'Beautiful as Troilus': Richard II, Chaucer's Troilus, and Figures of (Un)Masculinity

Author / Editor
Bowers, John M.

Title
'Beautiful as Troilus': Richard II, Chaucer's Troilus, and Figures of (Un)Masculinity

Published
Tison Pugh and Marcia Smith Marzec, eds. Men and Masculinities in Chaucer's "Troilus and Criseyde" (Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 2008), pp. 9-27.

Description
Chaucer's "portrayal of Troilus as a soliloquizing, swooning lover . . . reads like a fulsome apologia" for Richard II. TC reflects Richard's relationship with Robert De Vere and reveals his "sexless marriage" with Anne. SNT and LGW defend sexless marriage, whereas Absolon of MilT is Chaucer's exposé of "the comic pretenses of failed masculinity."

Alternative Title
Men and Masculinities in Chaucer's "Troilus and Criseyde."

Chaucer Subjects
Troilus and Criseyde
Second Nun and Her Tale
Legend of Good Women
Miller and His Tale