Modernising the Medieval: Eighteenth-Century Translations of Chaucer

Author / Editor
Brewer, Derek.

Title
Modernising the Medieval: Eighteenth-Century Translations of Chaucer

Published
Marie-Francoise Alamichel and Derek Brewer, eds. The Middle Ages After the Middle Ages in the English-Speaking World. (Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell and Brewer, 1997): pp.103-20.

Description
Surveys the reception of Chaucer reflected in translations by Dryden, Samuel Johnson, Pope, and Wordsworth, viewing it as the beginning of modern criticism, of the modern idea of a national literature, of modern textual criticism, and of modern incomprehension of Chaucer's language. As understanding and enjoyment increased, poetic influence decreased.

Alternative Title
The Middle Ages After the Middle Ages in the English-Speaking World.

Chaucer Subjects
Chaucer's Influence and Later Allusion.