Situational Poetics in Robert Henryson's "Testament of Cresseid"

Description: Haydock examines poetic authority in Henryson's "Testament" as it simultaneously affirms and seeks to replace TC, in effect treating Chaucer's poem in Chaucerian fashion. One of Henryson's three major works, "Testament" is part of his effort to emulate Virgil and a Scottish response to English literary and political hegemony. Informed by Boethian thought, its depiction of Cresseid was influenced by Saint Jerome's association of tragedy and prostitution, and the work anticipates R. I. Moore's exploration of persecution, René Girard's theory of victimization, and formulations of female subjectivity by Freud, Lacan, and Žižek. "Testament" deeply influenced Shakespeare's "Troilus and Cressida" and, more generally, the Renaissance reception of Chaucer. Haydock's book includes comments on editions of Chaucer and Henryson, Kinaston's Latin translation of "Testament" and TC, and the modern reconstruction of Abbot House at Dumfermline Abbey.

Chaucer Subjects: Chaucer's Influence and Later Allusion.; Troilus and Criseyde