The Descriptio in Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde

Author / Editor
Gertz, SunHee Kim.

Title
The Descriptio in Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde

Published
Papers on Language and Literature 35: 141-65, 1999.

Description
Examines how Chaucer manipulates the conventions of the "descriptio" in TC, arguing that he capitalizes on its metaliterary potential. Chaucer gives texture to the descriptio of Criseyde by spreading it throughout several portions of the narrative. He uses the device to record ambiguities rather than universal standards of beauty and makes the reader aware of the process whereby his descriptiones shape ambiguity.

Chaucer Subjects
Troilus and Criseyde.