both Lady and culture from that culture's repressive forces.

Chaucer Subjects
Wife of Bath and Her Tale.
Sources, Analogues, and Literary Relations.